Orbis Wheel

[freebeard]

I criticize things because I can think critically, and expect others can too.

I find mocking is more cathartic.

[rob.e]

does anyone have any more info on this?

Seems like a great idea to retro-fit electric assistance to any FWD vehicle.

Where did the pricing comment come from (page 1) saying this was $10k? I can't find any info on the web with pricing?

FWIW i'm also "following" orbis on face book and i've asked if there is any more news since the flurry of info after SEMA show.


************ edit to add: *****************

ok so i got a response from their FB page, yes $10k for two wheels, all production fully allocated for 2019 so if you want anything it'll be next year.

This is a great concept, but i'm out - as a mod to improve mpg it'd take a very long time to recoup your 10k investment.. shame as i really like this approach.

[Taylor95]

Originally Posted by rob.e

does anyone have any more info on this?

Seems like a great idea to retro-fit electric assistance to any FWD vehicle.

Where did the pricing comment come from (page 1) saying this was $10k? I can't find any info on the web with pricing?

FWIW i'm also "following" orbis on face book and i've asked if there is any more news since the flurry of info after SEMA show.


************ edit to add: *****************

ok so i got a response from their FB page, yes $10k for two wheels, all production fully allocated for 2019 so if you want anything it'll be next year.

This is a great concept, but i'm out - as a mod to improve mpg it'd take a very long time to recoup your 10k investment.. shame as i really like this approach.

If you drive a lot I imagine it would not take that long, depending on the vehicle. Your mpg could double or even triple if most of your driving is in the city.

Here is an email that I got from the company. It is just a generic copy and paste response:

Thank you for your email and interest in ORBIS and our Ring-Drive system. We are excited to bring the technology to the retail market.



Since our “debut” at SEMA last October, we have been engaged by a large commercial entity to develop an integrated AWD platform. As we are a start-up with very limited resources, we have been forced to focus on this project and are temporarily shelving a direct-to-consumer retrofit kit. We hope to offer a “universal” kit for both FWD and RWD vehicles in the next year or so but currently I do not have exact specs or a list of which vehicles it will work with. Currently, however, we are working exclusively with a 19”x 8” wheel, if that helps.



As soon as we move closer towards bringing the technology to market, we will be able to answer more specific questions on an individual basis, including which vehicles and which markets we will be able to serve.



In addition, as we establish manufacturing, we will be looking to engage with potential licensing and distribution partners.



I will be sure to keep your email address and notify you in advance of a public announcement, whenever that should occur.



Thank you for your interest and understanding.



Best regards,



Peter

[rob.e]

ok, similar to my response but a bit more info in mine (today) i think:


"ORBIS Driven Hi Rob, thanks for your interest in Orbis wheels. The wheels start at US$9,995 for two. Our manufacturing capacity for 2019 is fully allocated, which is why we are not accepting new orders. But we'd still love to contact you when we're ready to take your order, so if you are interested, please complete our form here: https://orbisdriven.com/contact/
And please do like our page, if you haven't done so already. Thanks again."

[rob.e]

Originally Posted by Taylor95

If you drive a lot I imagine it would not take that long, depending on the vehicle. Your mpg could double or even triple if most of your driving is in the city.

Yep, but for me i think it won't add much. Most of my commute is highway speeds, 110-120 miles a day for my commute. The diesel does a great job at these sorts of speeds and whilst i'd love to have the additional performance on tap, and i although i'd save if i could use electric for the low speed stuff like a prius yes it would help but not enough to justify the spend.

If i manage 70mpg now, and the orbis bumped me up to say 80mpg, then my basic calc looks like it would save me about £1 per trip, so i'd need 10,000 trips to break even.. so ~50 years

Even if my maths is wrong and the saving is double that ^ it'd still take 25 yrs to break even, by which time the car would have over half a million miles.

[Taylor95]

Originally Posted by rob.e

Yep, but for me i think it won't add much. Most of my commute is highway speeds, 110-120 miles a day for my commute. The diesel does a great job at these sorts of speeds and whilst i'd love to have the additional performance on tap, and i although i'd save if i could use electric for the low speed stuff like a prius yes it would help but not enough to justify the spend.

If i manage 70mpg now, and the orbis bumped me up to say 80mpg, then my basic calc looks like it would save me about £1 per trip, so i'd need 10,000 trips to break even.. so ~50 years

Even if my maths is wrong and the saving is double that ^ it'd still take 25 yrs to break even, by which time the car would have over half a million miles.

I would say the mpg increase would be closer to 50-75% depending on the vehicle. These wheels add 100 hp, which is very significant when you consider that most engines make around 160-180 hp at the crank. That would end up being like 125 or so hp to the wheels. Your engine would have to work half as hard to maintain 60 mph. What if your mpg increased to say 110 mpg? Then would it be worth it?

The way I look at it is that it will cost only 10k to convert your car to a hybrid. New hybrids are much more than that.

This is very cool, and worth it to me if it is reliable and not overly cumbersome to rotate tires and things. A difference is that I am looking into doing this to an older vehicle that I will acquire instead of a new one.

[freebeard]

Rich Benoit (Rich Rebuilds) is putting one of the same [brand] motors in a Model A lowboy roadster. Clutchless, on a three-speed (prolly 1939 Ford (last year of the floor shift)).

I could see a pure EV, with 100hp driving the rear wheels. Here's an example with a golfcart motor and lead acid batteries:



You could put thin fenders and running boards on that and hide a Tesla or Rav4 battery pack. Frunk 'n trunk.

[rob.e]

Yep, i also like the idea of using this tech to electrify a classic.

My "other" vehicle is a 78 vw westfalia - great vehicle but a really old tech aircooled engine with only 70bhp from the factory and lousy mpg. Adding this sort of bolt on tech would be a game-changer for that vehicle (although as it's already RWD it may not be as easy to integrate?)


BTW - i checked with Orbis - the 10k cost is not the full investment you need to make - that's just for the bolt on wheels /motor/brake etc. . You'd still need to buy a battery system on top.

@taylor95 - ok, if i say, got ~50 mile range of of this, so i save half my fuel cost on my commute, might add up to almost £1k per year.. still would take more than 10 years to break even

[Taylor95]

An EV with this technology would be cool. You would need to figure out the computer though.

Wow, that does not include batteries? That's a major expense. Hopefully the price goes down in the next five years which is when I would be wanting to buy this.

10-12 years would be a great payoff time, depending on how long you plan on keeping the vehicle. That is around the same time that solar panels on a home would pay off.

[Piotrsko]

Figure $2,000 for some automotive salvage pack, $1,000 for a decent 3ph A/C controller used