Nice to see an intelligent response!
The FT-HS is an interesting car, as it uses ultracapacitors. I have worked on these for my company and these could be a huge improvement for hybrids, especially plug-ins. Both performance and extending battery life to possilby a non-issue (i.e. longer than mechanical life of car).
The Surpa HV-R JTCC car (racing car) is not a pure HSD car, but a Frankenstein. It has a 6-speed paddle shifted regular clutch transmission, beefed up motor/generators to provide extra regen braking and off corner torque, something even a race engine cannot do in the lower rpms. It also four wheel drive, taking advantage of extra motor/generatos from braking. The FT-HS took parts of the electric driveline from this car. Keep in mind the JTCC Supra was built of a 2003 existing JTCC racing car that was retired, simply to see what it would do.
The Supra was amazing, simply because it worked! The amount a electricity generated under heavy braking has been hard to capture because the peak pulse is so high, but short duration, as opposed to street driving. In all fairness, the car won because it was the only car in its class and this class is generally much faster than the other cars (i.e. a non-hybrid Supra JTCC would have been fast). However, it did prove that hybrids offer an advantage of the slower corners than the non-hyrid Supra JTCC race car of a few years ago. Formula 1 is going to require a form of this in 2009. Could be great for development for road car hybrids.
My comment on slippage - refers to two attributes:
1- mechanical waste
2- ratio slippage that is intentional. The DSG twin clutch gearbox in VW/Audis is an example of this also. In 1st and 2nd gear it varies the ratios, because there is limited value in start-stop driving to a direct gear ratio. It then locks in 2nd on up with paddles to shift one clutch to be completely direct. Best of both worlds - good in creeping traffic, fully direct and efficent in 2nd on up and equal efficency.
1- is about efficiency
2- is about control and response. One thing an electric motor has is that it is direct response. No engine can do that so well. But is not able to do that through high speeds - hence the ICE running and need for hybrid motors. This is where hybrids need more work - mixed driving and highway driving. The same can be said for diesels in city driving - it is not their strength. Bottom line is there is no one solution for all driving needs, but the electric driveline has the most potential to get there.
Paddle shifter on clutches make a lot of sense. They are in Europe, but rarely seen here, because of the cost vs. 10-15% manual penetration in the USA. These generally have no downside, as long as there is the ability to quickly dip into neutral for snowy conditions when needed.
Here's a little blurb on the Surpa HV-R race car.
http://www.supercars.net/cars/3864.html
The FT-HS is an interesting car, as it uses ultracapacitors. I have worked on these for my company and these could be a huge improvement for hybrids, especially plug-ins. Both performance and extending battery life to possilby a non-issue (i.e. longer than mechanical life of car).
The Surpa HV-R JTCC car (racing car) is not a pure HSD car, but a Frankenstein. It has a 6-speed paddle shifted regular clutch transmission, beefed up motor/generators to provide extra regen braking and off corner torque, something even a race engine cannot do in the lower rpms. It also four wheel drive, taking advantage of extra motor/generatos from braking. The FT-HS took parts of the electric driveline from this car. Keep in mind the JTCC Supra was built of a 2003 existing JTCC racing car that was retired, simply to see what it would do.
The Supra was amazing, simply because it worked! The amount a electricity generated under heavy braking has been hard to capture because the peak pulse is so high, but short duration, as opposed to street driving. In all fairness, the car won because it was the only car in its class and this class is generally much faster than the other cars (i.e. a non-hybrid Supra JTCC would have been fast). However, it did prove that hybrids offer an advantage of the slower corners than the non-hyrid Supra JTCC race car of a few years ago. Formula 1 is going to require a form of this in 2009. Could be great for development for road car hybrids.
My comment on slippage - refers to two attributes:
1- mechanical waste
2- ratio slippage that is intentional. The DSG twin clutch gearbox in VW/Audis is an example of this also. In 1st and 2nd gear it varies the ratios, because there is limited value in start-stop driving to a direct gear ratio. It then locks in 2nd on up with paddles to shift one clutch to be completely direct. Best of both worlds - good in creeping traffic, fully direct and efficent in 2nd on up and equal efficency.
1- is about efficiency
2- is about control and response. One thing an electric motor has is that it is direct response. No engine can do that so well. But is not able to do that through high speeds - hence the ICE running and need for hybrid motors. This is where hybrids need more work - mixed driving and highway driving. The same can be said for diesels in city driving - it is not their strength. Bottom line is there is no one solution for all driving needs, but the electric driveline has the most potential to get there.
Paddle shifter on clutches make a lot of sense. They are in Europe, but rarely seen here, because of the cost vs. 10-15% manual penetration in the USA. These generally have no downside, as long as there is the ability to quickly dip into neutral for snowy conditions when needed.
Here's a little blurb on the Surpa HV-R race car.
http://www.supercars.net/cars/3864.html
