Building a Daily-Driver Anyone Can Afford
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- Опубліковано 24 сер 2024
- Project OSAKI is an Open-Source Automobile Kit Initiative.
Words cannot express how passionate I am about this new endeavor. Through Stand Motor Company, I will use this project to provide educational opportunities for every viewer who follows this journey and to revolutionize the automobile industry while doing so.
Because I dream of a world where distance is no longer a boundary,
travel is no longer a restriction,
and opportunities are abundant for all.
Consider joining the channel and playing a role in our journey!
/ @standracing
and check out standracing.com/ to get involved!
Quick note, according to that formula it is equally efficient to reduce CD and frontal area. The 0.5 is multiplied into the whole formula. However, reducing frontal area is easier than reducing CD for the same gains, so your point does still stand.
Another few things, there's a reason most cars have outboard brakes, and that reason is cooling, or more accurately, heat management.
Brakes get very hot. Placing them inside the vehicle makes them harder to cool and also makes their heat transfer into places you probably don't want it, such as the shocks or the body. Not saying it's impossible to fix those problems, but it's much more difficult than placing them inside the wheels where they're easier to cool and also easier to service.
The idea with the rotary engine that is speeding up and slowing down combined with the single rotor seems risky to me, as the vibrations would be huge. Rotaries also tend to get bad emissions and reliability due to the need to lubricate the apex seals, the average driver can't be trusted to add 2-stroke oil to the fuel tank so they have to inject engine oil instead which burns worse and causes bad emissions.
One idea that could be interesting is using a small engine as a generator to charge a battery instead of using it to drive the wheels, this could allow the car to be a plug-in electric with a range extender, possibly changing its emissions class and earning a tax credit if laws cooperate
Thanks for the feedback. I realized that about the formula after I shot it, but while I was editing it. I almost took it out, but I figured someone would quickly correct me and I could pin their comment :)
@@DJ_Level_3 lemme expand on this idea because I'm not a fan of series hybrids but hear me out. what he's gotta do is figure out a way for the rotary hybrid setup to go back and forth between parallel and series. I cooked up this thought randomly the other day so here it is: most plug in hybrids (which are parallel) as you know have the ability to drive on full electric, full gas, or both at the same time, utilizing the benefits from each. other, however, a series hybrid is pretty much just an ev with a generator built in. so my idea is, why not combine the two, via drive modes and/or coding. like lets say we have a few drive modes: full ev, full gas, combined, and charging. the first three are what you would normally expect in a parallel hybrid but charging is where the series transition comes in. yes parallel hybrids do have things like regen braking and charging the battery as you drive but it is very minuscule compared to what you might get with a proper generator. so if you flip it into charging mode, the gas engine will disconnect from whatever wheels it is driving and idle at a set speed (lets say like 3000rpm or so) and charge the battery as you drive, charging faster than you can drive, at least for city driving, that cant be guaranteed on the freeway. once it gets to idk, 80-90% charge, it can automatically switch back into a combined mode, making it a parallel hybrid once more. i know its an engineering challenge but it would change hybrids as we know them. anyways that's the end of this yap fest, my apologies for the long read
forgot to mention the coding side, you can have it coded so where you can drive in full ev mode, then when the battery dies, it'll switch to full gas and act as a parallel hybrid to slowly recharge the battery. once the battery has enough juice to carry itself (lets call it 30-50%), it'll switch to series mode automatically and let the engine idle to charge it the rest of the way, while driving on the electric power. the only other drive modes u would need would be sport, track/drag (depending on how much total hp it'll make), and off roading modes (potentially), this set of code will be ur default driving mode
Bro saw the "You wouldn't download a car" ad and was like "yes, yes I would"
I came her to find this comment, and I was not disappointed 😂
Not again! First the Aussie guy, now the Asian!
I was literally watching this video to see if it was good enough to share it with that joke
Better yet he gonna upload that car😮
General sam bug video
Was just about to say a 3cyl would tick so many boxes and a turbo could extract a lot from an ice and then i realised i am every manufacturer in 2024.
Take a VR6 crankshaft and build a Pete Aardema block to fit a Big Block Chevy aluminum head . Chop one cylinder off the head . 4.6" bore x 3.78" stroke for 3 liters . Run dummy rods like the ducati supermono . Slant the block 45° towards the drivers side and offset the cockpit to allow a single door and single seat .
I think it would be easiest to buy in older patent expired clone engines and modify them to suit, I'm building a kit car at the moment and finding a suitable cheap crate engine is a very hard task
twincharged 2 stroke diesel?
@@udlrfbak 2-stroke uniflow
I'd go with hybrid electric have the internal combustion engine running at its most efficient RPM driving an alternator with an electric motor to actually drive the vehicle. That way you wouldn't have any range anxiety on charging that you could still use it as full electric for short distances.
Take a note from a somewhat famous rocket company: Use as many off-the-shelf parts as possible. Look at the most popular and largest production number cars available and use components from them for suspension, brakes, steering...etc. Keep this as simple as possible.
If the goals were purely commercial, you're absolutely right. One of the good things that will come of this project is the education that both the viewers and myself will gain as we learn how to design and manufacture parts, so it's a worthwhile trade to create most of this from scratch.
@@StandRacing You have it backwards. Commercialized thinking is making unique parts you can patent and protect, or limit availability. Making one-off parts or limiting creation to fabrication skills greatly reduces the likelihood of the project crossing the finish line. Start with a 1.0 anyone with basic wrenching skills can build. Then move forward with your ultra custom 2.0. This is very 101 of any project. Open source is using the best, cheapest, most available parts so anyone can assemble the end goal.
