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Jan 16, 2011 12:16:06 GMT
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Do want though. Except that horrible speedo in the centre of the cluster. 4.bp.blogspot.com/_FoXyvaPSnVk/SqF-rSw_9lI/AAAAAAACAfM/FCKn01ZCwJ8/s1600/Mercedes-190-D-BE-10.jpg3.bp.blogspot.com/_FoXyvaPSnVk/SqF-dwe4jjI/AAAAAAACAes/jz1tkF01MIk/s1600/Mercedes-190-D-BE-6.jpgTurn-key AC drives? www.acpropulsion.com/They're a little clunky in town (transitions from light power to coast to regen, and movement at parking speeds is lousy) but plenty of poke. (200kW/268 hp, which is misleading as the instant accessibility of the power and zero gearchanging make it feel more like a 350 hp infernal combustion engined vehicle) Certainly easier to retro-fit than an OEM system. Watch you don't kill yourself with the battery packs though, as you'll be in 300+ V DC territory and capable of delivering 300+ kW electrical - 1000 amps starts plenty of fires. NiMh or LiPo are fine and don't suffer the standing-idle issues that lead acids do. The weather is important though. Don't like being hot or cold. Mercedes do all manner of stupid over the top German things with their onboard electronics. ABS failure? It'll prevent you from starting the car. Start the car and pull the plug? It'll prevent you moving the selector out of park. Start the car, pop it in drive, foot on the brake, and pull the plug? Haha! You're mobile until you try slotting it into reverse, at which point it'll lock you in neutral. Other manufacturers aren't quite so thoroughly anal about it and will let you run with half the CAN bus missing. Shouldn't think that BMW is one of those though! Usually you'll need: vss signal from the ABS brain gear/neutral signal from the transmission brain Security/key ok signal from the body/security brain The last one is the hard one to do.
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-- Marko
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I am a bit late on this, but about 15 years ago, at the Imp club national weekend, there was a guy from Yorkshire who converted an imp......he had a milk float battery which was mounted on a plate and drove the input shaft directly, no clutch or flywheel. The batteries were mounted in the engine bay and under the bonnet where there was the extra room due to no engine or tank. It did look a bit lowered due to weight. It was road legal and had a radius of up to around 40 mile radius and up to 50mph. When you think what a 40yr old car, an old milk float,garden shed and a bloke with a little savvy about him created, It really makes me question how far we have really come along, and how much better we could do if / when the "big boys" get involved. Bring it on I say, if vehicles could be retro fitted to be super green and electric it would be great.......and then watch the owners of new cars (which may be too complicated to be financially viable) turn green with envy!
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Jan 17, 2011 17:13:29 GMT
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My biggest concern for being able to rob hybrid drive units is the same as with the lastest breed of IC, that so much is interlinked and only accessible by main agents. From interest what is eth estimated life of batteries in a Prius and how much for a replacement set ? Prius and Auris hybrid batteries normally have a lifetime of 5-6 years, and IIRC a replcement will cost around £4500 + fitting. And of course, fitting will take a dealer some time. I know on the other side of the inverter there's something along the lines of 4000V going around some parts of the electrical system, which can fry you rather well. Incidentally, most people didn't realise the one-series BM was actually RWD, so the new version will probably take Toyota's lead and go with their FWD two-motor layout. The whole idea is very good in theory, but we need something that's far more simple - I think a few years down the line we'll see a lot of hybrids scrapped just because of the sheer cost of batteries or ECU's etc, even though bodily and mechanically they will be perfect.
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"A Pierburg carb? It would be more economical to replace it with a funnel..."
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Jan 17, 2011 17:24:08 GMT
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I think a few years down the line we'll see a lot of hybrids scrapped just because of the sheer cost of batteries or ECU's etc, even though bodily and mechanically they will be perfect. Then we'll buy them and throw in a Rover V8!!!
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Jan 17, 2011 17:40:57 GMT
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My biggest concern for being able to rob hybrid drive units is the same as with the lastest breed of IC, that so much is interlinked and only accessible by main agents. The whole idea is very good in theory, but we need something that's far more simple - I think a few years down the line we'll see a lot of hybrids scrapped just because of the sheer cost of batteries or ECU's etc, even though bodily and mechanically they will be perfect. This is why I was saying earlier that it would make big sense to keep the electric and IC power units separated from each other. I think you are also right about the over sophistication manufacturers are applying to hybrids will make them obsolete very quickly, adding to the fears of second hand buyers who are already worried that they will pick up the cost of a new battery pack after only having had the car for a short time.
