Edmunds.com | Inside Line | Auto Observer Your Account | Help | Directory
You are here:
![[F]](http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/webxicons/site.gif){kind=small}
Forums
Hybrid Vehicles Chevrolet Volt Will the Chevy Volt Succeed?
545 messages, Last post on Dec 02, 2009 at 12:57 PM
You are in the Chevrolet Volt Forum. Your Host is pf_flyer
|
Replying to: peralta (Sep 24, 2008 7:26 pm) They're saying 50mpg. If it hits that number it will be much better than a regular car. There is also talk of using On-Star so your Volt will always know how far it is away from home and attempt to to optimize its operation. I have a 19.2 mile each way commute... a nearly ideal Volt distance. I'm sure the engine would run occasionally, which is not necessarily a bad thing. It keeps things lubed and the gas fresh. Volts should have a program that runs them occasionally for that reason, even if you never exceed battery range. I'd think people considering Volts would ask themselves how often they would go over 40 miles without having charge access. For something like 80% of the population the answer would be "not often". |
|
|
Replying to: peralta (Sep 24, 2008 9:58 pm) That would be the most efficient way to use the ICE but I think it would add complexity, weight and cost. The ICE is not going to be powerful enough to be the sole source of propulsion in some driving conditions, eg accelerating, going up a grade. So you'd need the capability of being able to supplement the ICE with the electric motor. I think your previous suggestion where the ICE generator directly powers the electric motor and uses it's occasional surplus to keep the batteries at 30% SOC has a lot of merit and it doesn't sound like a monumental engineering feat to accomplish this. Who knows, maybe the Volt will be doing this to some extent. In addition to it's greater efficiency it would reduce charge cycles on the battery pack. However you'd still want to only operate the ICE in a narrow power range that represented it's peak efficiency.
|
|
|
Replying to: tpe (Sep 25, 2008 4:50 am) Not necessarily. Things quickly becomes complicated if it is multispeed transmiision but not in a single speed gear reduction system. Single speed gear reduction system is almost always used by electric motors to power the wheels (except for in-wheel motors). That same gear reduction can be shared with the ICE. "However you still want to only operate the ICE in a narrow power range that represented it's peak efficiency. " A 1.4 L turbo gas engine will probably make efficient horsepower from maybe 15 hp to 70 hp. Below 15 hp requirement as in stop and go, that is taken cared by the battery power and the engine is off (like the prius). Steady highway speed needs 15-30 hp. Assuming it has one fixed mechanical gear (as in top gear of a regular transmission), the electric motor will shoulder the extra boost needed for acceleration. In that case. say you want to drive all day long. The distance all day would probably 600 miles (60mph average over 10 hours). 40 miles of that distance will be handled by battery and 560 miles will be petrol. The battery part will take care of the stop and go situations and also on the occasional additional boosts on the highway.
|
|
|
Replying to: peralta (Sep 25, 2008 7:29 am)
|
|
|
Replying to: eaton53 (Sep 25, 2008 8:31 am)
|
|
|
Replying to: peralta (Sep 25, 2008 7:29 am) |
|
|
Replying to: tpe (Sep 25, 2008 8:34 am)
|
|
|
Replying to: eaton53 (Sep 25, 2008 11:12 am) With that said I don't quite understand the significance of OnStar or using GPS for calculating the distance to your destination/home. If once the battery pack is depleted to 30% it is maintained there what does it matter how far you are from home?
|
|
|
Replying to: tpe (Sep 25, 2008 11:40 am) "I can't understand why anyone would object to that." Only if they're irrational. I know I would not want to arrive home ready to plug in only to find out my car was fully charged. I want to use cheap electricity, not expensive gasoline! |
|
|
Replying to: tpe (Sep 25, 2008 11:40 am) If you travel 40 miles or less everyday, then you don't even need the ICE. You might as well add maybe 50-100 lbs of reserve battery and delete the ICE altogether. The ICE is a range extender, nothing more, but it is somehow expensive and still pollutes the air. The goal is to use grid electricity to charge the battery where it is cheaper rather than the ICE. If you travel say 200 miles, then it is best to use 1) battery power where it is most efficient and also 2) ICE where it is most efficient. 1) Battery is most efficient (financially) when it gets it's charge from the grid and not from ICE. It is also best for stop and go application portion of the long distance travel. It is also efficient on steady speed but it has limited range. 2) The ICE is most efficient if it powers the electric motors exclusively, and bypassing the batteries. It is also best if the car is already in motion and not stationary. With those presumptions, it is best that the battery will be depleted just in time when you arrive home for grid recharge. Going back to the subject of deleting the ICE. How much would it cost if you remove the ICE and in it's place, put additional 100 lbs of reserve battery (or shall we say range extender battery?)? Will it be cheaper and make more sense to go pure EV? By the way, the 1999 model Toyota electric RAV4 had a range of 120-130 miles per charge and it did not even used lthium batteries. It used EV95 NiM hydride batteries where the patent rights was then purchased by TEXACO. TEXACO subsquently denied production of more EV95 batteries and threatened the companies with electric vehicles on the road. No wonder, the car companies were scared and crushed their EV's despite public protest from leasee, owners and treehuggers. Speaking of EV RAV4, there are still some of them running and escaped the crushing. Some have more tha 150,000 miles on the odometer without battery problems.
|
|
You are here:
Forums
Hybrid Vehicles Chevrolet Volt Will the Chevy Volt Succeed?
New? Join Now!
Forum Tools
Search Forums
Browse by Vehicle
2011 Chevrolet Volt
Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
Today's Chats