You're creating an open-source car anyone can build for $10k or less. That's junkyard or parts counter sourcing, an easily or low cost to fabricate frame, low skill, low tool overhead for the average garage builder.... think Caterham 7 kit car or the low-buck-Lotus project.
i also expected most of the drivetrain, suspension and such to be taken from 1 or multiple existing cars with good availability around the globe. the frame being custom is complicated enough for a lot of learning to happen.
@@StandRacing if it's educational, it will remain just that. But you were talking about the affordable and available car.
@@StandRacingnah, off the shelf parts make way more sense, go look at Edison motors and their design philosophy.
The engineering has never been the problem, it's getting the government to allow such a thing on the road.
Shhh, let them jump straight into the engineering without considering those pesky legality aspects.
Safety standards? Bah! Ain't nobody got time for that!
It's not like the Tesla Roadster is open source now.. oh wait...
I thought 3 wheeled vehicles were the way to skirt some regs
@@mattgraham4340 Depends on where you are. Some places have a separate classification for 3 wheeled vehicles with their own rules which are sometimes self-contradictory, or highly restrictive.
I have a catless rx8 13b rotory fk emissions 😆
@@luckyshark32 oh yeah they do. Some states still consider three wheel cars as motorcycles. That means you're forced to wear a helmet the entire time you operate it.
An open source car would be a beast. Engineers from all over contributing their knowledge towards a same goal. Problems being addressed instead of cheaply bandaged. Access to software AND repair, open source diagnostic platforms...I WANT THIS!!! NO NEED SOMETHING LIKE THIS TO EXIST!!!
The engineering isn't the issue, it's navigating the tight net of "safety" regulations that the entrenched auto manufacturers have lobbied for over the last decades. Building the car is easy, tens of thousands of people in the USA alone have built hot-rods and kit cars and even fully custom race cars, but only a handful could walk into the DMV and get a license plate to drive their car on public roads. That is, without scavenging the VIN from another car and pretending that your fully custom hand-built race car is actually a reconstructed 1999 Chevy Nova.
Think of all of the build configs. Woo
Never while capitalism still exists ...
Fuck the law we driving
Consider contacting Casey Putsch, he runs a non-profit that teaches students engineering called Genius Garage, but more relevantly to your project, has built a high-efficiency car called the Omega car made from recyclable materials that he claim can approach 100 mpg on a Volkswagen diesel powerplant. I think at the very least, even a short chat with him can provide a good amount of knowledge for your project.
Good recommendation 👍
@@StandRacing cheap to buy isnt as good as cheap to own and long lasting. aptera motors collab, they wanted to make diesel hybrid (they ddi before) but now do electric only for selling and brand reputation. driver enthusiast mode can be quicker accelerating assuming driver uses it right, non enthusiast mode makes car have enough torque as needed but not as much speed, so it enforces efficient driving (roughly) compares to careless driving. this maybe not needed if drivetrain limits are already slow. cars are not what what they should be, dont waste money on mediocre , make them stop fooling around if they are gonna get your money.
driving efficiently(low emissions, high miles per gallon , car longveity and low maintenance sort of mixed into it, ) is like endurance racing , avoiding need for pitstops etc, needing to get places on time but doing so efficiently (or whatever speed you want , if you dont care as much about efficiency). driving efficiently is speeding up especially on more downhill-ish roads at optimal fuel level and engine RPM(RotationPerSecond), steering and braking minimally but smoothly. optimal efficiency for toyota 2.4 inline 4 is 2/3 pedal down in 2k-3k rpm, cvt hybrid maintain constant rpm. not sure whats best to do this in: sport mode, fuel level is more, in eco mode its less. use EV mode if optimal combustion level would speed car too much (often, if car isnt letting you do that without the EV mode, it wont let you us EV mode.) use it a bit from a stop for smooth acceleration then when car is rolling use combustion then maybe use it a bit more. smooth acceleration is part of putting less weight on tires at a moment because:
consider tire wear dust emissions and how much it cost to replace tires (most people are becoming increasingly even poorer than they already are and you can invest money into bigger money)like those "xenoestrogen endocrine disputing forever chemicals micro plastics" etc. apply less weight on tires and you'll allow more of that weight handling ability to be used for having more grip for endurance-race-pitstop-avoiding momentum preservation driving fun in the name of efficiency. being able to feel how close car is to its grip limit is good for this goal, similar to the lotus-car-enjoyers ideal.
this type of driving fun is most safe because its nto as fast as possible but does make you rather aware of driving environment instead of being focused mostly on music/radio/daydreaming/texting, etc
youtubes think flight, julian edgar,etc have videos on improving aerodynamic efficiency of his car.can add anti sway bar , better suspension etc "handling mods" for more momentum around turns, but some of it can make the ride bumpier, louder, etc.
hybrid cars are arguably better than electric car because they lower use of combustion and battery mass and all materials overall without adding so much weight. weight worsens road wear damage (repairs cost emissions , money etc) , worsens crash safety for all (except few rich people who can afford super safe cars in the small chance that they are involved in crash and value their lives and have lives we can value). this is why aptera motors originally made diesel hybrid, but now sells electric cars to max profits and reputation as a "environmentally friendly brand."
because batteries are not fully recyclable and combustion fuel is based on anaerobic bacteria that regenerates , which is why oil rigs go back to getting oil after abandoning the almost empty oil well years later. this is why arguably only combustion is proper, in rear mid engine weight distribution , rear wheel drive , with limited slip differential for minimal tire wear even in normal driver driving , for preserving momentum around turns more without too much slowing down by lateral (left /rights) g forces tires.
