VW Hybrid Diesel

[vordejo]

As you may have heard VW is considering building a hybrid diesel vehicle to help the cause sign this petition:

http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/VWHYBRIDIESEL

[Mr_Diesel]

Signed! :)

[bmor]

done. Sounds very interesting. Any links to further details?

[Kroni]

Want to see a Hybrid VW right now? Check this out!

http://www.mrsharkey.com/pusher.htm

[twig]

i think he might have done something to the suspension to hold those batteries eh? cool idea. i still don't understand how it wouldn't get squirly when pushed by the trailer tho.

[Kroni]

I would definately like to check it in person, mabey go for a ride or something. I would think if the tongue did not have a piviot point, made a soild connection to the back of the car it wouldn't get squirly while pushing.

[twig]

that would wreak havoc on the tires of the trailer though when he turns. unless he went all out and has that all hooked up somehow too

[Mr_Diesel]

That's an interesting way to do it for sure!... Except I would have done it the other way around. The electric should be the one pushing. One could even expand on that idea and do some kind of solar pusher... covering the hood in solar panels maybe? It's neat that he/she did this but I don't think it's practical.

[twig]

hmmm. i think i might look into that. solar panels on the hood and roof of the car (trunk if u have a jetta, not so practical for a golf), would look pretty cool, almost carbon fibre looking.(even tho i'm not a huge fan of cf)

now...all i need is a car, money, solar panels, time, a garage, parts, tools and a team of professional mechanics and i'm all set.

[Kroni]

The pusher has a stock automatic tranny so when he turns the car one of the trailer wheels is pushing while the other just rolls, just like when you drive your car and take a corner. Therefore, with a solid tongue, he can push the car without getting squirly or eating up the pusher tires.

As far as the solar part goes, the panels would help a little in recharging the batteries while parked, but there are not panels available that are efficient enought to convert enought sunlight to make any appriciable difference while driving. Its still a good idea to install solar panel on it, but only to help offset the cost of plugging in while recharging. A regenerative braking system, as of now, is the best option for generating while driving.

[Mr_Diesel]

I mean... I understand what the pusher means... as far as "other ways to do it" but is it really that efficient? I mean, the pusher probably kills aerodynamic flow and adds a lot of mechanical drag. I guess his main point for having it is to increase the range of his electric car, not to be the most efficient car in the world. There are many better ways to do this, I think. Another take is the leave the diesel under the hood use the rear end from a syncro for the electrics. The rear wheels pushing the car when the engine is off. This way might make it easy to do a mainstream type of hybrid... Use a fluid couple that you can disengage/engage on a the fly and use the electric motor to charge the batteries... and of course some solar panels to aid in charging. Also, the alternator for the diesel engine could be made to charge the battery array while the engine is idle like at a stoplight. This could make use of the energy used to idle the engine without having to figure out a good way to turn off the engine at every stop.

[Kroni]

I think I pretty much agree...;) I believe his diesel pusher is used to extent his range. His article explains the various combos of using the diesel/batteries do achieve differnt things. I think its a pretty cool experiment. I wish I had the time and matrials to start playing around with ideas like that.

If you think thats cool, dig this!

http://www.oldengine.org/members/jdunmyer/genset/