Re:The Case Against More Ethanol (2016)
by kayodelycaon on Monday November 02, 2020 @12:52PM
(#24970896)
Why have the ICE be strictly a generator? If you have one, it’s far more efficient to use it to drive the wheels. Toyota’s Prius effectively does this using batteries during periods when using the ICE would be inefficient. (Generally, it isn’t perfect.)
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Re:The Case Against More Ethanol (2016)
by VBprogrammer on Monday November 02, 2020 @01:32PM
(#24971385)
> If you have one, it’s far more efficient to use it to drive the wheels.
I don't think this is as cut and dried as you think. Generators are ~90% efficient. Gearboxes and differentials aren't 100% efficient either. If you are already carrying enough motor to propel you without an engine then you can size the ICE closer to average load than peak load potentially getting back a bit of efficiency.
The idea is that you can tune/simplify the motor to run at one or a few RPMs, and also simplify the drive train.