2-3 trips in compact 4 seater for the once in a year taking a minivan full of kids to doctors , is better than minivan all the time just for that rare scenario. yearly family road trip the all those kids can be done with rented van. in fact for most us a 2 seater is enough because theyll be losers with no friends they trust or care about, no kids carefully selected for good genes, no purpose besides not dieng, and money to overpay for low quality social status and desensitizing overdosing on minor temporary novelty, while being a waste of resources and maybe making life worse overall for others.
can you prove human caused co2 causes climate change or that its not just the usual climate change malkovich cycles similar to that of known ice ages? check incentives behind claims and who owns the industries of climate change alarmism and oil industry(same guys). environmentalists anti nuclear energy (the only reliable clean energy) , and crash safety laws, CAFE law, makes ironically named "suv" cars and electric cars more easily profitable than the cars thatd actually help. examples: they require less emissions per length width of car but allow larger height. crash safety laws increase arms race for safer cars making people in fewer and fewer cars safer at the cost of most others crash safety and everything else.
@@kalmmonke5037tldr
@@StandRacinghey, for making the engine more efficient you could possibly have a valved exhaust that it switches to with a smaller diameter
I also thought of Casey. Seems like these two could work together on this.
Make sure you can build/design an OSAKI w/ a conventional drivetrain before getting fancy with hybrid. We all want this to succeed.
Agreed. A hybrid engine seems like the most complex option of the three. I'm admittedly pro-EV, but I can't help but think that if a project like this for a conventional ICE vehicle were to work, it would have been done by now. Closest thing I've seen done previously are EV conversions, including but not limited to one hobby project I've been following which took the motor and battery of an electric motorcycle to power a Honda Beat body. No matter how it's powered, fully agreed: We all want this to succeed.
I still can't believe you wanted to make a cheap car, and chose a ROTARY of all things. Absolutely amazing, you mad lad
yeah, it should be practical
Tbf, some enthusiasts are doing a lot of work to improve on the classic mazda rotary design, but i dont think the 100% cnc aluminum rotors are very cheap lmao.
If it was me, i would look into Robot Cantina and his project involving a car powered by a Predator 670cc V-twin engine.
Personally I still hope he succeeds. As a fan of the rotary and the cars that use them, I'd really love to see a successful project run on rotary power. One day I'd love to own an FC RX7 that I only drive like once a year cause of the CO2.
@@justcallmenoah5743 Oh, when I have my FC running I'm gonna drive it all the time. Even if it wasn't already exempt from emissions for being older than 1996, I live in a county that doesn't do emissions. And for carbon footprint, I want to eventually run E85 anyway, which is better for the environment
Oh, UA-cam algorithm. What a cruel mistress. People with skills and aspirations like you are a rare sight. I will be looking forward to how this project goes. I wish you good luck because you will need it.
I would also like to share a tad bit of advice from a fellow hobbyist. In my personal experience, having projects for your projects is very risky. Complexity and tackling more than you can handle is a hallmark of would-be products.
I will remain to hold out hope you will not be discouraged in your efforts. Should you put in the work, people will come.
Thank you! My angle is, I have more projects in my head than I can ever tackle in one lifetime. So, if I share all of them with the public maybe someone will like an idea, and then I can help them develop it instead of them helping me.
@@StandRacingthat's kind of beautiful man
@@StandRacingThat is a fantastic outlook. Some people have an idea and feel like they must cling to it and guard it as some precious thing.
The reality is there is no shortage of good ideas, but doing the work of trying them and testing them is infinitely more valuable. If we all share these ideas with each other freely, that makes everything more efficient for everyone.
Open Source works best when using parts that are of the shelf and available. Something like a flexible membrane might be good idea but it is complicated to manufacture it, which leads to hire costs (not considering development). Also it might have reliability problems if there are moving parts that are untested. I like the idea of your project, keep working !
I can't imagine a situation where this kind of car would be cheaper or easier for someone to own than a used car like a civic or corolla, let alone being nearly as comfortable for daily driving. There are already "open-source" cars like the Locost out there, built to be the cheapest enthusiast cars possible, but they tend to not even have doors or a roof, sometimes not even windshields. They're also always based off of donor vehicles, so you have to scrap a running vehicle or assemble a large list of new or used components to build the car, which probably costs more than a used car. The effort of building a whole chassis and bodywork makes sense when it just needs to be lightweight and fast. If you want a cheap daily driver, it's almost definitely going to be way worse than any manufactured car... because thats what pretty much 90% of cars are designed to be. Any time or effort put into making the car will be far greater than what's required to get a used car in better running condition.
That being said, seems like a pretty cool project, and I can see why a tandem seat car would be the best way to do it. Part of what makes the Locost cars easy to make is that they have small bodies, with either flat panels or single-curve panels for parts like the hood that keep things simple.
You'd really have to throw any complexity out the window to make it worthwhile though, like having a very simple chassis with maybe two or four main longitudinal tubes and a rectangular floor pan, and a sort of half-cylinder lexan canopy with a flat safety-glass front windshield. Possibly a single swing-arm style rear wheel to eliminate the differential/axles/uprights, or take an engine + transmission + differential + subframe + suspension assembly from a FWD economy car and re-use all those components. Definitely no special experimental developments for the drivetrain, and definitely no hybrid system (it's essentially doubling the number of powertrain components). You'd either have to find cheap, widely-available steering racks and columns that fit the budget and can point the column up the middle, or you'd have to design simple go-kart style steering with a minimal number of links, rods, and bushings to reduce the hardware cost. You'd probably benefit from either a solid-axle, swing-arm, or torsion-beam front suspension to reduce the complexity, and keep the outboard brakes and shocks/springs because you're not setting lap records in this thing (and you definitely don't want to throw extra axles in there).
