A challenge to Subaru!

[Thalass]

It seems that Mitsushitty are building a real electric car, on top of their punishment EV thing.


Where is Subaru's answer? An electric WRX to compliment the R1e?

Give! Give to Zim! er, me that is! Me!


Stats seem to be pretty good. Though 6.9seconds to 100km/h isn't super great, compared to the Tesla's 4 seconds! And while it wouldn't matter that much on-road, all that unsprung mass in the wheels could screw things up if you're tearing down the gravel. Not that a lancer is that quick

[RetroLover]

Subaru already has the diesel flat engine in the european market and also there is a petrol-electric engine in development, as seen not so long ago, not sure where the link is for it though. There is no shortage of innovation and technology for Subaru thanks to the part ownership with Toyota the producers of the worlds highest selling petrol-electric car the Prius.

The internal combustion engine will still live on in the form of hydrogen instead of refined oil. Im not really a fang of those slugish CVT transmission found in those electric cars, but i guess that'll take some getting use to. I dont think that the 'In Wheel Electric motor technology' (MIEV) will be seen in any Subaru's, would be cool though, i think Subaru has other plans at this stage. But what do you call a Subaru without a Horizontally Opposed Engine?

[GOD]

But what do you call a Subaru without a Horizontally Opposed Engine?

Fiori ..

[Thalass]

Heh. Hydrogen is crap. It takes alot of energy to get it (so it's really a storage medium, rather than a fuel), and if you're burning it in an ICE then it'll still only be 25% or so efficient! At best hydrogen would be good in a fuel cell generating electricity for an EV, but even then it costs you energy to get the stuff - might as well skip the middle man and put the electricity into batteries. :P


As for CVTs, I've never heard of an EV using one - though it's probably be tried. Backyard conversions are either DC motors mated to the existing (manual) gearbox, or an AC motor directly to the diff (or inside the wheel). Even in a DC conversion only two or so gears are used (usually 3rd and 5th or something like that).


An AC motor needs no gearbox at all because it is easy to reverse, and (at least an induction motor) gets maximum torque at zero rpm.



Man... I drove a sherpa once. Sounded like an awesome bike, moved like a 2 cylinder hatchback

[RetroLover]

Fiori ..

I forgot about those ones.

CVT transmissions are used in the Mitsubishi Colts, Mitsubishi Lancers, Audi A4s, Civic Hybirds, Prius Hybrids, and some Lexus models. Accelerating in a car with a CVT transmission is like trying to chuck a shit while constipated.

[El_Freddo]

Fiori ..

Lets not forget about the earlier sherpa! We've got one as a paddock bomb that has a better note than my L... Kinda sad really. Wish the sherpa was 4wd then we'd have some serious fun at this time of year.

Hydrogen, electricity... all this technology is ready to go, it'll be in production when we really need it and the oil companies want us to have it.

Cheers

Bennie

[bobbyjimmy]

Subaru have an electric car;
http://www.autoblog.com/2006/06/22/stel ... ru-stella/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_Stella

[Thalass]

Bah! That is what you call a "punishment car". It's something you buy because it's cheap and easy and all that. Same reason you'd buy a barina or a yaris.

A Tesla Roadster is a car you buy because it's fun to drive and kicks arse!

[discopotato03]

All sorts of "developing technologies" are crawling out to greet the light of day but they all ignore a couple of simple facts .

1) This planet is NOT running out of crude oil .
2) Carbon Dioxide gas emissions CANNOT be proven to be making ANY difference to global temperature change . The Polar Caps are NOT melting and virtually EVERYTHING plant like that grows MUST have CO2 gas to absorb and use as part of the photosynthesis (remember your highschool science lessons about chlorophyl and photosynthesis) process or they die . If they die WE die .

Don't get me wrong , there ARE nasty gas emissions from cars trucks coal fired power stations and zippo lighters but I think far too much BS surrounds the "Greenhouse" debate . Billions into Govt coffers - think about it .

Straight electric ? Why ? Check out your power bills and don't forget that Morris Lemon and the Albino bowling ball are doing their damnest to sell the power stations to those who will rape us financially (in NSW) . Think private enterprise is going to replace dinosaur tech power generation facilities and not charge for the privelage - think again .
Where ya gonna be if there's a blackout overnight ? Walking ?

Prius , official typo - PIOUS . Generally known as POS . Expensive , very expensive batteries , very very nasty eco nightmare with dead batteries ...

There is no one simple energy answer , the problem is overpopulation on a global scale . Between religion and and the consumer industry screaming out for more consumers/believers people aren't gonna stop at one or two bubs . Everyone has a responsibility here .

