On Mon, June 11, 2012 1:52 pm, Electron wrote:
>
>
> Mechanical power may be transmitted from engines placed just above the
> wheels
> and suspensions, i.e. the engines would be acting as sprung masses.

No doubt- my curiosity with hub-motors is driven by a few things- probably
mostly about how it would change the paradigm of automotive design- move
the motive force of the vehicle- open up the center of the vehicle.  Once
you have to include transmissions and such, you have a couple very large
area between the wheels that must be dedicated to the drivetrain.

> I've even seen hydraulic power transmission (think about Christini 2-whee=
l
> drive
> bikes).

As I understand hydraulic power transmission, it is quite inefficient- the
wikipedia article quotes at least 25% transmission losses- Which may be
competitive with current technology, but, particularly with an EV, this
type of loss translates into additional weight in batteries you must lug
around. And heat- lots of heat.

I have been expecting to see rock-crawler type vehicles with hydraulic
drive- but those in general are quite low speed (or only bursts of higher
speed), and weight is not as critical an issue.


Matt Bennett
Just outside of Austin, TX
30.51,-97.91

The views I express are my own, not that of my employer, a large
multinational corporation that you are familiar with.
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