With all the talk about superchargers, turbos, intakes, and such, i was wondering if it would make more sense to remove the archaic internal combustion engine and replace it with an electric variety?
now, i am certainly not a master fabricator, or even just a fabricator, but i saw some guys on the Discovery channel turn out an old mail truck and made it a drag car.

It is just my thinking that since the engine bay is so small, that the best way to get more power to the ground would be to junk the VVT-i, and put in a bunch of batteries. I bet it would run as fast as the t-zero if done right.

(yes, i know there is more involved in replacing the engine than just swapping out the block for some 9volts )

Anyway, has anyone given this some thought, or actually accomplished it? I think it would be tight to be able to answer the stupid question of "is it a hybrid?" w/ a "no, it is electric" answer.

 

Battery power is possible. Just look at all the golf carts and wheel chair variations using batteries. However battery technology is not yet up to the uses the American automobile is put to. It might be possible to rig a battery powered dragster, but a utilitarian vehicle requires many batteries. The batteries are very heavy and bulky. There is no practical way to recharge sufficiently rapidly. For short commutes batteries would be sufficient if you did not require use of accessories like lights, heating and air conditioning all of which require gobs of power and make no miles.

 

nt

 

Even if power were not a problem, there is still the problem that most forms of non-combustion motivation lack torque to a very large degree. They can create power, but not torque.

Now you may argue that they have electromagnets that can very rapidly accelerate rollercoasters, and such. . . remember that they use a large number of these electro-magnets, and that most of them are stationary (in the ground or rails). In a car, you have to carry all your own weight (unless you wanted to modify every road with electromagnets for propulsion). These systems are very heavy, very bulky, and when incorporated onto the moving mass, very inefficient.

Now again, by stripping weight, and using expensive, inefficient allocation of resources, you can build a fast electric vehicle, but again the problem of power occurs. Battery technology is just not up to the job. . .

The "archaic" combustion engine is STILL one of the most efficient system we have to date. Oil prices really aren't even that bad. . . they aren't up because we are running out, they are up because global demand is up (thank the SUV craze, as well as China, and developing countries). But all hope is on fuel cell technologies to find a cleaner means to do the job. . . I hope they pull through.

But remember that "the latest and greates" can often be a flop as well. First it was diesel, then it was propane, then CNG, then diesel's again, and now hybrid's. Let markets do their work, and the most efficient system always prevails, so long as it remains a free market (not easy to do) and the gov't doesn't interfere (like investing inordinate sums of money in CNG vehicles that are now useless).

 

Electric motors have gobs and gobs of torque, and they make all of it from 0rpm on up. The Toyota Prius has 295ft-lb of torque and 67hp from the electric motor (the gas motor makes 76hp and 82ft-lb.)

 

295? Are you sure about that number? If so, then I stand corrected. . . and you are right about them generating torque from 0 RPM's. But also keep in mind that the hybrid's electrical drive train isn't very efficient, if it were an electric only car. The battery would probably be drained in less than an hour. From my understanding it uses the gas engine to accelerate and the electric motor to cruise.

 

I think the tq number is right, but its only that high way down low.

 

Not to mention, that hybrid or not, that energy came from gasoline. It may be recovered kinetic energy that would have otherwise been wasted, but the hybrid's really only maximize the efficiency of the gasoline engine.

I really like Fuel Cell technology. . . if only they could find an efficient, viable way to extract hydrogen from water

 

Where will you find the excess water in Southern California?

 

water is the most abundant resource on the planet. . . the problem with water here, is finding a source that is potable to humans, clean, fresh water.