Hybrid Racing stories

What is the deal with Americas love affair with fast cars?
We don't have an autobahn and the speed limit is only 70... How fast do you need to go?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Jun 13 2006, 01:17 PM) [snapback]270628[/snapback]</div>

I'm going to bust your chops a bit so bare with me here.


trans·mis·sion (trăns-mĭsh'ən, trănz-)
n.

The act or process of transmitting.
The fact of being transmitted.
Something, such as a message, that is transmitted.
An automotive assembly of gears and associated parts by which power is transmitted from the engine to a driving axle. Also called gearbox.

Actually the Prius does have a type of CVT. It may not be the belt type, but it is indeed continuously variable meaning that it is always in the right gear.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(benighted @ Jun 13 2006, 01:27 PM) [snapback]270635[/snapback]</div>

What does that have anything to do with anything. Not to mention you are in the hybrid racing stories forum, and thus a speed limit or law is being broken if it is being done on a public streets.

If you can't figure out why people enjoy going fast then you are more than likely not going to figure out why we would even own our own cars instead of using public transportation.

It's all in the statement of fast cars a freedom. Anyone who enjoys driving a slug has never had to pull out into Atlanta traffic or drive more than 50 miles on the hwy.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(htmlspinnr @ Jun 13 2006, 10:18 AM) [snapback]270548[/snapback]</div>

It's still a transmission. That's my point. Observe:

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Muscle Car @ Jun 13 2006, 12:48 PM) [snapback]270650[/snapback]</div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Muscle Car @ Jun 13 2006, 12:48 PM) [snapback]270650[/snapback]</div>

I don't think they are breaking the speed limits if they're racing in a Prius.


Why don't you guys have meaningful hybrid races? Like... who can reach 50 MPG first?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Jun 13 2006, 02:17 PM) [snapback]270628[/snapback]</div>

Actually, they got you there. A car has to have a transmission, there has to be some way to transmit power to the wheels. No transmission, no go.

As for the patent... aren't there other companies who came up with the planetary gear transmission as well? Planetary gearsets have been around at least since WWII, and it's somewhat, well, sleazy for Toyota to have patented them (if they indeed have)... just as sleazy as amazon trying to patent a "one click" purchase.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stoic @ Jun 13 2006, 03:21 AM) [snapback]270410[/snapback]</div>

You know, someone off this thread sent an email to my roomate and challenged to race his prius against my roomates camaro the other day. I can actually feel myself gettin dumber from all of this...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(NuShrike @ Jun 12 2006, 11:52 PM) [snapback]270352[/snapback]</div>

And you realize we laugh at you for paying such a large sum of money for a vehicle that gets gas mileage equivalent to turbo diesel cars right? I have no idea where the crotch rocket comment came from, I think you need to take a trip to Urban Dictionary.
I get the feeling you aren't exactly a car guy. The whole "OMG AmeriCun CaRs cant turrrrn" is naive as all hell. I drive an Acura Integra, it is slow and it would undoubtedly get nice person raped on a road course by a bone stock Mustang GT. While some cars do have an advantage from a handling standpoint they aren't all manufactured on the same continent. Some enjoy drag racing, others enjoy road racing, neither one is better than the other.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(benighted @ Jun 13 2006, 02:27 PM) [snapback]270635[/snapback]</div>

Is that a rhetorical question? Yes street racing is illegal, but you obviously have not been in an LS2 with longtubes, heads and cam in third gear doin 120. There are quick cars (14-13 secs), there are fast cars (13-12 secs), and there are violently insane cars (under 12 secs). Theres nothing more addictive than being able to control something that, according to established laws of physics, shouldnt be controllable. but thanks to design and technology, these levels of power can be controlled at the hands of a skilled and knowledgable driver. Its not just Americans though, and i hate it when people say that. Its so condescending. People talk a lot of crap about muscle cars, yet its the muscle cars that are bringing higher sales than the european sports cars on the auction blocks these days. Im by no means a die hard detroit patriot, but i will defend american design. Americans have always been very successful at racing when they put their minds to it. I love many european sports cars and in terms of sheer style and raw emotion, would take one anyday of the week. But sometimes i cant help but think about how pissed i would be if i just bought a $225,000 Vanquish and just got smoked by Z06. not to mention the performance potential still left in those engines.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(benighted @ Jun 13 2006, 02:27 PM) [snapback]270635[/snapback]</div>

