See, this is what you get when a robotics engineer and a computer programmer sit down at Denny's for four hours.
I've got a simple '93 Honda del Sol S, stock everything, sweet as hell. I also live in Arizona. I want to do something fun with my car, but performance racing just seems too... 'stock', I suppose.
So, a truly novel idea struck: Arizona will reimburse up to $4000 ( I think ) to any vehicle owner who converts their vehicle to alternative fuel, or high fuel efficiency.
So... what would it take, besides mounting disc motors in the rear wheels, filling half the trunk with batteries, and beefing up the alternator to levels that would bring a tear to Victor von Frankenstein's eye, to convert my del Sol to a hybrid/electric? The goal is to have the little 105hp engine act as the power source, which applies power directly to the front wheels (in case of emergency failure of the electrics) and charges the battery array, which feeds power to the fully electric back wheels. I can handle all the synchronization and power distribution issues, as well as the electronic control system and most of the wiring. The real trick is going to be the bare mechanicals - engaging and disengaging the electrics at the right time to use the optimal drivetrain for any speed/rpm.
The current vision is to have the electrics take over at low engine RPM, or any time extra torque is required, but have the gas engine take over completely whenever the electrics threaten to eat more acceleration than they provide. Thus, the vehicle performs as a standard FWD del Sol (with something heavy in the trunk) by default, but off-the-line acceleration is boosted by electric motors, and forward momentum is reclaimed by the electrics during braking. With a car as light as the del Sol, 60+ MPG should be possible, and the performance hit shouldn't be too bad at all (assuming I get it all working right). Any performance loss should be amply made up for by the full 4WD capability.
Comments? Suggestions? Wails of horror and revulsion?
I've got a simple '93 Honda del Sol S, stock everything, sweet as hell. I also live in Arizona. I want to do something fun with my car, but performance racing just seems too... 'stock', I suppose.
So, a truly novel idea struck: Arizona will reimburse up to $4000 ( I think ) to any vehicle owner who converts their vehicle to alternative fuel, or high fuel efficiency.
So... what would it take, besides mounting disc motors in the rear wheels, filling half the trunk with batteries, and beefing up the alternator to levels that would bring a tear to Victor von Frankenstein's eye, to convert my del Sol to a hybrid/electric? The goal is to have the little 105hp engine act as the power source, which applies power directly to the front wheels (in case of emergency failure of the electrics) and charges the battery array, which feeds power to the fully electric back wheels. I can handle all the synchronization and power distribution issues, as well as the electronic control system and most of the wiring. The real trick is going to be the bare mechanicals - engaging and disengaging the electrics at the right time to use the optimal drivetrain for any speed/rpm.
The current vision is to have the electrics take over at low engine RPM, or any time extra torque is required, but have the gas engine take over completely whenever the electrics threaten to eat more acceleration than they provide. Thus, the vehicle performs as a standard FWD del Sol (with something heavy in the trunk) by default, but off-the-line acceleration is boosted by electric motors, and forward momentum is reclaimed by the electrics during braking. With a car as light as the del Sol, 60+ MPG should be possible, and the performance hit shouldn't be too bad at all (assuming I get it all working right). Any performance loss should be amply made up for by the full 4WD capability.
Comments? Suggestions? Wails of horror and revulsion?