why wouldn't range extenders like fisker be more common? is it possible to turn your old gas engine into a generator that would charge a few batteries thats connected to an electric motor that drives the rear axle? while the gas motor runs everything on the timing belt only(disconnect tranny)
This topic was beat to death on the forum, TLDR:
whats wrong with series hybrids EV
Nothing wrong with them.
All Nissan hybrids are series hybrids,
new Honda Hybrids are series hybrids with one highway gear,
and my previous car, a Kia Niro hybrid operated most of the time precisely in that way.
Per Scotty, The issue is that this approach is less efficient on highway cruising than a convectional one.
And I'd also add that having the ability to connect the engine for additional torque and power is always nice.
why wouldn't range extenders like fisker be more common?
It's simple, hybrid systems like the Toyota HSD don't have any of the drawbacks of a series hybrid and allow for the car to operate as a series hybrid in cases where they deem that's the best way.
is it possible to turn your old gas engine into a generator that would charge a few batteries thats connected to an electric motor that drives the rear axle? while the gas motor runs everything on the timing belt only(disconnect tranny)
You're not going to save on gas that way. most of the gas these systems save are just on stop-start.
These janky modified petrol cars with batteries in the spare wheel well are called "Mild Hybrids",
The way the save gas is by adding power through the when the engine otherwise would have to run at a high-rpm in an inefficient way.
For instance, Suzuki claims that this such a system makes their 41 MPG swift get 50 MPG.
(This system not only adds power when accelerating and regenerates when braking, it also allows the engine to idle on electricity and for a more conventional stop-start functionality)
EV
There are range extended EVs, they're popular in China.
For example the BYD SEAL DM-i has 125 miles of EV range and a 1.5L range extender.
But even with the much smaller battery, it still costs more than a regular long range EV.
My EV has over 300 miles of range, it performs that way consistently and it charges fast. I do not see a reason to buy a whole engine, fuel system, generator, exhaust, etc. just to save my self from the absolute horror of waiting 20 minutes on that 0.1% of trips where I might need to go further than my car's range.
I do not see why it would make sense to buy all of that extra hardware for that 0.1% of trips...
this is a prefect response. this is everything i needed to know. basically fisker took an inefficient gas engine and attached it to an extremely over powered EV and got around 25 mpg. so i have an extra 06 trailblazer with a broken tranny. it seems for around $6000 i could turn it into a series hybrid. im not truly worried about MPG since i own a corolla as a daily. im just interested in making the easiest conversion possible. doesnt get any easier then keeping the engine working that timing belt and adding a few batteries.
If you're sure you can put it all together and have 6 grand to blow - why not.
But it really sounds like an overcomplicated project that will at most result in 6 grand wasted and at most a horrible car...
It all depends on efficiency. For example, is it more efficient to use a gas engine to charge a battery to run an electric generator to make the car go? Or is it more efficient to just use the gas engine to make the car go.
With Honda’s latest hybrid technology, they found that speeds below 45mph, it is more efficient to use the gas engine to charge the battery and/or run the electric generator to let the car go. But speeds above 45mph, it is more efficient to let the gas engine do the moving directly.
So they designed their hybrid to do just that. There is a clutch that engages an disengages the gas engine to the wheels or the electric generator. Technically this car doesn’t have a traditional transmission.
maybe ill make a new post in a few days and ask a more striaght foward question now that i know series hybrids were way more common then i imagined. my end goal is to turn a 06 trailblazer into a series hybrid for the fun of it. it has a bad tranny so i figure i can add a generator to the timing belt or the back of the engine and then weld a electric motor to the drive shaft. normally id just watch a few YT videos so i could follow along but i cant find anyone who's done this. so the question for now becomes, what size generator, what engine idle and which electric motor can move a 3500 pound suv to at least 45-50mph. im not worried about weight considering how effective the fisker was even tho it was poorly designed by the cheapest bidder while weighing 4500.
that sounds like a normal car, but with more steps.
Fiskar was a failure as a company , and the cars were an even bigger failure.
Edison motors
interesting. hes saying you have to add a generator to the back of the engine. what would you attach a generator to if its not the timing belt?
There are already options for some.
https://bookmygarage.com/electric-vehicles/what-electric-cars-use-range-extenders/
Check out this discussion
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/qa/what-are-your-thoughts-on-nissan-e-power/
thanks mods that helped a ton. looks like a few major brands have stared trying this. honda, mazda and dodge. mazdas looks the most promising
my end goal is to turn a 06 trailblazer into a series hybrid for the fun of it.
It sounds like a fun project. TBH, I wouldn’t know how to go about it. There may even be some kits for trucks specifically. I remember seeing some kits out there a few years back.
Fiskar was a failure as a company , and the cars were an even bigger failure.
Cool visual design. And reputable designer. But designs don’t make for good engineering nor designers for good engineers.
They used GM parts for goodness sake!