Yeah, because the only way to have fun with a fast car is to hit triple digit speeds on an unrestricted expressway. If you have to ask you'll never understand, that's like asking why so many people want to fly fighter jets when theres a possibility of being killed.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SLH350 @ Jun 13 2006, 12:13 PM) [snapback]270667[/snapback]</div>

Btw, I meant crotch-rocket = butt-rocket = muscle car because that's what 0-60 times mean to people's crotches. I know bikes get excellent mpg. Have a friend who took a hard spill into the fast lane because some black truck decided to suddenly brake hard in front of him, and a gf whose cousin died recently on his.

So lesse, a 2005 TDI is about $24K USD out the door. I got my 2005 Prius $28K out the door because it was either a choice of $10K in repairs on the '96 Civic, or get some 4-door with room and good fuel economy that'll get me to work and back on my 100 mile daily commute.

Features over the TDI: nav integrated with bluetooth, JBL 9-speaker sound, alloy wheels, 6 airbags, microfiber seats, HID headlights, tough PSD transmission, aluminum hood and hatch, electric AC, weights 300lbs+ less than a Jetta, even with the "heavy" 100lbs of batteries (which actually nicely move the center of gravity to be near over the rear seats), and some more that I won't bother. Also, almost inch more headroom and shoulder in the front, and 3 more inches of legroom in back versus the Jetta. I think I'm more justified in the $4K difference, and more than your typical BMW/Mercedes/Escalade bling-bling.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Muscle Car @ Jun 13 2006, 06:47 AM) [snapback]270454[/snapback]</div>

Okay, let's deal with the myths in your head first. What little electric motor/starter? We don't have one. We only have two very powerful motors that alternate as generators. The smaller MG1 used to spin up the ICE is still many times more powerful than your normal electric starter and was designed to spin or absorb energy from the ICE. The bigger MG2 is used to spin the wheels, but that's oversimplifying a lot because of the way the PSD transmission works and how work is distributed among all three motors (including ICE).

What cost of replacing parts? How much does it cost to replace a tranny? Usually $2-3K after 200K miles? It's $5K for my 199K '96 Civic. There's a Canadian Prius cab driver that's driven over 200 Km on his car with ne'er a battery repair/replacement or any major repair costs with both an previous model and the current model Prius, so prove it!

Toyota has been making this car for near 10 years (1997), and battery replacement is urban myth perpetuated by people who can't take care of their celphone/laptop batteries. I've already gotten 40K miles on mine without ever needing to do timing-belt changes (it's a chain), replace an alternator (don't got one), replace front brake pads (barely use them), etc etc. Just oil and tire rotation.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Muscle Car @ Jun 13 2006, 06:47 AM) [snapback]270454[/snapback]</div>

Can you prove it? We track our MPG tank by tank here over the long run either with Excel, or just putting it in http://www.greenhybrid.com/compare/mileage...nonhybrids.html. (yes, I see some TDIs with 55+, but there's only a very few with more than 2 tanks to prove it).

Show me your data! People think what they think they get per tank, but if they don't document it over the long haul... urban myth. If you just want to be proud of your car and sometimes make up magic stats, sure.. we all do that.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(NuShrike @ Jun 13 2006, 04:22 PM) [snapback]270703[/snapback]</div>

Lol, so any car that does better than a high 17 second quarter mile is a muscle car now? Bro you're getting insulted by a bunch of Honda owners, don't flatter yourself.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SLH350 @ Jun 13 2006, 01:46 PM) [snapback]270714[/snapback]</div>

Dude, I AM a Honda owner (since you didn't read the above), and when did I say anything about quarter mile? I can keep up just fine with my friend's Mini (non-S) down the 110, and that's good enough for me. Got anything else to attack cause you keep reaching?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Jun 13 2006, 02:17 PM) [snapback]270628[/snapback]</div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Jun 13 2006, 03:11 PM) [snapback]270664[/snapback]</div>

So first it doesnt have a transmission, and now you know more about its transmission that any of us?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stoic @ Jun 13 2006, 02:21 AM) [snapback]270410[/snapback]</div>

My offer still stands.

