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If you have ever met a Prius owner........

RockyMtnScotsman

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Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
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The Prius will fold up like a paper cup in a crash. I got bumped by one while on my motorcycle last fall. Just a bump, mind you, I didn't go down.

Result?

Motorcycle had a scuff on the rear passenger footpeg that rubbed out.

Prius lost his whole front bumper cover.

:lol::lol::lol:
 

Michigander

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The battery hybrid system really is idiotic. It is far more intelligent to use hydraulics instead of a big ass battery.
 

dukenukum

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Jun 22, 2008
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Lansing, Michigan, USA
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I drive a 3/4 ton Chevy pick up I loved watching the little clown cars and the teeny bopper drivers getting stuck in the snow this last winter :) :) :)
 

Gordie

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, Nevada, USA
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Doug Huffman wrote:
Michigander wrote:
It is far more intelligent to use hydraulics instead of a big ass battery.
So, an engineer or physicist you're not? Otherwise, compare for us the energy density of the best battery that you can find with the energy density of a hydraulic accumulator.

I think the idea is to use pumps powered by gasoline or electric motors to generate hydraulic power.:uhoh:
 

FogRider

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Centennial, Colorado, USA
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RockyMtnScotsman wrote:
The Prius will fold up like a paper cup in a crash.
That's pretty much the idea. In an accident there are two places all that energy (and even with small vehicles that's a lot of energy) can go: absorbed by the car or absorbed by the passengers. The car is designed to crumple up and absorb the impact. Personally, I'd rather replace a quarterpanel than a hip, yknow?

Gordie wrote:
I think the idea is to use pumps powered by gasoline or electric motors to generate hydraulic power.:uhoh:
That seems somewhat inefficient. Why would you want to generate power to supply something to generate power to move the vehicle? Unless I'm not getting the concept here that's just adding an extra step.
 

mpg9999

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, Virginia, USA
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Gordie wrote:
Doug Huffman wrote:
Michigander wrote:
It is far more intelligent to use hydraulics instead of a big ass battery.
So, an engineer or physicist you're not? Otherwise, compare for us the energy density of the best battery that you can find with the energy density of a hydraulic accumulator.

I think the idea is to use pumps powered by gasoline or electric motors to generate hydraulic power.:uhoh:
There is a trash truck out there that uses hydraulic accumulators to assist in powering it. Probably makes alot of sense on a vehicle that stops and starts as often as that does.
 

Evil Ernie

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Nov 18, 2007
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Castle Rock, Colorado, USA
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36 MPG? Big whoop. My old Metro would get 50 MPG, and would haul butt for a little 3 cyl RC engine. I used to have no problem hauling the wife, baby, and all my issue gear back in the day.
 

Michigander

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Doug Huffman wrote:
Michigander wrote:
It is far more intelligent to use hydraulics instead of a big ass battery.
So, an engineer or physicist you're not? Otherwise, compare for us the energy density of the best battery that you can find with the energy density of a hydraulic accumulator.

You're over thinking it. What offers the most energy efficiency is not necessarily the point. What makes the all around most sense is. I am not an engineer, but we are studying these things in my auto mechanic classes.

You can do a lot of things to get extra power from a car. You can put a water jacket on the exhaust pipe, and use that to generate steam power. You can replace standard brakes with a generator that puts a huge drag on the drive shaft so that it stops the car while actually taking some of the power back, rather than simply blowing off that momentum as heat energy. Then, you can use that power to launch yourself from 0-20 or so, without the aid of the engine, because that is the speed with the most fuel consumption with most gear set ups.

I am not claiming to be an expert, far from it. I'd like to know more about this stuff myself, that is why I'm studying it. But a few simple facts are clear. Hybrid electric batteries, if they are good, cost a lot, are full of toxic crap, and don't last too long. Hydraulics are much cheaper, much less toxic, and offer a lot of potential.

At school we are getting ready to build a hydraulic hybrid. It should be interesting.
 

Michigander

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Gordie wrote: There is a trash truck out there that uses hydraulic accumulators to assist in powering it. Probably makes alot of sense on a vehicle that stops and starts as often as that does.
The US military is using hydraulics on tanks, and the UPS is using it on delivery trucks. This technology has been around, but has been largely suppressed, for several decades. It is a damned disgrace that it has actually taken the US government to bring it forward. It tells you a lot about auto makers.
 

Doug Huffman

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Jun 9, 2006
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Washington Island, across Death's Door, Wisconsin,
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Michigander wrote:
Doug Huffman wrote:
Michigander wrote:
It is far more intelligent to use hydraulics instead of a big ass battery.
So, an engineer or physicist you're not? Otherwise, compare for us the energy density of the best battery that you can find with the energy density of a hydraulic accumulator.
You're over thinking it.
No. I'm retired. I've done all the neat stuff already and made most of the mistakes that I'm gonna make. Your turn, you can start with hydraulics versus a big ass battery.

My 'big ass battery' was made of 250 cells of 1100 pound Exide TLX-39B lead acid cells. Oh, and there were quite a few hydraulic accumulators of 3000 psi and two or three cubic feet.

ETA; two after thoughts.

The Affinity Laws should allow you to see the pressures, volume flow rates of a hydraulic system to be comparable to some other system that you might be familiar with.

I was showering, preparing to dress to go out, when I noticed the effect of an accumulator in the other room. It is a 20 gallon volume 35 - 80 psi pressure range and I can see the flow rate fall off before the pump turns on and recharges it.
 
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