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Livens
Samba Member
Joined: September 10, 2005
Posts: 555
Location: Louisville, KY
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 Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 7:12 am Post subject: |
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| VWBeachBum wrote: |
i just tell people around 30 miles per gallon...same as my wife's new beetle...although at the end of the year, we're selling the NewBeetle and buying her a VW Thing.
you have to put the highest grade of gas in the tank though, which isn't bad considering we don't fill up as much as other cars on the road.
what kind of VW are you looking at getting? |
Why do you have to use the high-octane gas? Are you running a high-compression engine? If not you are wasting your money.
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1972 Super Beetle |
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coad 
Samba Scapegoat
Joined: September 12, 2002
Posts: 7552
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| Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 7:33 am Post subject: |
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| vwdevotee wrote: |
| I'm still watching the thread, I am just marveling at how few replies are on-topic though... |
A true gas/electric hybrid could be done, I mean it's the same technology that railroad locomotives have used since the 1930's-- run an internal combustion engine at it's most efficient rpm and use it to turn a generator. Then let the electric motors (powered by either the generator or a small battery) take care of the peaks in power demand. And the motor could shut off at lights since the battery can handle the start-up when the light changes (same technology VW had on the rabbit back in the 70's).
The mileage improves since the engine is running at a more or less constant speed and you don't waste fuel on the accelerations. The battery could be very small (on the Prius the battery can only power the car for about 4 miles) and the electric motors are tiny.
The problem is that a VW is probably a horrible vehicle to try this with. Not only is the VW engine rather inefficient since it needs to run rich to keep cool, but it's most efficient rpm is way too high. It is probably also overkill to use a 1500 or 1600cc engine for the job.
The other thing you might want to consider is that modern Hybrids are NOT designed for fuel efficiency. They get good gas mileage, but that is a by-product. Their main purpose is low emissions, and to get those low emissions they actually sacrifice fuel economy. They were designed to meet the specs the Federal Govt set, so some of the things they do actually hurt mileage. On the Prius for example the engine runs richer than it needs to for the first 10 minutes or so to heat the catalyic convertor, and this kills gas mileage on most short trips. In the USA you can't even run them in all-electric mode (like you can everywhere else in the world) since the Feds would have called it a dual fuel vehicle and it would no longer have met their guidelines. |
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vwdmc16
Samba Member
Joined: January 12, 2006
Posts: 1734
Location: sacramento, CA
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| Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 5:17 pm Post subject: |
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| VWannabe wrote: |
So...What kinda mileage does it get?  . |
You know A freaking cop asked me that after he pulled me over  I told him I never bother because I have other things to worry about(like being pulled over!)but i've gotten up to 32 in my '72 ghia, maybe I could break 40 if I drove non stop like on cross country trips @55mph.
But mounting a motor on the nose of the tranny sound intresting, It would be mounted at the same place the Schwimmwagen had a front wheel drive shaft:
and all those batteries would take a lot of room, and putting more under the rear seat would really make catching the seat on fire easier when you have people sitting on it
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"Fiberglass is for boats and race cars-Steel is real-fix it right the first time"-Wolff
'72 Ghia: http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n146/vwdmc17/100_1964.jpg
'72 Honda Z600
'81 Delorean
www.EVILGENIUSRACING.com |
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51577
Samba Member
Joined: August 14, 2005
Posts: 737
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| Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 6:58 pm Post subject: |
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| that looks pretty much like how I remember the electric motor drive attaching. Whomever designed the conversion must have taken the schwimmwagen transmission and either reproduced it, or just used a schwimmwagen trans. |
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AircooledHome
Samba Member
Joined: October 13, 2015
Posts: 273
Location: California
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| Posted: Wed May 09, 2018 8:17 pm Post subject: |
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| Gary wrote: |
| vwdevotee wrote: |
| The Beetle was a hybrid. It had the electric motor AND the original type 1 motor. Personally, I have no intention of using it as a taxi. I only like it becuase it is unique, and I figure that it would make me stand out from all of the other new mechanical engineering graduates when I try to get a job with a car company if I have already designed and built a hybrid conversion for an existing car. If I can do it on my own, with a 30+ year old car, and a limited budget, I should be able to do it with a new car, and actual resources. |
Boy, are you in for a rude awakening should you get hired at an automotive company. Better check your idealism at the door if that happens. I have family that have extensive experience with autopmotive engineering. Detroit doesn't believe in a best approach. The Europeans and Japanese are a bit better, but not by much. Besides, they already have hybrids. The key is the proper alternative fuel for the future. Hydrogen is not a player, no matter what the tree huggers and disillisioned politicians think. |
ohh,, how time has proven you wrong my friend!
and so I don't simply awaken a dead thread; the answer to the OP's question:
https://jalopnik.com/vw-could-have-made-a-hybrid-beetle-over-30-years-ago-1692235126
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