Just spotted this on UTube and it is AWESOME! It is an Electric Ariel Atom.
Electric Car
O
WOW COOL
wow
...watch it spank a Enzo and a Porsche. Gotta love it when he is spanking it around the cones too!
Electric Car 2
So in twenty years we will be asking how to charge up EEC's then.
That's why my next car will be electric. Anyone seen any of those in-wheel motors in a scrappy lately?
Hah - don't get me started on in-wheel motors.....
Unsprung weight & all that.
They really ought to apply their ingenuity to something useful!
It never worked - even on trains (TAIM got nowhere). I'd put money on no successful automotive application in the next 30 years. It's
b***s**t, by amateurs, to get media attention IMHO. Seen on concept cars the world over.....
Bob
Would be great for noise test at track days though
I saw an electric car recently where you can download engine sounds so it doesn't just sound like an overgrown Scalextric car.
If this is the future of alternative engine technology then maybe I won't be so sad to kiss goodbye to the old internal combustion engine.
Pete
quote:
Originally posted by Bob C
Hah - don't get me started on in-wheel motors.....
Unsprung weight & all that.
They really ought to apply their ingenuity to something useful!
But in reality you still need brakes (discs 7 calipers) for safety - yes you can brake electrically but it's a case of having all you eggs in one
basket 8^) There will be full size wheel bearings somewhere, & any 18kg 25kW motor is going to be spining like a good 'un so it'll
need a hi torque, hi ratio gearbox & its associated housing & lubrication.
A 25kW industrial TEFC induction motor weighs (say) 150kg.
You'll notice the fashion in "real" ECs is now to use induction motors - probably because of safety concerns with brushless DC - and
these things are always bigger because of their reduced efficiency (they have to be a bigger heatsink) - I'm thinking of the tesla & that
atom above.
If I was doing the chassis for the kitten project from scratch I would use a motor for each back wheel - but with driveshafts and CV joints in a
dedion arrangement - you can then use the induction motor slip to give you an excellent free LSD......
I've seen "pancake & PCB armature motors proposed for motor in hub applications, but they've never been close to practical - the
most realistic was for spinning up plane wheels prior to landing to reduce wear & blowouts.
I'd be interested to see any URLs with techie style info on these applications though!
cheers
Bob
hipa drive
The HyPa drive range is more powerful and heavier than their other ranges but are quite interesting. The triple redundancy on the brakes means that
you don't need any mechanical brakes, save for a hand brake which is available built in.
The smallest 18kg version won't make your wheel too heavy and with 1 in each wheel, you'll have 214 BHP. Plenty. And with built in
traction control per wheel, you don't have to worry about LSDs.
Key features:
# Full regenerative braking down to very low speed
# Full holding torque at zero speed
# Wide speed range
# Built in brake resistor (for full charge regeneration situations)
# Hand / parking brake option available
# Heavy duty bearing system
As for brushless DC motors, we've use them in our electric steering product for years. They are supremely reliable.
Interesting stuff - I'll definately be checking their prices tomorrow.... Their weight data is inconsistent in the web page with a 26kg per wheel
figure for the drive package on the mini looking most credible - marvelous for a 100kW+ drive& motor! By comparison the unspring weight on my
locost is 31kg per corner including wheel, tyre, drive, brakes, spring/damper and the cycle wings at the front. So I'd estimate at least 50%
increase c.w. the locost, but status quo c.w. the live axle kitten(!)
They avoid the safety issue by staying below base speed (no field weakening). Their braking performance vs. safety claims don't quite add up but
that's to be expected for a sales outlet like a webpage - and assuming I've understood their blurb!
It's also unclear on the web but I'm extremely dubious that VOSA would let them on the queens highway with no proper brakes! ;^) The
photos seem to have license plates but they probably carry adverts.
cheers
Bob
mhhh
i think that mounting the motor etc. in the wheel isn't a good bet, all the vibrations and beef wich the motor then will get???
don't forget that an driveshaft drives the wheel without taking any grunt.
also i think atleast the handbrake would needs to be mecanical if it is electric
working then the electricity could drain the battery sow not really safe in my opinion.
i would just use front brakes alla wilwood.
and at the rear i would use the motors.
hopeing the bumps won't destroy the motor bearings...etc..