To make it widely usable you'd have to either make it comply with a large number of home-built/kit-car regulations, or cheat by doing what you can to get it classified as a 3-wheeled motorcycle.
I'm not any kind of authority on this sort of thing... but I've been making my own racecar while trying to re-use as many existing, cheap components as possible, and the budget easily climbs up over $12k USD as the design progresses.
You're dead on. The only way a project like this works is if they throw any expectation of high performance or luxury features, and aerodynamics, out the window, You'd have to build a parts list around the most affordable components, and you would end up with a car that looks like a low poly digital model. It would be an updated version of the VW Safari, JEEP, mail truck, or a cheap version of the Tesla Cybertruck. The upshot side is that if you're making a daily driver for use in-town, the aerodynamics isn't an issue because the average speed achieved is well below the threshold where aerodynamics even has an effect on fuel economy. But I personally think it can be done. And I think the best starting place is probably to take a hard look at how the VW Type 1 (The beetle) was constructed. I'll freely admit that I'm biased toward those vehicles. But the 79 model beetle was manufactured in Brazil until 2000. And it's because they were dirt cheap to build. But ultimately they couldn't keep up with emissions or safety standards, and their wasn't enough room in the body to add the necessary equipment. The VW Safari (The Thing), was the same car, with a different body shell, and floor pans. But the body was overbuilt, too heavy, and had too high a roll center.
As for what you said about a hybrid electric power train - I think I dissagree. You're not really doubling the powertrain components. You're replacing a mechanically complex gear box with a larger battery, electric motors, solide state motor controllers, and a larger charging system. If you're willing to accept the suspension performance hit, you could mount outboard drive motors on stub shafts for the rear wheels, and lose all the axles and differential with the simple addition of a steering position sensor. You would just kill the power to one of the rear wheels when the chasis begins a turn. A hybrid electric drive train comes with the big advantage that the engine isn't physically coupled to the drive line. You can mount it anywhere, in any orientation, where it will actually fit. It also comes with the advantage that the required output of the motor should be a lot smaller, and you should be able to select an air cooled motor that will do the job, and eliminate the need for the radiator/hoses/coolant/ pump/ and reservoirs. Yes, an air cooled motor won't provide as long a service life, but the reduced mechanical complexity facilitates the rebuild process. And the reduced mechanical complexity greatly reduces both the initial and rebuild costs. With a hybrid electic powertrain, the motor is only connected to the chassis by wiring, fuel lines, motor mounts, and exhaust system support brackets. Certainly a lot easier than removing an engine that's also bolted to a transmission or transaxle. The hybrid electric powertrain can combine the starter and alternator into a single device. And it deletes the clutch/ torque converter, and bell housing, entirely.
That said, the real advantage of the hybrid electric power train, is that the motor only operates at three different RPMs, starting idle, charging idle, and off. With the engine running at such predictable RPMs, you can drop the entire EFI system in favor of old school side draft constant velocity carbuerators, which compensate for changes barometric pressure by design. As long as they were acutally tuned right, you would never have an emissions or performance problem. You also have the oportunity to drop the heavier overhead cam system, and go back to a self maintaining pushrod/hydraulic lifter/rocker arm valve train. With a motor designed to run at such predictable RPMs, valve float is never going to create any emission or performance issues because the motor doesn't frequently change RPMs. The motor of a hybrid electric shouldn't be designed to run at the bleeding edge of power to weight ratio across a wide range of RPMs. It should be designed entirely for fuel economy at the RPM required while charging. And it sheds weight and cost in some weird ways. Off the top of my head, you lose the engine flywheel, because the armature in the starting/ charging system can provide that interia, and there's no need for a starting ring gear. You lose mass from the engine accessory system, because you direct drive things like AC compressors and power steering pumps with their own motors. Those devices get relocated to eliminate the heavy flexible hoses. The weight savings from hoses/brackets/pulleys/ and excessively long mounting bolts ends up being greater than the mass of the electric motors and the new inflexible hard lines. You have to design a braking system that doesn't require a vaccuum operated booster. But it is differently a different system.
The greatest disadvantage of the hybrid electric drive train, is what it does to the climate control system of a car. You have to build in an all electric system for heat and air. Maybe that's bad? But, maybe it's good too? I can see where you could build a solution from peltier diodes that would be really compact, and eliminate the common plenum inside the dash of the car. Maybe from active coolers for desktop CPUs? I don't know, but that seems like an easier design challenge than shoehorning a complete driveline into a car body. And the hybrid electric powerplant seems a lot more friendly for open source design because of it's modular nature.
I agree completely.
I paid £240 for my first project car, It needed about 16 hours of work before it was road worthy. It is simply impossible for any new car to compete with this sort of market
A design that incorporates much of the Citroen 2CV's design has much of what you're looking for. Front engine, inboard brakes, cheap flexible. The suspension system is legendary for a comfortable ride. The body roll might need to be addressed, but it never stopped Citroen from selling millions. Excited to see how you proceed.
The body roll of the 2CV was a feature, not a bug.
Agreed. I only mention it because it's unnerving to some. Isolating the passengers from the lateral g's (maybe with the passenger compartment counter rolling) would be a possibility. Yet you or others could decide if necessary or helpful. I just wanted to point out the behavior so it can be considered and disregarded.
Add a feature like a tilting-trike that isolates the passengers from the chassis
I just added a comment along these same lines. The 2cv's biggest fly-in-the-ointment is rust. However if you could mate fiberglass(or better yet, carbon fiber) body panels to a galvanized or ceramic coated chassis you would have a world beater.