Your calls .

[brumbyrunner]

Hell, discopotatohead, I've finally found something that we agree on.
Who would've thought?

[Venom]

I don't know why you would want continue to base a society and an economy on a resource supplied by nations like venezuala, kuwait, iran, iraq, libya, oman etc. Hardly a list of the worlds most stable nations. Plus if George Bush can recognise climate change... well enough said. All the dates for cataclysmic events like an ice free artic are getting closer with further research, not further away. Now wether you believe our societies burning of fossil fuels is contributing to that or not, why the hell would you want to risk it?

[Subyroo]

Man... I drove a sherpa once. Sounded like an awesome bike, moved like a 2 cylinder hatchback

The Sherpa is an amazing little machine for 650cc's, in 1988 my VL Commodore was pushed hard to overhaul my wife in her Sherpa from the lights and the amount of weight that car could haul for it's size was out of this world, it's only shortfall was in the safety stakes.

[discopotato03]

The oil producing countries need the market as much as the market needs them . If they turn the taps off the bucks stop real quick . Many of them have huge amounts of money invested in powerful western economies so who do they hurt if they damage those economies ?

Make the price too high and technologies to use less or replace petrolium fuels takes off , after all it IS a dog eat dog world .

IMO the turning point in expensive pump fuel was making it expensive in the US , they were always going to scream the longest and loudest and be heard all round the world .

George Dubya like all politicians occasionally has to follow public opinion because thats what invariably gets or keeps administrations in power . IMO the world will be a more dangerous place if Obama becomes "king" , Al Gore has a lot to answer for and it won't be him paying the debt in his own blood .

Personally , though some I respect disagree , think petrolium fuel blended with a reasonable amount of ethanol alcohol will help spread it a bit further and offer a financial warning to OPEC . All it takes is a few changes to car fuel systems and I refuse to believe that (in Australia anyway) fuel over food is an issue with ethanol and crops .

Brumby Runner must PM you over a CD I hear is floating around about a certain conversion , may backfilp yet .

Cheers A .

[Thalass]

From what I know oil isn't running out as such, it's just that all the easy and cheap stuff is. Everything else is at the bottom of the deeper oceans and thus crazy expensive to suck out.


The north pole ice is melting. It'll be seasonal within a decade, and if that doesn't fudge things up then I don't know what will. That's why there's all that crap about polar bears being in trouble - they swim pretty good, but I doubt they can swim that far!

The antarctic seems to be in pretty good shape (the ozone hole was closing up last I heard), but all that fresh water being dumped into the north atlantic and north pacific can't be good, no matter what your view on the world climate.



I agree with Venom there. One big advantage of an EV is that it's trivial to make your own electricity - but I don't know of any way to make your own petrol in your backyard! But I do concede that for longer range trips, batteries just don't cut it yet. Especially if you're in the middle of the bush with no power points within 500km! Which is why my brumby will (eventually) be diesel-electric. A diesel can run on nearly anything that'll burn.

The main reason I want an EV is because I'm sick to death of waiting in line to buy jesus juice, and having no choice about the matter. Everybody bitches about fuel prices, but nobody does anything.



Perth is a pretty windy city, and it shits me to see all that energy going to waste. Stick a couple of wind turbines up and it's free electricity! Can't go wrong with that!

[Gannon]

Disco. Im with you, there is nothing wrong with ethanol blended fuel. Ive been running my EA82T on E10 since i rebuilt it and i haven't had any problems. Id happily upgrade the size of my fuel system if i could buy richer mixes of ethanol blended fuel.

Thalass. I too would love to see more wind turbines. Lots of people say that they are an eyesore, but surely it cant look any worse than a power station billowing clouds of smoke into the atmosphere.

[fredsub]

We must surely run out of oil some time, because it must be a finite resource, still something that has taken millions of years to come about, and we would exhaust it in less than 200years ??

There is a win out of the arctic melting - it seems more oil will be able to be got at up there:D

But whether we make any significant contribution to the melt is highly debatable, the biggest heat source is the sun itself, and it does not necessarily burn at a constant rate ad-infinitum, it does change.

As for Ethanol - its bad news as a replacement fuel, bad for the environment, bad for food production. Oh and guess what, to improve yield, use hydrocarbon derived fertilizers!! Its ok for it to play a small part in the use of agricultural waste, but that is all.

One big advantage of an EV is that it's trivial to make your own electricity

really? to make significant amount of electricity? I assume thinking solar panels ? cost ? their lifetime? yes they have a lifetime!! If you had an EV vehicle to recharge, have you worked out just how many solar panels you need, to be able to recharge in generously 8hours?!!


Someone always brings up the wind turbines idea, have you any idea of the amount of juice a city the size of Perth sucks up?


I hear talk of nsw I'Lemma, scapping off-peak electricity hmm was thinking in my long distance plan to build EV and recharge from off-peak electricity - but it seams electric rates are going to hit the roof....Rud's already getting you ready, limbering up to your wallet now...

[discopotato03]

Well the yanks are worried about crude oil supplies - not . They've not long back discoverd more black gold under (I think Kansas) , enough to feed dixyville for 41 years ... If they're smart they'll leave it in the ground and use everyone elses up . Can't run a war machine from a wind farm - unless its 'powered by pollies or Parasite Hiltons campaign cheer squad .

Ethanol is NOT a problem in Australia because we make more sugar than we can usefuly use . Any plant material can be used to make ethanol , not that our staple diet is sugar cane sugar beets or corn jacks ...

Make it locally , blend it locally , not paying for as many billions of liters of black filth to be shipped from the other side of the globe in big expensive bulk carriers .

Polar caps melt and freeze in continual cycles , cycles based on the suns heat output . Less solar activity more solid water and vice versa . Been going on many more millions of years than Homer Sapiens have been around .

Do some research on what contributes most to carbon dioxide in our atmosphere - our input struggles to approach 1 000 000 th but Shhh - don't tell the worlds volcanoes .

Lastly the white fluffy stuff you see wafting away from thermal power stations - it's called steam - boiled water from cooling towers eg Wang Power Station west of Lithgow . Coal fired power stations do it a lot better than blokes shovelling black rocks into a steam engines fire box .

Cheers A .

PS my favourite supply of 95 oct E10 has just fallen to $1.397 and Tuesday is usually Sydneys cheapest day .

Cheers A .

[Gannon]

Lastly the white fluffy stuff you see wafting away from thermal power stations - it's called steam - boiled water from cooling towers

Thats a good point.

It seems everytime global warming is mentioned on the news, there is always a cooling tower somewhere in the video footage.

When i said

surely it cant look any worse than a power station billowing clouds of smoke into the atmosphere.

I was referring to the image of the clouds rather than what the clouds are comprised of.


What if global warming has nothing to do with pollution?

11,000 years ago, the earth was at the peak of an ice age. Maybe since then, the average temperature has always been rising, its just recently we've been able to measure it.

This is a good example of natural climate change

[discopotato03]

Also ethanol from corn , not that we make it that way , the process leaves behind oil protein plus vitamins etc that can go towards stock feed or Homer feed products .
We can make ethanol from most forms of sugar or starch , here amongst the kangaroos Manildra Group makes it from molasses because we don't have the corn fetish at Cactus Island .

Roll on the "VE85" or whatever they'll call it Commode Door because that's what it will take to get E85 servos dotted all over .

Cold outside ATM ? Better ring Kev and get him to turn up the global warming thermostat .

Cheers A .

[Thalass]

really? to make significant amount of electricity? I assume thinking solar panels ? cost ? their lifetime? yes they have a lifetime!! If you had an EV vehicle to recharge, have you worked out just how many solar panels you need, to be able to recharge in generously 8hours?!!

I don't like photovoltaic solar panels. They work fine, sure, but they're expensive and energy-intensive to make, while being fragile and impossible to repair! This site has a whole bunch of wind turbines that were built by hand from scrap. As well as that, I intend to research stirling engines once I have a house and a garage to work in.

Someone always brings up the wind turbines idea, have you any idea of the amount of juice a city the size of Perth sucks up?

I don't care how much power Perth uses, I only need 18kWh for my car (say around 25kWh to cover losses), and then if I'm lucky I can try and double that to run the house. My own house isn't built yet, but I've been tracking my mum's power usage (which is a larger house with four adults, five televisions, three laptops and a desktop pc) is roughly 25 - 30kWh per day.

Admittedly I won't be able to generate that kind of power from one wind turbine - especially in a place like Ellenbrook where you can't erect something like that because think of the house prices omg!!1 But I'm looking into other sources, including solar panels, solar stirling engines, and even WVO fuelled diesel gensets. Obviously this won't be cheap, but the cost will be offset by my house being the only one running when there's a blackout. haha

I don't particularly care about saving the world or anything, it just chafes to be chained to the petrol pump like we are. Also I want to prove that an electric car can go off road and do all the fun things we like doing.