The future of the car and the environment

[bucko]

Misho.

Fantastic idea there but unfortunately conservation of energy comes into play. If you want to hook a generator up to a cars wheels to make power then you will use more fuel aswell. However the Hybrid cars of today have a similar mechanism where when you brake the energy is converted to electricity, and when you are driving in the city i.e. at idle alot the power the engine generates is again converted to electricity.
Because hybrid cars work in this way, you will find that there is no difference in fuel consumption when cruising on highways.

Whilst solar energy is Great !!! unfortunately at this stage it is unviable.
Solar electricity costs 7-9 times more in Australia than coal power.
It has developed alot over time and there is massive research being done into it at the moment.
In about 10 years solar power MIGHT start being introduced.
However at this stage wind (which is only 3 times more expensive than coal power) and other alternatives are more viable.
Solar power technology will change significantly over the next decade or so and is too expensive to expensive to maintain at the moment.

The NSW state government in Australia is talking about nuclear power at the moment till solar technology is a good solution.
Nuclear power plants will never break even not to mention make a profit(Thats if the waste is disposed of properly), this shows how expensive solar power really is at the moment. But it is on the cards for the future

[taz_rocks_miami]

Originally Posted by NoOne

I think Methanol is a viable temporary alternative fuel source, I've had this site bookmarked for quite a while http://www.methanol.org/fuelcell/special/amipromise.pdf an incredible amount of information on Methanol and Methanol powered cars though a bit drawn out, I also wonder as to how biased it is.

I think the Methanol idea is great, I'm gonna read the info on methanol.org and comment on it later. I heard once that Methenol could be extracted from coal and even the very garbage we all produce every day. So it may not be a temporary solution after all Any way, I'll read it and what it says about that.

Natural Gas and Alcohol are also good fuels. They contaminate much, much less and give about the same amount of HP and Torque as petrol engines.

[cpubasics1]

The whole point in not using any form of oil to move us from A to B is really how creative we are. I think we should be using Kinetic power to move our cars and trucks. It is after all the most wasted energy we produce every second of the day and FREE!

Example: look at this 'you tube' demo...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uA0ai...engineering%2F

That is nothing more than a giant size hand crank.

If someone can make something as simple as this, why can't we put this in a car or truck. Just replace the device that moves the entire thing to the rotation of the tires that moves the car. (must have an elecrtic vehicle)

Come on people of the world. We use kinetic energy to create power of our homes, businesses, and industry, (Niagara Falls, Hover dam and so forth.) As we drive our cars, the wind that flys pass us as we move forward is all kinetic. The rotation of the tires is being moved by our gas powered engine, again kinetic. What the hell are we doing b!#^%ing about hydrogen this, corn yak, (biodiesel) and of course, imported oil?

how is it that Niagara Falls provides power to the entire east coast on falling water, but yet we can't harnest power from a tire that "ROTATES"....or WIND moving at the speeds we drive at... WoW....

http://teg.net/TESLA/ewindstar1.jpg ....Don't get me wrong the whole turbine on top pf the car deal not my cup of tea but the car can run forever. Some people make tri-brids for their boats to move.

All anyone has to do is change the ratio of the rotating tire to higher speeds to the generator or alternator, using belts we alreeady use for our engines. All the generator has to do is out do the drag, weight, & resistants. (prividing enouge power to car's elecric motor.)

Once the car is at a certian speed, the generator takes over to recharge the batteries that propell car and provide power to the Electic motor ... anything that rotates, has the ability to produce power.

Tesla Motors at one point did do this very thing, but they only did it for short Distances back in the day. had they just kept researching, who knows. here is another post:

http://teslamotorsclub.com/forum/ind...pic,315.0.html

we really don't need oil... most people don't drive 50 to 300 miles each day. If you gave everyone one electic car for local driving and one car for long distant driving most would hope in the EV just to get from A to B and use the gas power car driving long distants.

The hybrid is the perfect example of both EV and gas powered. Some take out the manufactured battery and replace it with a larger one and they plug it in never using gas during their local commute. When they start driving at greater distances, the gas powered engine take over. When they get to their destination, they just plug it back in and it's electric again. The only problem here is that we are still using gas.

why not let the car charge itself as you drive from the rotation of the tire?

all these cars and trucks at this site http://maeaa.org/links.html needs what i'm stating to increase their range.

[my porsche]

I like ethanol as the best alternative fuel, it's $0.30 a gallon cheaper than gas, and totally renewable, once they start using 100% ethanol anyway. Right now it's E-85 which is 85% ethanol.