If you haven't already done so, check out what Edison Motors in Canada is doing. In particular, they way they are trying to use common, off the shelf parts - their figuring is that folks have already done engineering on those parts and they have decades of a proven track record, so why spend a lot of time reinventing the wheel?
You may also find Robot Cantina's work in using small engines and off the shelf parts instructive.
Looking forward to what you come up with!
I second the Robot Cantina suggestion
It also means that if you need to fix your vehicle, you can without manufacturing an entire part.
Thewre is also WikiSpeed that has done this in the past, and OScar, to name a few. This is not a new idea. The problem is attracting developers and customers, and have a SOLID business model, not just dreams and hopes.
@@garnerblair5179 i second both suggestions
As for rotary inefficiency, I think it's worth looking into the addition of a low pressure rotor - essentially a rotor that is powered by the still burning and expanding exhaust gasses of one or two other rotors. There have been regular engines designed with low pressure cylinders to scavenge power from exhaust gasses, and steam engines also made use of them, but I think rotary engines could also benefit greatly from them.
Like a 5 cycle combustion engine or a 6 cycle.
@@guy_autordie No, more like a turbocompound engine but using a positive pump instead of a turbine. Which leads back to: Turbocompounding. In concept it's simple, you just take a turbocharger's exhaust section and instead of compressing air with that recovered exhaust power, you just gear it to the crankshaft to help it along. In practice it's a lot more complex than that, but it's the easiest way to drag that efficiency kicking and screaming into the forefront.
So kinda like how some steam locomotive would recycle exhaust steam in a booster engine?
@@GTSW1FT
Extra stages. Exhaust from one powered the next.
Light weight material, robust enough for the other stages, will have to be proven.
Man I’ve been kicking around the idea of an open source commuter car around in my mind for years. I’ll be following these projects for sure.
are you aware of any other projects like this?
@@onomatopoeial WikiSpeed is the best example out there, There also is (or was) OScar, RiverSimple, Open Motors, Open EMS and to some extent Local Motors as some interesting projects. Local Motors isn't necessarily Open Source oriented, but re-uses lots of good stock parts from many other car manufacturers. OpenEMS is just the engine manegement system, but is the only commercially successful Open Source vehicle related project out there.
An open-source mix of Chevy Volt, Edison's Topsy, and an Aptera would be my pick. Stick with the KISS principle, keep the electronics away from heat, favor simplicity over complexity, but keep efficiency and cost as the top priorities.
All-electric range of a Volt (30-50 miles), would cover most people's commuting needs. Being able to charge at home and/or at work (for those with those options) means rarely stopping for fuel. But if your local electric costs are high and liquid fuel is cheap, then you can opt to fill up with fuel more often, rather than charge at home. Let the price dictate which energy source you use.
ICE to electric range extender, ala Edison Motors. Skip the complex clutch/gearbox setup of the Volt, just use a simplistic, durable, easy-to-maintain engine. Engine drives a generator that recharges the battery pack, and/or powers the electric motor(s) at the same time. Diesel or gas, but something with large production numbers and a good reliability record (Toyota, Honda, Kawasaki, etc.). Timing chain instead of a belt, no need for VVT, since it'll mostly rev to max torque RPM and hold there to charge the battery. Hell, maybe even an old air/oil cooled inline-4 from a KZ1000 or GS1000. For air conditioning the cabin, go the electric compressor route.
Aerodynamics of the Aptera, though I will admit I like your tandem seating over the SxS arrangement of Aptera. Something closer to the ElectraMeccanica Solo, but perhaps with four wheels rather than three.
Buy a Walmart gas powered generator to mount in the trunk and voila… short range electric car becomes long range hybrid.🎉
Free/Libre and Open Source is by far the best approach for a lot of things. Many people think to make profit it must be proprietary but that's just not true for ideas, standards, software that can be infinitely used/shared
Profit is the only motive and if just anyone could do it then that would affect profit margins and greedy manufacturers will never allow that ...
@@3nertia the whole internet we're communicating over only exists due to open standards and libre/opensource software. You are likely using a chromium based browser, why would google opensource the core of their browser and let Microsoft use it for Edge or it be used for Brave? Because it is profitable to them in other ways, because there is free development resources from other companies collaborating on one project. Software and ideas can be infinitely replicated, it's not like a physical product.
If you think profit is the only motive, then you don't know anything about invention.
@@prophetzarquon1922 Profit is an inherit part of capitalism ...
@@3nertia Getting free work from others is also profitable. Capitalist companies dump significant amounts of money and employee hours into Linux exactly because it benefits them. There are many foundations and projects which are similarly well funded.
There are many expenses for businesses that are not directly profitable but facilitate doing business, or indirectly make profit.
Electric motors also like to run at higher RPM than engines quite often. Your choice of rotary engine is nice because of the higher RPM so that's less of an issue. But if it's on the same crank then you're going to have to spin the engine when you use the motor and that's going to mean you can't run in EV only mode which is nice for some zero emission zones in city centres. Also more efficient and less polluting.
The Honda Insight is an example of a car with this set up. Many owners modded them to allow for an EV only mode and for plug in charge capability.
