Electric super.. alternative to hybrid

[Bullhorn7]

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009...better-mpg.php

Making Gasoline Engines as Efficient as Diesel
The most common type of hybrid car uses electricity stored in batteries to power an electric motor. But what if instead of going to a motor, that electricity was used to power an electric supercharger? That's exactly what UK firm Controlled Power Technologies (CPT) is doing, and the results are promising. Tests on various engine types have shown that a gasoline engine equipped with this tech can compete with a diesel, and torque has been increased by 40-50% and CO2 emissions have been reduced by around 20%.

Continued on the original page.. any thoughts? I always thought the original Alternator couldnt generate enough power to power a E-Turbo enough to produce any significant gain.

[wed3k]

we should just go back to carbeurators and flat heads.

[scudweiser]

I want to convert my car to run on baby seals.

Kidding, I see the value to making internal combustion engines more efficient, but only to hold us over until they are replaced by something with less emissions, like hydrogen fuel cells or electric cars charged from power plants producing sustainable green power. No use in just making a longer tail pipe.

Ninety degree direct injection, thats what is going to give internal combustion gasoline engines a extra few years.

[Cblove]

I fail to see how this would make an engine more efficient. Do they just run lean? I see the power increase aspect of it, but how on earth does it become on par with a diesel?

[evil_demon_01]

I always thought the original Alternator couldnt generate enough power to power a E-Turbo enough to produce any significant gain.[/QUOTE]

The story is assuming the same layout as a hybrid except instead of running an electric motor, it runs this "supercharger"

Tuning would still be required, which means less timing and more fuel on acceleration due to the increased air volume - I fail to see the fuel economy theory in that.

[wed3k]

I fail to see how this would make an engine more efficient. Do they just run lean? I see the power increase aspect of it, but how on earth does it become on par with a diesel?

there's a certain point where you make enough power to maintain the same speed and use less throttle.

here's something interesting as well. twincharged setups

http://www.ukipme.com/engineoftheyea...s_10/1_14.html

[Cblove]

there's a certain point where you make enough power to maintain the same speed and use less throttle.

here's something interesting as well. twincharged setups

http://www.ukipme.com/engineoftheyea...s_10/1_14.html

Yes an interesting point, I made a interesting post about this on another website. For one, diesel fuel is about 17 percent more efficient at burning with air then gasoline by having a higher number of hydrocarbons. Two diesels are designed to run a much higher compression then gasoline engines, therefore being up to 50 more efficient. By raising your compression ratio on a gas engine, it actually makes it less efficient, due to detonation, and poor atomization . The engine might end up having to actually work harder, having any kind of forced induction.

I think maybe this article is really saying "With this e-charger, your engine, with ultra conservative tuning, on a 3-cyl, can be almost efficient as the lowest rated diesels fuel economy on the market“. It is also talking about a 3-ctlander engine I believe, right. I remember it dropping VWs name. I can’t really remember the article right now. I’ll re-read it later.

[deevergote]

www.boosthead.com, Thomas Knight, makes an electric supercharger. However, his design is intended to be used more like a nitrous kit, rather than a constant power adder like a traditional supercharger. He said the power draw for the supercharger to do anything worthwhile would be far too great, and current battery and charging technology wouldn't be able to keep up with it. I wonder if that technology is finally catching up?