eco cars

[fuoriserie]

I was looking at their backbone chassis, it looks clean and simple...

Edited by fuoriserie on Monday 11th February 21:40

[fuoriserie]

Davi said:

fuoriserie said:

Was Looking at the RQRiley X3 design.........what do you guy think of it ?

So very, very close to being excellent - unfortunately the styling on the front turns it from "oooOOOOhh" to just an "Oh"

I agree with you, the front end spoils waht is otherwise a very nice and neat design, but being a kit you could still modify it yourself later...

[FlossyThePig]

fuoriserie said:

Slightly off topic, but what are the legal implications of using small cameras and monitors to replace the door and rear view mirrors?

Both Aptera and "alé" have a screen either side of the main instrument display with rear view shots.

[fuoriserie]

FlossyThePig said:

fuoriserie said:

Slightly off topic, but what are the legal implications of using small cameras and monitors to replace the door and rear view mirrors?

Both Aptera and "alé" have a screen either side of the main instrument display with rear view shots.

I have no idea, but quite a few car manufacturers are adopting them....

Edited by fuoriserie on Tuesday 12th February 14:28

[hoopdiddy07]

Davi said:

fuoriserie said:

Was Looking at the RQRiley X3 design.........what do you guy think of it ?

So very, very close to being excellent - unfortunately the styling on the front turns it from "oooOOOOhh" to just an "Oh"

If there was ever a candidate for a face lift this is it. The chassis looks like a great base though. My thinking at the moment is that the chassis should be no more than a jig to provide hard points for suspension mounting and battery support with the composite tub doing the rest of the work. Otherwise the main structure and weight of the car is under your bum and therefore offers no crash structure. I am working on a single tubular spine that is mechanically fastened and bonded to the tub. Spreading loads into composites can be costly, I suppose this idea is a half way house between the two. Any comments?

[Davi]

hoopdiddy07 said:

Davi said:

fuoriserie said:

Was Looking at the RQRiley X3 design.........what do you guy think of it ?

So very, very close to being excellent - unfortunately the styling on the front turns it from "oooOOOOhh" to just an "Oh"

If there was ever a candidate for a face lift this is it. The chassis looks like a great base though. My thinking at the moment is that the chassis should be no more than a jig to provide hard points for suspension mounting and battery support with the composite tub doing the rest of the work. Otherwise the main structure and weight of the car is under your bum and therefore offers no crash structure. I am working on a single tubular spine that is mechanically fastened and bonded to the tub. Spreading loads into composites can be costly, I suppose this idea is a half way house between the two. Any comments?

I agree completely on the roles of the chassis and tub, exactly what I was thinking.

My thoughts (because I prefer in-line or single seater) was rather than a single spine it might be better to have two box "sills" bonded to the tub to provide hard mounts, which could still act as batter ystorage and mounting while being less intrusive, allowing lower seating position for aero'.

[fuoriserie]

hoopdiddy07 said:

Davi said:

fuoriserie said:

Was Looking at the RQRiley X3 design.........what do you guy think of it ?

So very, very close to being excellent - unfortunately the styling on the front turns it from "oooOOOOhh" to just an "Oh"

If there was ever a candidate for a face lift this is it. The chassis looks like a great base though. My thinking at the moment is that the chassis should be no more than a jig to provide hard points for suspension mounting and battery support with the composite tub doing the rest of the work. Any comments?

Agree the chassis does look like a nice backbone chassis to work with, and the front end needs a quick facelift......

In refernce to the the ecoracer chassis, wasn't Lotus using the VARI bonding system with the Lotus Esprit, bonding the two half bodyshells in the middle, and creating a very strong platform for the various hardpoints.....

Just some info on polymers:

http://userweb.port.ac.uk/~zhangz/Advanced%20Compo...

Edited by fuoriserie on Tuesday 12th February 21:49

[hoopdiddy07]

Italo, I am a partner in a company that produces such composites. http://www.spacecomposites.co.uk

[Davi]

hoopdiddy07 said:

Italo, I am a partner in a company that produces such composites. http://www.spacecomposites.co.uk

Hoopdiddy, YHM re. getting into your line of work!

