SAVAGEJIM
Posts: 4737
Joined: 7/6/2005
From: behind my 'puter, USA
Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: dsales
Firstly a dirtbike is a very light vehicle compared to a car, so it gets a good power to weight ratio and milage. Its like saying my Kyosho Fazer is fast and efficient with a .15 but that engine just wont work on a MGT or Savage as they are too heavy.
SavageJim, the reason there are no hybrid-diesel cars around at the moment is because a diesel engine is much heavier than a petrol one and diesel is a much dirtier fuel for the enviroment, so the electric motor pulling the diesel car around will find it very difficult to and wont go very far without running out of power due to the extra weight of the diesel motor and the electric one itself and as diesel fuel burns much less cleanly the car just wont benefit the enviroment.
In yes, liter for liter (or ci for ci), diesel engines of the same displaemnt as its gasoline counterpart will be heavier. But diesel engines have a serious advantage: torque. So, design a diesel engine of a smaller displacement such that it makes the same ft-lbf (or N-m) as its gasoline counterpart, and you will literally mitigate the weight.
Additionally, there are new cleaner diesel technologies in the US now, and these things, to meet much stricted US Federal laws, put out 15PPM or sulfur than before. All diesels sold in the US starting at 2008 must meet these standards, and these engines still put out gobs more torque than their counterpart gasoline engines.
Yes, diesel engines are heavier, but hopefully the car makers will sopn have beter electric tech coming up, such as AC driven traction motors and traction motors that are totally independedt of the engine (i.e. the engine does not drive the wheels in any manner, the drivetrain is powered solely by the traction motor (or motors). The engine only has the job to turn the alternator to power the entire car. Batteries also have a long ways to go, but Li-Ion is starting to hit the scene if I remember correctly. Most hybrids use NiMH now, but I will not be surprised for carmakers to offer Li-Ion upgrades. Also, as the capacity of batts go up, I will not be surprised to see the standard batt capacity seeing several hundreds of amphers (that would be 100,000 of mAh). Batteries that can boost the range of a hybrid's traction motors to about at least 200mi would actually open the door to full electric vehicles that are viable for dirving out of town. But mate an engine to turn on and recharge the bats and turn the alternator to power the traction motors, and that car probably can see a 500mi + driving range before having to plug in again or fuel up again.
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I hate stray Tomcats
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All Forums >> RC Cars, Buggies, Trucks, Tanks and more >> Off Topic Forum - Cars, Trucks, Buggies and more >> RE: Environmental Awareness Day... 
RE: Environmental Awareness Day... - 
lol, whoa there TB. 
