BRZ Hybrid!?

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by kch

No gearing, per se. Each rear motor has a reduction gear of sorts, and that's it. No shifting, no final drive, no gearshifts.

So many people just do not understand that electric vehicles do not use gears or any form of traditional transmission. They don't need to since in theory the electric motors speed is only restricted by the amount of power available. Internal combustion engines are restricted to how fast they can turn over by their very nature so you need a method to take that relatively slow speed and increase it to usable levels. Electric motors just go faster and faster. You can even just stop and reverse the motor whenever you like with no risk of damage. Of course this is a really bad idea if traveling at speed though. I alway get the strangest looks when doing forklift training and I point to the pedal on the floor that has forward and reverse all in one unit. A good forklift driver can go all day and never touch the brakes but just control his whole speed by switching to reverse while moving.

[Stratoside]

Originally Posted by SmileyMe

Honestly this would be my like super long term dream. To do an electric engine swap in like 5 years when the batteries are better and I can afford to play around.

you don't just swap gasoline engine with electric motor, doesn't work like that

you are going to be swapping pretty much every single moving parts of the car if you want to convert it to electric vehicle, if possible at all

even if you do that, where would you put the batteries?
how are you going to charge it? have to take out the gas fuel tank and stuff
are you going to be adding regenerative braking? what's going to control that?
probably have to get new ABS
new computer to control the motor too
have to take out the transmission and the exhaust as well

too much work and not worth the money

[GeorgeJFrick]

Originally Posted by Stratoside

you don't just swap gasoline engine with electric motor, doesn't work like that

you are going to be swapping pretty much every single moving parts of the car if you want to convert it to electric vehicle, if possible at all

even if you do that, where would you put the batteries?
how are you going to charge it? have to take out the gas fuel tank and stuff
are you going to be adding regenerative braking? what's going to control that?
probably have to get new ABS
new computer to control the motor too
have to take out the transmission and the exhaust as well

too much work and not worth the money

Actually, I think you'll see commercial conversion kits at some point. Once you remove the exhaust system, gas tank, etc; most cars will have some room to work with.

Not trying to say it will be easy or awesome, but someone will think it's fun/worth it to convert their car.

Edit: I mean universal/sized kits, not kits for BRZs.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by GeorgeJFrick

Actually, I think you'll see commercial conversion kits at some point. Once you remove the exhaust system, gas tank, etc; most cars will have some room to work with.

Not trying to say it will be easy or awesome, but someone will think it's fun/worth it to convert their car.

Edit: I mean universal/sized kits, not kits for BRZs.

Nope don't see it. As was pointed out there is very little the same between the two systems. Electric (electric only not hybrids)cars are not just a motor that drives the wheels like IC.

[nisti]

For what it's worth, I just received a survey from SOA for my 2016 BRZ.
One of the questions asked if I had considered other trim levels besides the one I bought.
And in parenthesis said this:
(Premium, Limited, Premium Hybrid Turbo)

Not sure if that was a mistake, or a nip-slip.

[PandaSPUR]

Originally Posted by GeorgeJFrick

Actually, I think you'll see commercial conversion kits at some point. Once you remove the exhaust system, gas tank, etc; most cars will have some room to work with.

Not trying to say it will be easy or awesome, but someone will think it's fun/worth it to convert their car.

Edit: I mean universal/sized kits, not kits for BRZs.

Its not just the exhaust, gas tank and engine you're removing though. You're removing the entire powertrain. Engine, transmission, drive shaft, LSD, rear axle, etc.

Such kits will probably also never be street legal or cost way too much for a company to make a street legal kit since batteries can be a huge fire hazard.

[GeorgeJFrick]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Nope don't see it. As was pointed out there is very little the same between the two systems. Electric (electric only not hybrids)cars are not just a motor that drives the wheels like IC.

http://e-volks.com/index.html?

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by GeorgeJFrick

http://e-volks.com/index.html?

Notice the size and vintage of those cars. Yes, you could convert as a novelty sort of thing but those kits are little more that golf cart systems adapted to very, very limited use cars. They are not practical application vehicles.

[extrashaky]

Wow. Neato. They took a car that is almost perfectly balanced front and rear, added 100 lbs and shifted almost all the drive train weight from the front to the center and rear. This thing would handle like shit. More than a few people would put it in a ditch the first time they took it out on a winding road when the front wheels cut loose in a turn.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

Wow. Neato. They took a car that is almost perfectly balanced front and rear, added 100 lbs and shifted almost all the drive train weight from the front to the center and rear. This thing would handle like shit. More than a few people would put it in a ditch the first time they took it out on a winding road when the front wheels cut loose in a turn.

Meh I didn't even bother going down that road since slapping an electric motor into a standard drive train car is not really making a viable electric car in any way shape or form anyway. It is simply changing the power source resulting in short unsustainable drives. Be OK for a couple of laps around a track and then done until charged again anyway.

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Meh I didn't even bother going down that road since slapping an electric motor into a standard drive train car is not really making a viable electric car in any way shape or form anyway. It is simply changing the power source resulting in short unsustainable drives. Be OK for a couple of laps around a track and then done until charged again anyway.

The Jalopnik article says it's a plug in hybrid with an initial range of 50 miles before needing the snowmobile engine mounted up front to recharge a battery pack sitting in the transmission tunnel. It should be every bit as viable as any other hybrid.

They say their goal was to show auto manufacturers that a sexy performance hybrid was possible. They're a little late on that. There are already several hybrid sports cars on the market. They are fixated on a question that has already been answered.

But while their end result may be sexy, but the only performance they have considered is straight line acceleration. Yawn. To get it they basically ruined the handling.

All around I call this a fail. They should have just stuck to calling this what it really was: a vanity project for their tech program that will end up getting parted out.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

The Jalopnik article says it's a plug in hybrid with an initial range of 50 miles before needing the snowmobile engine mounted up front to recharge a battery pack sitting in the transmission tunnel. It should be every bit as viable as any other hybrid.

They say their goal was to show auto manufacturers that a sexy performance hybrid was possible. They're a little late on that. There are already several hybrid sports cars on the market. They are fixated on a question that has already been answered.

But while their end result may be sexy, but the only performance they have considered is straight line acceleration. Yawn. To get it they basically ruined the handling.

All around I call this a fail. They should have just stuck to calling this what it really was: a vanity project for their tech program that will end up getting parted out.

LOL When I read it I must have scrolled past the part that said about the charging engine! I have been talking straight electric cars throughout this thread and now feel a little silly! Ya, totally viable as a hybrid (how did I miss all the hybrid references? GEEEEEZ)

[EZBRZY]

My favorite part of the 2nd video - "outperforms today's car's, hands down".... as it passes a ~2002 chevy camaro

[krayzie]

There's already a hybrid 2000GT in Japan last year.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzCTVc4hz8I"]Rocky Auto RHV -TOYOTA 2000GT-HV SUPER REPLICA- 試乗 - YouTube[/ame]