But biodiesel is also a viable alternative, since most diesel engines can run on it currently AFAIK. And there are some nice diesel trucks out there... (GMC Sierra 2500HD with full leather, Bose sound system, etc. *drool smiley*) But until it becomes available at every gas station I don't think anyone will choose it over regular diesel.

[Ingolstadt]

What if there were cars that pumps Reverse Osmosis water, and with an on board high efficiency electrolisis chamber, and solar panels. Hence during the day, the solar panels will provided electricity for the electrolisis, and at night, there would be a socket that plugs into the household electric line, performing electrolisis as well.

All the hydrogen will be stored in another chamber, once burned in combustion engine, (burning hydrogen leaves water) and walla! Exhaust will be water vapor and the leftover oxygen from the electrolisis.

[my porsche]

Yeah you definitely lost me on that on...

[SlickHolden]

Originally Posted by my porsche

I like ethanol as the best alternative fuel, it's $0.30 a gallon cheaper than gas, and totally renewable, once they start using 100% ethanol anyway. Right now it's E-85 which is 85% ethanol.

Cars that i know of respond very badly to ethanol.. My brothers 2003 Ford had one tank that his partner stuck in it and the car has been off for the last 3 tanks.. He know is running 98 octane fuel and it's getting better but slowly.. Then think of my car that's a 92 model it will most likely run like shit on even E10 Ethanol.
Now the only way to use ethanol and not have issues with it is to have the car company's build there engines to suit it.. Until then it's no good to the population with cars under 3-5 years old.

[fpv_gtho]

E10 here is pretty much endorsed by most manufacturers, its generally more than 10% that modifications to the fuel system need to be made.

I think we should be using Kinetic power to move our cars and trucks.

We ARE using kinetic energy. The pistons moving the crankshaft in a normal engine is the chemical energy in our fuels being transfered into kinetic energy.

[ruim20]

Originally Posted by henk4

I think you just described the efforts that are being undertaken with the hybrid propulsion cars, the Prius the Honda and may be the Italdesign Toyota.

A shame the effort thoose companys and others aren't valid ones, why gasoline instead of Diesel? why not diesel electric instead of thoose "marketing" alternatives, a modern small diesel allied to a electric engine would improve millage significantly instead of the gasoline electric that doesn't even do better than a regular small diesel engine. I don't think there's enaugh will power over money to turn the tide of using focil fuels, i think they'll really need to run out until a big company (fuel extrator/car company) take the chalenge seriuously.

[henk4]

Originally Posted by ruim20

A shame the effort thoose companys and others aren't valid ones, why gasoline instead of Diesel? why not diesel electric instead of thoose "marketing" alternatives, a modern small diesel allied to a electric engine would improve millage significantly instead of the gasoline electric that doesn't even do better than a regular small diesel engine. I don't think there's enaugh will power over money to turn the tide of using focil fuels, i think they'll really need to run out until a big company (fuel extrator/car company) take the chalenge seriuously.

this is what PSA and Opel are actually doing....

[ruim20]

Originally Posted by henk4

this is what PSA and Opel are actually doing....

I didn't know about that, have you got any aditional info about it? TIA

[henk4]

Originally Posted by ruim20

I didn't know about that, have you got any aditional info about it? TIA

Citroen showed a C4 HdiFAP/Hybrid last year in Paris. Emissions significantly lower than those of the Prius., especially on the motorways..

[Ferrer]

And GM showed an Astra 1.7-litre diesel with a pair of electric motors.

http://www.hybridcars.com/concept-hy...own-jewel.html

[SlickHolden]

Originally Posted by fpv_gtho

E10 here is pretty much endorsed by most manufacturers, its generally more than 10% that modifications to the fuel system need to be made.

Only in the last year or so there's been much debate over it, And some even claim it doesn't offer better economy even though it's claim to carry the highest octane.. I can't see many recommending it on older cars.. A friend was just told if they use it don't use it to long make sure it's only in the car for 2 weeks max then go back to unleaded for a couple. I just wont use it after seeing what it done to my brothers car.. He only just found that out 4 days ago it was E-10 in his car from one of them cheapo independent servo's. The misses used it because it was cheap The roof lifted here. Now with 2 PULP tanks one shell and one BP it's getting better.. Well 4.5l/100km better off now.

[Zytek_Fan]

Originally Posted by Ingolstadt

What if there were cars that pumps Reverse Osmosis water, and with an on board high efficiency electrolisis chamber, and solar panels. Hence during the day, the solar panels will provided electricity for the electrolisis, and at night, there would be a socket that plugs into the household electric line, performing electrolisis as well.

All the hydrogen will be stored in another chamber, once burned in combustion engine, (burning hydrogen leaves water) and walla! Exhaust will be water vapor and the leftover oxygen from the electrolisis.

Excellent idea, but too expensive to implement.