The ultimate efficiency 4-passenger car

[dcb]

extra smart drive by wire, auto outriggers, whatever.

or just poo poo it due to lack of imagination.

Note, if it has more than two wheels, it aint "ultimate" in my book. Not for efficiencies sake anyway.

[NeilBlanchard]

Hi,

I think that if the wheels and tires were not inflated, but rather were steel hoops, and solid rubber tread -- the suspension could be tuned to provide the dampening AND the hydraulic pressure from the shocks could drive the alternator. This would:

1) Extremely low rolling resistance
2) regenerative energy from the suspension motion
3) greatly lowered parasitic drains on the engine because the alternator is driven by the suspension -- and the other things like A/C, oil pump, fuel pump, etc can be electrically driven

Also, I think a serial hybrid that had a cam-driven engine (which are about 40% efficient!), which has counter-rotating output shafts, could be used to directly spin the armature and the stator in opposite directions. This allows the engine to run at one constant RPM, and the torque required to do this is virtually constant, so the engine's combustion chambers and valve train can be optimized for this.

[aerohead]

I would recommend all members pick up a copy of the World Almanac.Not only is is handy for terrorist organs to plan the end of America,it also contains the statistics which support the notion,that America is doing a pretty good job of destroying itself without any outside intervention.------- Ernie,with respect to your thesis,I would call attention to the fact that in spite of CAFE,the American fleet is attaining less than 17-mpg.-------- One of the greatest sources of stress I've encountered,is the fact that fuel economy is not determined by the automobile,as it is by the environment in which it is operated within,which is completely beyond the control of automakers.-------- The tapestry of economic entanglements between producing/consuming/taxation/planning/permits/development/zoning/budgets/codes/advertising/credit/investment/pensions/employment/incorporation/growth/stability/regulation/legislation/politics/media/accounting/actuarials/public education/church/methodology/markets/resources/access/etc.,has grown to be such an incestuous and symbiotic organism,any attempt to alter any tentacle is met with harsh resistance from the rest.--------- I firmly do not believe that solutions to environmental challenges can be relied upon soley from technological innovation or full exploitation of known technology.------------ The entire public mind of America would require a complete shift,within the public,business,and elected/appointed/hired -goverment officials/employees arena.

[Big Dave]

Weren't we asked to keep it about the cars?

[Ernie Rogers]

Wow, Neil,

That was terrific creative thinking.

One day I tried to calculate the energy available from the shocks. It was just a wild guess of course--I got about 200 watts, decided that would be nice but couldn't replace the alternator without some big efficiency improvements in the accessory loads.

Ernie Rogers

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

Hi,

I think that if the wheels and tires were not inflated, but rather were steel hoops, and solid rubber tread -- the suspension could be tuned to provide the dampening AND the hydraulic pressure from the shocks could drive the alternator. This would:

1) Extremely low rolling resistance
2) regenerative energy from the suspension motion
3) greatly lowered parasitic drains on the engine because the alternator is driven by the suspension -- and the other things like A/C, oil pump, fuel pump, etc can be electrically driven

Also, I think a serial hybrid that had a cam-driven engine (which are about 40% efficient!), which has counter-rotating output shafts, could be used to directly spin the armature and the stator in opposite directions. This allows the engine to run at one constant RPM, and the torque required to do this is virtually constant, so the engine's combustion chambers and valve train can be optimized for this.

[NeilBlanchard]

Hi Ernie,

If our current inflated tires are (at least?) half of the suspension, and if the tires/wheels are made to be very low RR, then that means even more power is available from the suspension?

Also, if you build a serial hybrid, then the requirements for electrical power is reduced, and the whole thing is made to generate power, so an alternator is moot.

Have you guys seen the cam driven engine concept? This allows the engine to have it's torque maximized -- with a crankshaft and connecting rods, you are locked into the sinusoidal motion, which is poorly matched to the timing of peak power being produced in the combustion chamber.

The other huge advantage of a serial hybrid is that you can run the engine at a set RPM at it's peak efficiency, and there is no clutch or transmission losses.