KERS Hybrid FR-S High Performance Model Reportedly in Development!

[Grishbok]

I think KERS is still a long ways off from the public market. There are serious technical hurtles to overcome with the systems. They work great in f1, however there have been numberous failures/explosions/fires with the kers systems. I think theory and idea are 100% correct, but the technology needs to be refined to work.

[Apex Chase]

Originally Posted by Hippophobia

The biggest thing that kills me about the hybrids and electrics is their lack of sensation. That Porsche 918 hybrid is a great example. He was running it in "Silent Mode" and he was just driving, then turned on "Race Mode" and you knew he was blasting in a sports car. I love the smell of a badass race car. I love the sound of internal combustion. I love the rumble and vibration of a powerful engine. Electrics will give you a little whine and away you go. I respect it for it's efficiency and acknowledge it can perform. But I want my race car to be a race car. Not a remote control toy.

Nail, meet Hippophobia and his hammer.

[RaceR]

He dismisses a turbocharger: “I think 300-HP with a turbo would be tasteless in this day and age. If we pursue power without regard to fuel consumption, the market won’t accept it. And a turbo would mean the loss of the GT86′s uniqueness.”

A less efficient higher powered 86 would not sell at all where im from..
So in my country, the market would not accept it. But most other markets currently would.

If they only add 50-100kg. Gets fuel efficiency down from 181g CO2 to 100g or lower (EU numbers) that would be impressive. And then adding needed torque and give a nice bump in HP, than it would be quite awesome! And unique!
There is a high probability they will actually make a hybrid. Toyota seem to be aiming on a future line-up where basically all models are hybrids.
Either way, exiting stuff!

[ft86Fan]

I somehow don't feel that this kind of technology is a good fit for a car like the 86. The 86 is all about a lightweight simple pure sports car but I like to keep my mind open and see what they come up with.

[Calais]

interesting i wouldnt mind seeing it in the 86/FRS/BRZ and in the latter the power from the KERS system could be sent to the front wheels instead of the rear, making it the AWD Subaru the purists have been wanting, even if it is for all of 10-30 seconds at a time

[RaceR]

Originally Posted by Calais

interesting i wouldnt mind seeing it in the 86/FRS/BRZ and in the latter the power from the KERS system could be sent to the front wheels instead of the rear, making it the AWD Subaru the purists have been wanting, even if it is for all of 10-30 seconds at a time

AWD?


Luckily im not even worried they would try to do something stupid with the BRZ. Its a sports car.
Subaru already have cars with say.. AWD, 250-300 hp.. Making BRZ with kinda the same specs would just make some crowd unhappy and not buy the car, and another crowd buy BRZ instead of WRX. No real economic benefit there.

[bunny86]

Originally Posted by ft86Fan

I somehow don't feel that this kind of technology is a good fit for a car like the 86.

As far as I can see it is a perfect fit; energy gained from braking and then fed back to boost acceleration? Given the experience Toyota have had with the TS030 and the HV-R Supra I would not be surprised to see this in our car a lot sooner than expected.

[zigzagz94]

Honestly I'd rather they try and perfect this KERS technology with the next gen Supra and just give me the supercharged FT-86. Experimental tech can be justified on a Halo model like the Supra which will also come in at a higher price tag. Keep the FT-86 simple and relatively cheap...now TRD spill the beans on the cost and dyno info on your bolt on factory warrantied supercharger.

[track_warrior]

Im more of a purist so this is what i think of hybrids:

[madfast]

everybody calm down. there is little to no chance of this ever making production. in order for them to make a hybrid with a 6 speed, they would have to use the honda IMA style of hybrid. i cannot see this happening. they would have to develop a brand new hybrid system totally separate and opposed to their current hybrid technology. it just doesnt make sense. this is likely nothing more than a study/experiment...

however, as others have said already, if this is the next gen supra we're talking about, only then can i see them parlaying their TS030 tech into a new halo car...

[serialk11r]

Originally Posted by Ryephile

*Sploosh*

This would put me over the edge in finally getting an FR-S. Here's what I'd do:

*Revised cam phasing to do Atkinson-esque cycle on low-load/cruising
*IMA [Honda style] replacing the flywheel with a one-way bearing that allows for stop-n-go driving to operate on electric only.
*relatively small battery pack [let's say 1KWh] in the rear seat footwells, rear seats deleted with a carbon fiber luggage shelf.
*225 HP combined, 225 LbFt torque!

Cam phasing is already "maxing out" the intake cam in that respect, it's able to put the intake opening point well after TDC! All cars with cam phasing drop to maximum retarded position under low load.

We'll see what happens to the tuned cars with rev limiters raised to 8000rpm, if they do okay then a regrind on the intake cam making it a ~280 degree nominal lift cam should bump the peak efficiency into 2ZR-FXE territory, while unlocking a bit more peak power. Extremely biased powerband, because racecar

I doubt IMA style hybrid will happen, just because Toyota doesn't seem to like that sort of thing. The TS030 I believe has a completely independent electric propulsion system. It doesn't need an electric motor on the engine since it's a racecar and there would be little use. The freewheel thing isn't going to happen since mild hybrid setups rely on the motor to generate electricity, and so having the engine idle would not produce power! It's too complicated to have the average consumer control manually. EDIT: Okay no, the TS030 sends power to the back wheels...I'm guessing they have very lightweight generators on the front wheels.

The setups that I think we will see as far as "sports hybrids" go are the following:
Basic start-stop and weak regenerative capability on conventional powertrain will be standard very, very soon.
1. Traditional mild hybrid powertrain.
2. Traditional mild hybrid powertrain + independent electric propulsion on the formerly undriven wheels.
3. Basic start stop and weak regeneration + independent electric propulsion.
4. Fully automated THS-like system.

I think that mild hybrid + independent electric propulsion will only find its way into high dollar cars because it costs a bit more money to have the mild hybrid system play nice with the gas engine, while the independent electric propulsion system is going to give you most of the fuel economy benefit. Number 3 is the easiest to "retrofit" to an existing platform, just bolt motors to the spindles, have an appropriately programmed controller with some basic communications to the ECU, stuff some batteries/capacitors/whatever into the back. Option 1 is not as great from a cost/benefit point of view in some sense, because routing power back into the motor-generator is a more delicate task, and having to turn at engine speed is not ideal.

I might be wrong though, the cars equipped with number 2. (Porsche 918, new NSX) could have their tech "trickle down".

[Exhaust]

If he goes through with this. Toyota could instantly change the industry.

[dem00n]

Originally Posted by pcasso87

Im more of a purist so this is what i think of hybrids:

But Hybrid tech has been around for more then a 100 years, even Ferdinand Porsche worked on it. Which is one of the main reasons the 918 came out.

I think people need to rework how they think, Hybrids aren't Prius MPG saving tech. It has so much potential but people dismiss it because they have no idea what their talking about.

Its things like this are why the car culture is a dying breed, we aren't allowing new technology to expand and become more versatile.

[Billy2224]

Originally Posted by LarryGP

A performance hybrid would be a blast to drive. Added torque from zero RPM, adjustable regen braking for more aggressive stopping power, plus you get to hear this every time you pull away from a light:

Toyota always starts their LMP1 car on electric power only from the pit lane, and then bump-start the IC engine, to reduce wear the wear on the clutch for long endurance races. It's a pretty cool little trick, and sounds awesome.

extreme case of "VTEC just kicked in yo"??