[fuoriserie]

hoopdiddy07 said:

Italo, I am a partner in a company that produces such composites. http://www.spacecomposites.co.uk

Now I understand where you're coming from, and your design concept.

Cheers
Italo

Edited by fuoriserie on Wednesday 13th February 15:38

[Fresh_Clip]

I like the backbone chassis. Steel, lightweight, good. Still a 3-wheeler though and with absolutely nauseating bodywork :-( I have been continuing to think about the whole concept of an EV commuter. We have covered the style issue and I think also, four wheels are essential to make the machine appealing to regular car owners/buyers. I also had this thought.

Imagine it's cold, dark and raining. You've just finished a days work and your keen to get home for a medicinal beverage and a gawp at the telly. You arrive at your EV commuter and you just want convenience. The whole "race-car" styling thing has worn off and now it's just a tool to get you home. So you don't want to faff about with funny doors that dump a cup of water down your neck or crawl into a hole that's nearly on the ground. You just want to get into the vehicle, quickly and without fuss. Once under way you want anti-fogging that works on the windscreen and side windows, wipers that work well, a comfy seat, heating and decent headlights.

I am not proposing a dull econo-box car here I'm just pointing out that Joe and Jane public look at concept drawings and go "WOW!" but if you built the car as the concept drawing shows, they'd never buy it. Eventually, the radical lines get erased and the enormous wheels get scaled to actual available items and there you have the car.

It's a balancing act between practicality and style. So if this is to be a commuter tool, the bias will likely be towards practicality. Otherwise the concept would be for a balls out sports car in which people would expect to have to endure a certain level of impracticality.

This isn't a rant, just food for thought........

[stig mills]

IMO that we have to accept the limitations of EV's. Duel fuel is going to be an expensive option, a single pot 150cc scooter motor is a possibility but will be gutless and noisy. Batteries tick all my box's. A single seat and a 50 mile range at 50 MPH is my goal. 3 wheels will keep the weight down.
I'm going to get down to 12 stone b4 I run range tests though! Still not got the style thing right in my head, any further ideas welcome. Regards Stuart

[Davi]

stig mills said:

IMO that we have to accept the limitations of EV's. Duel fuel is going to be an expensive option, a single pot 150cc scooter motor is a possibility but will be gutless and noisy. Batteries tick all my box's. A single seat and a 50 mile range at 50 MPH is my goal. 3 wheels will keep the weight down.
I'm going to get down to 12 stone b4 I run range tests though! Still not got the style thing right in my head, any further ideas welcome. Regards Stuart

still with you on that, 4 wheels over complicates something that's entire basis needs to be one of simplicity. My friend I mentioned is talking with suppliers re: the batteries and trying to put me in contact with someone BTW. With regards to the styling, my greatest concern has been (as is often the case with these things!) screens - In my opinion if you are going for an enclosed canopy you need a wiper, which rules out plastics I think? That means you need at least a small area of glass up front - what glass is available of a suitable size and shape to avoid having custom made items?

Edited by Davi on Sunday 17th February 10:33

[fuoriserie]

Another interesting link...

http://www.evisol.com/company-history.html

[fuoriserie]

Electric Locost Seven....it looks like an MK...

http://www.thorr.eu/component/option,com_frontpage...

[fuoriserie]

very interesting video on the Siemens inwheel electric engine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPSoNfmuBXc&fea...

[fuoriserie]

this looks different...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9msd7TZ-sk&fea...

[fuoriserie]

I like this electric velomobil

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JwEHN0eOK0&fea...

[fuoriserie]

fuoriserie said:

I like this electric velomobil
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdyV6cZ4ZMg&fea...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JwEHN0eOK0&fea...

Very interesting canopy design

Edited by fuoriserie on Wednesday 20th February 20:24

[fuoriserie]

Look at the yellow tricycle...looks really interesting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IX2uRkd8hY&fea...