Also, I suggest running your A/C full blast for this race...you'll need the extra power gained by the cool air flow to your batteries if you want to keep up

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(You're nuts @ Jun 13 2006, 01:50 PM) [snapback]270718[/snapback]</div>

Point A, it's more like your typical differential than a normal manual/auto transmission. Point B, it could be still transmission. So yes, he knows more about it than you.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Jun 13 2006, 02:11 PM) [snapback]270664[/snapback]</div>

I hate to pick but what makes you more qualified than any racer on this site? Is that any racer in general or is that any of us on here who have made an appearence as of late?

Certainly it wouldn't be any of us that have shown up lately because that would be a vast and grossly incorrect statement since you don't know what kind of backgrounds we have or what cars we have worked on or even what our professions are. My point is this, I could be a toyota tech for all you know or even own a transmission shop. Certainly someone who is as scholasticly adept such as yourself wouldn't have opened themselves up to ridicule just for making a very broad and over generalized statement.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(timeformegaman @ Jun 13 2006, 02:30 PM) [snapback]270593[/snapback]</div>

My point was to your assertion if a person wanted to save money on gas, they should buy a motorcycle. I said they could if they didn't care about safety or have no need to haul other individuals.

Driven conservatively, the Prius gets 65-70, so still quite a bit better than 50. Plus, if you are talking about all motorcycles, you can't say all get 50 mpg. Larger bikes may only be getting 30-40 mpg, even worse compared to the Prius. So in terms of the gas bill only, the motorcycle rider's wallet is probably lighter than the Prius drivers.

So a person alluding to a car having some sporting abilities and they are calling it a sports car or performance car? A car that is small and agile, with really good midrange acceleration (i.e. the Prius) could be described as being driven in a sporty manner, without being called a perfomance vehicle. The simple fact is no one ever stated the Prius was a performance car or that it could really hang with any of the cars mentioned in a true straight line 0-60 mph race. Ya'll are the ones who read into what was posted and saying people are saying the Prius is a sports car or muscle car. Judging from some of the later comments about the Prius, I think the visitors were only reading what they wanted to read to have an excuse to go off on a "toy" car.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(micheal @ Jun 13 2006, 06:33 PM) [snapback]270778[/snapback]</div>

:wacko: you are nuts, really, what drugs are you taking? You hippies must be high 24/7 to believe this blatant ignorance, which has been proven wrong again and again, but you still refuse to face the facts.

1- the prius is NOT agile, it does NOT handle well, it does NOT have good midrange acceleration, it does NOT have pep, and lastly, is NOT quick off the line. Look at the facts posted earlier in this thread, no matter how you look at it, the Prius has poor handling, very poor acceleration, and a very low top speed. Which leads me to this:

2- These people are saying they beat the cars we have mentioned, which, as has been shown multiple times, will not happen. You wint hang with a bike, or a viper or an enzo or honda civic, in fact- most new cars could easily mop the floor with the prius. Hell, most older cars could too.

good job saving the environment, getting great MPG. Kudos, if thats what you wanna do, go for it. The first thing i did when i got my car was ditch the cats and get a custom exhaust system put in. hurray for hydrocarbons! I'm not knocking you for getting your car, just misrepresenting it.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(NuShrike @ Jun 13 2006, 05:01 PM) [snapback]270725[/snapback]</div>

Yes, i know what planetary gears are and i know how they work. i work at a patent office and, surprisingly enough there is a while class for planetary gear transmission systems. your car wasnt the first and wont me the last to use them.

http://www.uspto.gov/go/classification/uspc475/defs475.htm

and what makes you or him think that he knows any more than i do when it comes to any subject? Obviously he cant decide whether it's a transmission or not, so dont blame me for being hesitant when it comes to taking his advice.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stoic @ Jun 13 2006, 03:57 PM) [snapback]270722[/snapback]</div>

Ha.....Ha........ha......he won't take you up on your offer because he is a loser!!





<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(You're nuts @ Jun 13 2006, 03:50 PM) [snapback]270718[/snapback]</div>

LMAO!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: