Reply #85: That won't work [View All]

[Xithras]

What you're talking about is a flywheel design...the wheel spins up when the car is moving and keeps spinning after the applied energy ceases. The problem is that effective flywheels have to be HEAVY (spinner caps only work because they're light and have no resistance). Adding several hundred pounds of unsprung weight to each wheel would have two effects: 1) a 250LB flywheel on each tire (the minimum you would need to generate any reasonable amount of energy on a low-RPM tire) would increase the vehicle weight by over 1000 lbs (more when you count in the weight of the power distribution equipment). Any power gain that you might get would be more than cancelled out by reduced efficiency when accellerating. 2) Unsprung weight is an evil thing in the automotive world. This is why performance cars have aluminum wheels instead of steel wheels. The heavier the tire, the worse the car handles, the bumpier the ride is, and the harder it is to turn. Driving a car with flywheels and generators on each tire would be like driving a tank.