[carbonBLUE]

Originally Posted by Calum

There's been a lot talk about this from BMW aswell, though I haven't seen anything in a while. One of the biggest problems was moving the electrical power around at the current 12 volt automotive standard. A few OEM's were lobbying to move to 48 volt systems, or even 48 volt partial systems. It seemed from what I read that the infrastructure became a lot more manageable at the voltage.

Originally Posted by Shankenstein

Purely hypothetical discussion ahead. Turn back all ye who may say "this is stupid!"

If an exhaust turbine and wastegate are installed on our engine, what is an example of turbine shaft torque and speed? How much energy (temperature and pressure above atmospheric) can be used for regeneration?

Two options for generating power:
- gear down heavily and employ a high-output alternator
- run a DC electric motor in reverse

Similarly, can an intake compressor be run from a DC motor? Not talking the tiny electric superchargers on eBay... I'm talking voltage step-up + 1/2 hp dc motor + centrifugal/twin screw compressor (a la Vortech).

The idea has been tossed around by Subaru: HERE for the next WRX.

I'm just trying to wrap my head around how challenging this would be.

Potential issues:
- Sizing a battery/capacitor bank
- Management of alternator clutching
- Management of battery/capacitor bank discharge rate
- Integrated BOV with instant pressure relief (compressor motor braking)
- Cost and hardware weight would be high.

Potential awesome:
- No lag, as long as you've got battery power.
- Boost pressure can be closely controlled via dedicated feedback controller.
- The system can be switched to "ECO" mode for regenerating energy to supplement the alternator (would require an isolator for starting battery).
- The system can be switched off completely.
- Combination of the above. ECO mode during low load, low rpm driving. Instantly switch on above X% load.

Comments? Discussion?

or you could go with a heavy flywheel, bolt a supercharger to the flywheel just as the starter is, then you dont have to worry about belts!



or strap an alternator to the flywheel in the same fashion, vary voltage depending on how much power you need to run the electric supercharger. This way you can create instant boost at any rpm. this means you can run any psi at any given rpm