It's probably smart to just factor that in from the beginning: allow the gas engine and electric motor to each independently power the car, and allow it to be charged from a plug.
to fix that he can prob just add a starter generator, an electric turbo or two, an electric motor in the transmission, and an electric motor in the rear, that way it can at least run on an ev mode, and can still have the plug, while still utilizing his concept of an electric motor in a rotary
Toyota already solved this problem by developing the eCVT hybrid transmission. One motor for power/regen, the other for controlling the ratio, all connected by a single planetary gearset. No clutches, belts, torque converters, etc. Efficient and direct due to the mechanical connection, and reliable and low maintenance because there is only gears. A gas turbine engine would be optimal combined with an eCVT as the eCVT could eliminate the turbine's greatest weakness: part-load efficiency. By using the battery as a buffer, the gas turbine would only need to be sized to provide cruising power, maybe about 40hp. Excess power and regenerative braking would charge the battery, and acceleration would discharge it. While gas turbines are initially expensive, they are extremely reliable and low maintenance. The efficiency of gas turbines is less than that of a reciprocating engine, and is similar to that of a rotary engine, but the longevity of gas turbines greatly exceed either. With modern electronic controls, turbines could be made that meet emission requirements.
@@quentagonthornton49 Seconding the eCVT transmission (planetary gearset with two motors and an engine) - probably the most reliable and efficient transmission ever made. But gas turbines are incredibly expensive to manufacture and not practical for cost-sensitive applications. Love spinning doritos, but it's probably also worth looking into motorcycle engines. Even a dead-simple naturally aspirated 2 cylinder motorcycle can crank out like 80HP and weigh very little.
if this car is light-weight then a small air-cooled motorcycle engine might be the way to go! those things are crazy simple and efficient!
and imagine making a hybrid with it too! i imagine it could reach insane efficiency levels
u want efficieny? hear me out, diesel v twin with a turbo, hooked up to an electric motor making 50-75 hp or so, hooked up in parallel. should be able to go 500+ miles or more on a single tank and charge, with 100+MPG figures, don't quote me on those numbers I'm just pulling those out of thin air lmao
I really like the idea of air cooling
@@fadedsoul23 cool, but i was thinking my solution because its still very efficient (though your solution may be even more so) but mine is incredibly simple (no turbo, fuel injection, nothing)
@@StandRacing what i always like to say, is that the simpler it is, the better
@@firewalldaprotogen some of those small diesel engines actually come NA, like those diesel single cylinders and I believe some two and maybe three cylinders. So it could be made simpler like ur idea, just diesel. Might not be as efficient as the turbo version but the turbo could be an option or something if you want the better fuel economy
You know what? Not even made that I keep having ideas and then a few years later I'm seeing someone bringing it up on UA-cam. Been wanting a fully electric drive-train hybrid, the I see Edison do a diesel electric truck. Been pissed at the way the car industry is going and wanting to build an open-source car for quite a while, and here is your video on the topic. This is awesome. Definitely want to follow this journey.
yea series hybrid is the best configuration for sure
Efficient cars rarely use their brakes, which makes brake cooling unnecessary, and disc brakes might get pitted before they wear out. Some cars are going back to drum brakes because they have less drag, less particulates, and less maintenance/last longer.
There's large efficiency benefit in regenerative braking, as you effectively convert your chemical energy in the fuel/battery into kinetic energy in the motion of the vehicle, lose a chunk of that due to rolling resistance and drag, then the rest you either waste as heat in the brakes producing particulate pollution, or use regen braking to recover as much as possible, allowing you to go further. Ideally you wouldn't even use regen much, as you instead coast down to a stop.
for that, id use an user interface that encourages doing that. maybe a little economy widget showing how efficient you're being. gameyfying it a little.
you are not a mechanic. Drum breaks are a major pain. Takes lots longer to inspect and repair. manufactures keep going back and forth with them trying to reduce cost to build while still getting through government requirements.
@@lostvisitor You're apparently not an EV owner? This feels a lot like a doctor, psychologist, and oncologist, all giving their perspective on why you have a headache. They all lean to their experience.
I'm guessing your experience with drum brakes is likely predominantly on ICE vehicles, right? Where they get used a lot and need inspecting/maintaining.
EV's should rarely use the friction brakes, so they should wear slower and last longer. Meaning that they need less maintenance. They're basically there as a back up/insurance, and for parking.
EV OEMs get regular complaints about having to frequently replace unworn but pitted disc brake rotors. I'm all ears to a better solution if you've got one. OEMs are also starting to receive pressure to reduce particulate emissions, which drum brakes do vs disc brakes.
There's research into completely deleting the friction brakes on EV's going on. As far as I'm aware it's not there yet due to safety concerns, edge cases, and capacity issues.
@@Leo99929 It is obvious you are not a mechanic. Just because some thing wears out slower does not mean they should be checked less often, especially some thing as important as breaks. EVs use breaks faster than ice because they weigh more. The pitted rotors is do more to the vehicle sitting for long periods or just bad material. Hybrids and EVs both have very complex breaking systems with very expensive components. 1000$ break boost for a prius with 30% battery life is not worth it.
As for wear. disks and drums wear about the same. The difference is more about material. A rotor system can be much lighter.
No I am able to think for my self and will never own an EV. The carbon foot print is substantially larger on an ev and they wear tires faster and much more likely to leave you stranded. The materials are stolen out of Africa through slave child labor. There is no way you will keep one as a daily driver for more than 20 years. The biggest cost to the environment of any thing is its production then what to do with it after. EV loses these points.
If the world really CARED they would do a few very simple things with laws.
1. set speed limits to 50mph. This would make EVs feasible.
2. stop all non emergency air travel.
3. stop letting people drive their 400 square foot home around the country.
4. stop all off road vehicles.
5. stop the construction of over sized houses.
Each person could do the following.
1. live near where you work and walk.
2. live in a house that fit your actual needs. No one needs a 200 sf bed room.
3. get rid of that ff cell phone. Life was nicer with out them.
4. etc.....
FWD or at least front wheel regen is important since that is where 80 or so percent of the braking is usually done. Exceptions can be made for very light vehicles (many rail buggies only have rear brakes).
