Just got back from a conference at U.C. Davis.....

[Rallispec]

Not sure if anybody here goes to Davis or not-- but there is a professor there - andrew frank,

anyhow, it really increadible some of the stuff that guy has done in the hybrid electric automotive feild.

Him and his students took a stock ford explorer, took out the V8 and replaced it with a much smaller engine (4cyl), a contiously variable tranny, and a electic moter ( i'm pretty sure it was on the order of an 100HP motor)-- he then chopped the gas tank in half and dropped in a pretty nice pack of batteries

He said that this explorer not only improved with gas mileage (over 600 miles on a tank / about 37mpg)- BUT also improved in performance -- it went from a 10 second 0-60 to being able to do in 6 seconds. It could haul more too.


anyhow, just thought i'd share. Really will be cool when this kind of hybrid technology becomes more affordable and more mainstream. (this guy didnt outright bash the prius and similar - but just said that thier is no reason that couldn't have made it much better)



on a second note - DAMN Davis is a boring college-- Thier was nobody outside hanging out, didnt see anybody walking around... nothing -- the campus was dead. When i was in college and we had weather like that -- thier was never a dull moment outside.

 

[GoSharks]

um.. thats becuase davis starts school on the 30th. even i know that from all the way in baltimore

 

[dquan97]

ya, schoool doesn't start till later this week. There are a lot of ATOTers around the area...we could've had dinner

 

[dalkom426]

hybrids are awesome

 

[zimu]

hybrid tech does sound promising, 6 seconds 0-60?? are you sure?? sounds a little unlikely... but anyway.

lol @ school starting on 30th. explains the empty school

 

[KLin]

Sounds like this guy needs to start his own automobile mfg. company

 

[ThisIsMatt]

So is the gas engine generating electricity or do the cells need to be charged manually as well? Charged during braking?

 

[Kelvrick]

A ton of people in the Davis/Sacramento area.

EDIT: Including me. Didn't think you had the balls to walk into spork territory, you nissan scum.

But yea, its been hundreds for a while now, and recently lowering into the 80's. School starts this thursday, so you'll see a lot more activity then.

 

[v3rrv3]

Don't go there or anything but my brother works/worked there with the hybrid cars but I doubt he was involved with that He seemed to like it.

 

[The Stigenator]

i have heard about that guy.. dr. burton is trying to see if sac.state students can also work on it.. (im interested in this stuff).

 

[Tweak155]

a 4 banger in sub 7 seconds??????? in a SUV?????????............................................. need to see that video for myself

 

[Rallispec]

electric motors are very torquey - plus, unlike combustion engines, they produce constant high torque at all RPMS, and are very power dense --

they used the 4 banger soley for the purpose of maintaining speed, only for acceleration when it had power to spare -- and the electric motor for everyting else.

i'll see if i can dig through my notes and other paperwork i got there and get the exact specs of the explorer -- but it was very impressive. They had a lot of other really cool stuff on display their, and i met a ton of head people from the R&D departments of Toyota and Nissan.


So Davis doesnt start school until the end of September?! what the hell is up with that?! when do you guys get out in the spring? Our classes always started in the end of august.

 

[tranquilflow]

good work