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'71 Arrocuda.... '71 Sunbeam Rapier Turbo (The Grim Rapier).... '63 Hymek D7076..... Audi GT5S
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Jan 17, 2011 17:46:22 GMT
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Then we'll buy them and throw in a Rover V8!!! Yes sir!! ... I'm actually a bit irritated by how nobody ( In the wuurld, well AFAIK) made a Prius make nasty noises yet. Makes tons of sense for me. Stock look for mine please... hmmm RWD V8 Gasser Prius ...and about the modern-engined 190E: Read an article about it, went like stink and barely sipped fuel (in relation to the car the engine came from). 190s have a great chassis and aerodynamics, mind! Ever heard of Mechatronik? It's a company from South-germany that's specialised in fitting 1960's-Benzes with modern tech and comfort, buildung lot's of SLs and convertibles. Which I consider boring. A /8 with the smallest modern dieseasel available though, yes please!
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Last Edit: Jan 17, 2011 17:56:52 GMT by alphilsta
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Jan 17, 2011 17:48:21 GMT
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There's a blog that is doing an electric powered Starion, it's a proper thing, the motor is quite meaty looking.
I hope the rise in petrol slows down, I can't afford it now, it can't be too long when the rest of the populace starts feeling it.
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Jan 17, 2011 18:07:56 GMT
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Jan 17, 2011 18:31:00 GMT
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electric pusher trailer? just need to make sure things like brakes, power steering and battery for lights are ok when the cars engine isnt running. don't know the legality of this in the uk but theres loads in the us. Usually electric converted cars with petrol pusher trailers for long journeys. www.metrompg.com/posts/phev-pusher-trailer.htmtheeestory.com/topics/7652
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Jan 18, 2011 16:20:47 GMT
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Personally I'd rather spend the money modifying and optimizing the performance (including economy) of my classic's original engine, or swap in a more modern and efficient replacement then try to substitute it with an electric or hybrid powertrain. The advantages are you can do it in stages, spending a relatively small amount of money at a time and allowing the modifications already performed to pay for themselves.
In fact my wife and I are about to do this with her M Reg 4.0L XJ6. She currently commutes about 70 miles a day on the motorway and with fuel mileage in the high twenties. A retired Jaguar engineer (he actually worked on the engine management software for the AJ16 so he knows what he's doing) currently markets a modified crank sensor bracket that advances the ignition timing providing more power and gains of 1-2mpg. Cost - £60. At her current weekly mileage, and increasing petrol prices, this mod will pay for itself in a couple of months. After that we'll probably look at tweaking the exhaust system for added efficiency. On older, simpler classics, ditching the distributor for megajolt and a wasted spark ignition and then mapping your ignition to make the most of the factory combination would probably represent the simplest way to achieve increases in fuel economy and is a modification well within the capabilities of the average member of this board.
As for the cost savings or environmental benefits of all electric cars - I can't see it. The electricity still needs to be produced somewhere, and in most cases it will be produced by burning fossil fuels. As the past few governments (including the current one) have wasted billions of £ tilting at windmills instead planning for the replacement of our conventional and nuclear energy sources, electricity prices are likely going to go up radically in the next few years so the cost saving likely won't be there. And if worst comes to worst and energy shortages resort in blackouts then your electric car will be entirely useless.
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1995 Range Rover 4.0 1995 BMW 320i Saloon 1989 BMW 325i Touring 1991 Mercedes 300TE-24 1991 Mercedes 190e 1970 Sunbeam Imp Sport
1966 Valiant 200 Custom 1964 Ford Fairlane 500 Station Wagon
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Team Blitz Ford Capri parts worldwide: Restoration, Road, or Race. Used, Repro, and NOS, ranging from scabby to perfect. Itching your Capri jones since 1979! Buy, sell, trade. www.teamblitz.com blitz@teamblitz.com
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Here's some REALLY good news for the eco retroists: $30/barrel, and as much as you want, in any eco-HP-friendly blend? Interesting stuff Norm..... these are definitely the kind of technologies that will provide the long term solution to the problem, but I can't see the effects coming through to the consumer for a long time yet. One guy calculates that from the figures provided by 'Joule' they would need to cover an area the size of the state of Indiana with these 'solar panels' just to produce enough bio fuel for the USA alone. Is good to see that the light at the end of the tunnel is beginning to emerge but building the infrastructure on the scale that will be needed to replace oil production is going to take some time.
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Last Edit: Jan 19, 2011 9:33:10 GMT by arrocuda
'71 Arrocuda.... '71 Sunbeam Rapier Turbo (The Grim Rapier).... '63 Hymek D7076..... Audi GT5S
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Jan 19, 2011 12:47:28 GMT
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Interesting stuff Norm..... these are definitely the kind of technologies that will provide the long term solution to the problem, but I can't see the effects coming through to the consumer for a long time yet. One guy calculates that from the figures provided by 'Joule' they would need to cover an area the size of the state of Indiana with these 'solar panels' just to produce enough bio fuel for the USA alone. I guess somewhere with lots of desert otherwise lying idle would want to host the facility and tax the liquid fuel on its way abroad. Could be a nice earner for Saharan countries and much more practical for them than exporting PV generated electricity directly. On the other hand, if electric vehicles take off in a big way, the biggest reserves of easy to get lithium are apparently in the Bolivian salt flats which would be good news for their economy.
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Jan 19, 2011 20:50:51 GMT
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