Had this idea for a pickup truck
The frame and body are pretty much the only things that need to be fabricated, since everything else would just be off the shelf existing aftermarket parts.
Industry standardization is basically "open source" already. A Ford 9" rear axle? Dozens of manufacturers make that already for example
I'd go 8.8 or 7.5 ford rear .
Why can't some one just take a car/truck design from the 90's and reproduce it with modern components?
What a coincidence! Late last year friends and I working on the rotary swapped BRZ were discussing the potential of a hybrid rotary project where you basically stack an electric motor right behind the rotary, since they both like to spin like weee. It would be pretty light weight, space efficient, and of course sporty and raucous if you want it to be. We had a lot of cool ideas to go along with that and also discussed using a single rotor instead of two rotors or using the new rotary from the Mazda MX-30. Lots of fun ideas in here, though I think bringing any one idea to reality is a very long process. Excited to see what you get up to!
That's really cool! Thanks man. From a pure functionality standpoint, it's easier AND more efficient to just put an existing electric motor outside the hot engine housing. But, since this car is so small, any time spent experimenting with space saving tech is time well spent IMO.
Eyyy!
@@CarsSimplified Yooo!
Save weight on the suspension...
instead of inboard springs, which require bigger control arms, ditch them both by combining them both. Use leaf springs as control arms.
I was thinking he could maybe figure out how to use GM torsion bars. Those early 2000s GM trucks are literally a dime a dozen in the US, the torsion bars themselves can be difficult to come by, but the other suspension components are available same or next day and reasonably priced at most parts stores. They also tend to ride and handle better than leaf springs.
@@lsswappedcessna better than leaf packs, due to the friction between the leaves rubbing, but probly not better, or more compact, than mono-leaf designs.
The C7 corvette still uses a transverse frp mono-leaf, front and rear. The leaf is linked to the LCA, but I was picturing the spring acting as the LCA, to further reduce the weight.
Off the cuff, this seems like a promising venture. The torsion bar is a great idea too.
@@StandRacing Regarding the leaf springs; you could take a look of the 'swing spring' rear suspension of the late Triumph Spitfire 1500. It uses a transverse leafspring as the upper control arm and the driveshafts as the lower control arms. All parts are still available new
Or torsion bars
Weirdly, the whole tear drop thing is a bit of a myth. Water doesn't fall in that shape for one thing, but also the most efficient shape is a Sears-Haack body, which is basically a fat athletic javelin shape... or a super pointy dirigible? That assumes no ground near it though. I think Chopping the bottom off this makes it most efficient for something moving close to the ground? Look at land speed record cars. They're as much about lowering drag as they are about increasing power. The ones with jet or rocket engines won't help though, because they forgo the thin tapering tail because they can fill that space with a jet of air. That's most of the reason the jet/rocket ones have generally pointier noses and flatter tails, but the ones with wheel driven power are rounder noses with pointier tails.
The tail matters WAY more than the front. aim for no more than 14° converging angle or the flow will completely detach. Ideally Less than 6°. You can get away with more on the top and sides than the bottom because the bottom is "sucking" against the road.
Then chop off the tail square when you run out of length. Then have a box cavity to promote flow detachment like on some trucks. These could pop out when you start moving like on the Mercedes IAA.
Sears-Haack bodies are good for Mach 1,5 to 3
I agree about the importance of using off the shelf parts. You can always experiment with manufacturing/designing more parts from scratch over time, but I don't think this kind of project can be sucessful unless youre willing to use off the shelf components to at least get the project off the ground, even if thats not as fun or exciting
I think off the shelf components are especially important because open source projects live or die by drawing a community of contributors, and off the shelf parts makes thats actually possible. I think even an extremely intelligent individual will fail in building a successful car *by themselves* but if you get other people working on it with you, thats how open source projects become viable alternatives to proprietary counterparts. Ambitious open source projects don't succeed without community and collaboration
Super interesting ideas, I'm looking forward to seeing your experiments
The part where you ask an insurance company to provide coverage, when you built it, is going to be the challenge, and going to the DMV / SOS without a VIN , to get registered is going to be tough.
Some states have "build your own car" laws that should help with that. North Carolina is pretty good about this, but they don't like to register China sourced vehicles/bikes (Hawk 250s are annoying to register here).
I'm so hyped for this. I put V8's on a pedestal and refuse to take them off. However, I completely agree that hybrids are the future.
Probably the first time I liked, commented and subscribed on the first video I see from a channel.
Thanks! You da man!
Mazda is already experimenting with slowing down the rotar at the perfect time to generate electricity. I think they have that patented. But the fact that you independently came up with the idea... you have my maximum respect!
I've been thinking kinda same kind of consept in my head lately.
parts needs to be modular/easily replaceable.
- easy to maintain/fix.
-no unnecessary electronics.
-not too expensive.
-efficient
-open source
Awesome that somebody finally started this kind of project😊👍
I was just discussing an open source car with a friend today 😊. This is the future. Best of luck and looking forward to seeing what we the people can do for our benefit. Needless to say I'm now subscribed ❤
If the whole point of it is to be cheap: why a rotary? And why try to integrate an electric motor directly into it? Wouldn't slowing it down and speeding it back up in different parts of the cycle cause massive vibrations? Wouldn't it be better to just have the electric motor between the rotary and the clutch? Or even have it on the front wheels, for both better regeneration under braking, and AWD.
If the point is just fuel economy, i don't think it gets any better than having a small (sub 1.0L) diesel just as a range extender (the highest level of hybrid, being almost fully electric). It solves the problem of full EVs of having massive bateries, and having to fast-charge them (increasing wear). And i think it's as good as a personal car can get as an "A-to-B" machine (but it still has the inherent inneficiency and problems of a car).
