Orbis Wheel

[Xist]

Originally Posted by Taylor95

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?

Are we talking about an F150? If you have all of the numbers, you can use this to calculate how many horsepower your car needs: https://ecomodder.com/forum/tool-aer...resistance.php

I could not find all of the numbers for an F-150, so I am just quoting this:

Originally Posted by darcane

Power required to overcome aerodynamic drag is proportional to velocity cubed. If you know how much power is needed at a specific speed to overcome aero drag, you can figure it out at other speeds.

If it takes 12hp to keep your car going at 60mph on level ground (assume 10hp for aero, 2hp for rolling resistance) you'll need 24hp at 80mph and 46hp at 100 just to overcome aero drag.

Rolling resistance is directly proportional to velocity, so it would be about 26hp and 50hp total, respectively.

https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...tml#post376742

I do not know for what weight vehicle the 12 HP figure would be accurate, but let's take my 1,075 kg and 115-pound HX, remove the back seat, drop in a 540 kg Tesla battery, and now I have a 1,615 kg 225 HP 2-seater that needs a suspension upgrade.

Now I need 18 HP at 60 MPH and... what is the point of a car like this? To need to fill up and charge, which I really do not think you would want to do at the same time?

[Taylor95]

Originally Posted by Xist

Are we talking about an F150? If you have all of the numbers, you can use this to calculate how many horsepower your car needs: https://ecomodder.com/forum/tool-aer...resistance.php

I could not find all of the numbers for an F-150, so I am just quoting this:
https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...tml#post376742

I do not know for what weight vehicle the 12 HP figure would be accurate, but let's take my 1,075 kg and 115-pound HX, remove the back seat, drop in a 540 kg Tesla battery, and now I have a 1,615 kg 225 HP 2-seater that needs a suspension upgrade.

Now I need 18 HP at 60 MPH and... what is the point of a car like this? To need to fill up and charge, which I really do not think you would want to do at the same time?

Does this system need to be charged? If so, that takes away most of the value I placed on Orbis. I thought it would be like a regular hybrid. I haven't come across anything that said it needs to be charged.

I actually have a Silverado in mind, which is pretty similar in terms of weight and cd. It would be used for towing occasionally as well as being a daily. Having the orbis wheels would be great on this--as long as charging is not a requirement.

In my experience, increasing horsepower will increase mpg as long as you don't drive the vehicle aggressively in most applications.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by Taylor95

Does this system need to be charged? ...

They were never very direct about that, even though they talk about EV only operation. Since they have sold some rights to something like a venture capital firm, rather than continuing to market, I think we can see where they were finessing their reporting to the public. They also gave the impression that it could work seamlessly as AWD with the existing throttle and such but never explained the motor controller or throttling in any detail. We'll see if it ever really comes to market now. They musta just gotten quite a payday.

[Xist]

It needs to be powered somehow. If they developed a Mr. Fusion that is a much bigger deal than this.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by Xist

... Mr. Fusion ...

lol

[Taylor95]

Why can't the engine charge the batteries? Isn't that how a prius works?

[Xist]

The Prius HSD has two motor-generators, call MG1 and MG2. MG1 is smallish and used to spin the ICE and to transfer power from the ICE to MG2. MG2 is larger and is used as a prime mover and for regenerative braking. Both MG1 and MG2 are sometimes used as electric motors, and sometimes as generators. The electricity generated from MG1 and MG2 is either used to move the car or charge the HV (traction) battery. The small 12V battery, which is like the battery on a "normal" car, is charged from the HV battery by means of a DC to DC converter, which steps down the high voltage to that of the 12V battery. The DC to DC converter also supplies the 12V accessory needs when the Prius is in run mode (lights, radio, MFD, etc.).

https://priuschat.com/threads/altern...9/#post-558162

A standard alternator would be absolutely inadequate. If Orbis Wheels worked, they should be able to provide regenerative braking, but you would need a far more powerful alternator to charge the battery the rest of the time, and the Toyota system uses the "alternators" as motors, too.

[California98Civic]

The last post in this thread is almost two years old. At the time, it looked like the company had gone dark because they had suddenly pulled the product for new orders.

But they're still here, it seems, with a website updated this year and a San Francisco Bay Area address (Mill Valley, CA): https://orbisdriven.com

And a video with clips of more recent testing is on YouTube (new road testing/demo video starts at 3:27 and runs for about a minute and a half):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEpP5lmnz8Q

Still, given their claims... their youtube channel is oddly quiet: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFO...TLf1h5Uzc9YCAw

Seems the pandemic halted their wheel development and shifted them to COVID mask innovation attempts.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by California98Civic

I wondered about something similar. It seems to me there's a risk the road debris such as rocks and other crap that might be on the road getting in there and wreaking havoc with that ring gear. I would think a protective plastic cover for the back would be important. It would prevent airflow passing through the wheel, reducing brake cooling, but also reducing road debris risks.

Let's suppose a similar mechanism could be encased within some sort of oversized brake drum, I could see it being easier to promote for usage on commercial vehicles, even in a rougher environment. On a sidenote, regenerative braking would also lead to fewer wear to the service brakes.

[IsaacCarlson]

Sorry, this sounds like the flying car.....something of a novelty but completely useless. They tout less unsprung weight and then add 31 lbs to each wheel! All the moving parts and failure points make me cringe. A simple bearing is much simpler and is not prone to failure from dust, rocks, ice, snow, etc... How fast do those little idler wheels turn??? Holy crap. 4 watts my foot. Friction is proportional to rpm in a rotating assembly. I will happily stick with a central spindle and bearing.