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Re: Cheap Gas?

To: mrclem@telocity.com, Nandaholz@aol.com, ba-autox@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Cheap Gas?
From: James Creasy <black94pgt@pacbell.net>
Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2001 13:53:47 -0700
the snowmobile engines are very light, maybe 70 lbs and put out 200+ hp,
yes? (A-mod cars)

>electricity can't beat that -- can it?

well it depends on how much batteries you carry around.  a hybrid
street/autox car needs only enough batteries to boost an autocross run.  a
performance autocross car might have, say an S2000 motor for the first 240
hp, and an electric motor for another, say 150 hp, but mostly to boost
torque at lower revs, maybe as much as 400 ft lb of additional useable
torque.  how much battery needed?  maybe not that much for, say 5 minutes of
boost.

and i am talking about a practical street car, not a 700lb a-mod car.

i think hybrids are the future of autos and the future of hot rodding too.

-james "pushrods" creasy









----- Original Message -----
From: Michael R. Clements <mrclem@telocity.com>
To: James Creasy <black94pgt@pacbell.net>; <Nandaholz@aol.com>;
<ba-autox@autox.team.net>
Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2001 1:07 PM
Subject: RE: Cheap Gas?


> Yup, a perfectly flat torque curve is ideal for autocross. But electric
power,
> when you include the batteries, still doesn't have the power to weight
ratio
> of gasoline. This is especially noticeable in R/C airplanes, where you can
get
> 1 hp glow fuel (nitromethane) engines that weigh about 8 ounces (normally
> aspirated). Lesse, that's 2 hp per pound, and I think even the S2000
engine
> weighs more than 120 lbs. AFAIK, electricity can't beat that -- can it?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: James Creasy [mailto:black94pgt@pacbell.net]
> Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2001 10:03
> To: mrclem@telocity.com; Nandaholz@aol.com; ba-autox@autox.team.net
> Subject: Re: Cheap Gas?
>
>
> i think you could make a pretty cool hybrid car with super performance.
> have a gasoline motor for cruising and charging the battery pack, reclaim
> power under braking rather than wasting it as heat.
>
> you could have a pretty small battery for light weight and a very powerful
> electric motor(s) to assist the gas motor.  electric motors are great for
> launches because they produce maximum torque at 0 RPM.
>
> of course you might have only a few 0-60 in 2.5 seconds launches before
the
> battery runs down and you need to cruise a bit to charge it back up, but
by
> then the corvette will have given up.  maybe turn down the power for a few
> autocross runs.  talk about torque on demand!!
>
> in fact, i see that our local honda hybrid (NOT a sports car) on street
> tires is a tiny tick behind a 127hp civic on R-tires in SFR!
>
> -james
>
> PS down with social engineering!
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Michael R. Clements <mrclem@telocity.com>
> To: <Nandaholz@aol.com>; <ba-autox@autox.team.net>
> Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2001 9:37 AM
> Subject: RE: Cheap Gas?
>
>
> > Sure, yeah, let's tax the heck out of gas (and diesel) like other
> countries
> > do. Since just about everything is transported by vehicles that burn gas
> or
> > diesel, we can make everything cost more. This would be great for the
> economy!
> > And it would have another salient benefit: we could carry things on our
> backs
> > instead of transporting them with vehicles that use fossil fuels. Not
only
> > would this give us cleaner air, it would create thousands of jobs
> overnight!
> >
> > But why stop there? We could also adopt the socialist economies of other
> > countries, so we can enjoy right here at home the benefits of double
digit
> > inflation and unemployment, without having to travel to Europe!
> >
> > Seriously, consider that gas powered vehicles so far outnumber
> "alternative"
> > transportation, that making new gas powered vehicles even 1% more
> efficient
> > would lower overall pollution far more than a fleet of electric cars
ever
> > would. When you consider that the millions / billions of dollars spent
so
> far
> > on electric cars and other "alternative" technologies, in the absence of
> > government subsidies, would have been spent on current gas technology,
we
> > might have cleaner air today if these programs had never been enacted.
> >
> > In short, as Kevin says, social engineering sucks. Not only does it
rarely
> > (never?) achieve its intended objective, it usually exacerbates the very
> > problems it was intended to solve, leaving a morass for future
generations
> to
> > fix.
> >
> > just my $0.02. P.S. my sarcasm is directed at the idea, not at any
person.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: owner-ba-autox@autox.team.net
> > [mailto:owner-ba-autox@autox.team.net]On Behalf Of Nandaholz@aol.com
> > Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2001 09:06
> > To: ba-autox@autox.team.net
> > Subject: Re: Cheap Gas?
> >
> >
> > I really think we need to increase gas prices....say up to $5 per gallon
> like
> > in other markets around the world. This would have a serious impact on
the
> > amount of single occupancy cars and FUV's on the road, and would promote
> > alternative transportation like motorcycles and smaller hybrid vehicles.
> Maybe
> > more attention would be devoted to telecommuting, shifted work schedules
> etc.
> >
> > .. just my $0.02
> > ~Nanda

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