If it's meant mostly as a cheap, but also efficient "A-to-B" car for everyone, making it a hybrid just increases costs. A turbo diesel connected to the wheels would be a good option, and it should probably be FWD too.
If it's not intended as an average person's car, and it's mostly for car guys, i think that keeping it a gasoline engine connected to the rear wheels is the correct choice. Hybrid could be debatable, both because of price and because some people don't like it (i personally don't have anything against it); and a rotary could be kinda expensive (even if they are reliable when correctly tuned, just getting one is expensive). I think something more like a ~1.6L i4 would be ideal, specially if it's as light as it seems to be (and it would still be very fuel efficient because of the weight and aero).
It’s open source. You’re able to build the car to what you desire. The company’s producing it won’t give you all the options, but there will be other people building the car who will. You want a small diesel? install it. You want hybrid? Install it? You want to throw in a built turbo k-series? Go for it. I’m sure there will be available files for the different possible drivetrains since it is open source.
@@gavinhicks7621so what's the project? the plans for the car?
While I'm really a fan of the project, I have to wonder, is there a point in making a monopost-style chassis if it's going to give low cargo/passenger capacity? At that point, a motorcycle/scooter seems to fulfil the need for a low-cost, environmentally efficient motor vehicle much easier. Although granted, this allows for snow travel much better than a 2-wheeler.
Just a thought about the powerplant - if you do slow the rotor down during the expansion phase, you will loose a significant amount of heat (and therefore energy) into the housing. Have you considered using exhaust gas recirculation (EGR)? This is very common technology today, but it wasn't when Mazda was building rotaries. I think with the amount of unburnt fuel in a rotary, it could make a very noticeable increase in fuel economy.
I believe there is. The amount of people willing to acquire the skill necessary to operate a bike is drastically lower than those who would drive a car. Plus, it's enclosed, outside the elements, etc.
@@StandRacing fair enough. Best of luck with the project!
Bro this is amazing, I was thinking about an open source series of engines that were designed around some common, off the shelf parts. Just do sets of plans and people could organize their own factory runs. There are so many facets to this, i can't even explain how stoked I am
I've had the idea of an entirely open-source car for a few years, but I don't have the means to make it a reality. I wish you the best of luck and I hope this project becomes a great success!
I'm worried that side impact crash safety/any required safety test for production could be a hurdle. Do we know what requirements it would need to meet for area before it could be sold?
As long as it remains a "kit car" and not a production car it can fall into a completely different set of requirements.
@@StandRacingyou could also register it as a motorcycle in the Us id say, it looks like it could fit the niche of one but being larger and enclosed.
@@StandRacing How will you feel if your design got people killed because it was not safe in an impact at any speed???
This is what makes me want to modify an existing car to HELL and back, but i have seen some sick as hell DIY Composite Cars, so one that is also OPEN SOURCE will be cool af.
I am an Electrical Engineer in South Carolina, Lets build an OSAKI truck after this....
For real would love to help out if I can.
The world needs this.
I’ve seen that hole in the North American market for about a year now and you described the exact parameters of the idea perfectly. The only thing I’d say is you’re drastically over complicating the drivetrain and engineering of this project. My solution for this issue would be to bring back something that looks like a 1990 Honda civic hatchback with the same basic (but reliable) 4 cylinder engine and transmission setup. A simple EV alternative could easily be offered on that chassis as well. This vehicle would have the same features as what would have been offered in the 90’s, meaning no screens or unessential electronics. It would use extremely straight forward and very simple mechanical parts that literally anybody could take apart and work on. I think the cheapest option would be to utilize parts that have already been engineered separately to reduce costs. The total cost I’ve been aiming for would 10,000$ maximum. I’ll be following this project closely I’m very interested! Keep it up
I'm totally here to support the project. I find open source very useful and appreciating and a good way to connect with talented people.
I'll put out there that no DIY car ends up being cheaper for the individual than just buying a beater honda and learning how to do your own maintenance.
Here’s the thing. Motorcycles, trikes, and scooters exist. It’s a whole lot easier(and probably cheaper) to put a body on one of those. I’ve thought for years about building a car for similar reasons as you. But I always come back to those 3 things. And outside the states lots of places have beneficial laws and taxes and such around the 2 wheeled brethren.
That's kind of what the Fiat 500 was and the BMW Iseta. The Fiat 500 used a 500 CC motorcycle engine.
Building a body around a motorcycle does not make a car and reduces the practicality of an open source automobile if you need to buy a specific motorcycle to fit your design compared to mass produced parts like he described. Did you even watch the video?
@@scrowtumbus7522 I did. But I think perhaps you’re too entrenched in the conventional automobile idea or didn’t understand what I meant. I love it when people say that 2 wheeled vehicles are less practical, millions of people around the world would argue. Including myself. I daily drive a Honda Navi, it’s a $1500 glorified scooter that gets 80 mpg when I’m basically full throttle all the time (I live in a rural area not a city so road speeds are pretty high). Now, I say put a body on it for stuff like weather protection etc. I can promise you that most people would be fine without one just might have to pack for the trip. But if u want one it’s a weekend hobby type deal. I’m not knocking what he’s doing. But simply offering an alternative perspective. Like I said I’ve had the thought many years and come back to the train of thought why create something that exists already. It’s ok that your opinions differ.
@@Mikeongaia Did you even read my comment? I'm not misunderstanding you but I am disagreeing with you and that's okay!
i absolutely love this!! i have dreamt about building my own car for years. my perfect car has a HEAVY focus on reliability and right to repair. another aspect that i am constantly thinking about is fluff, clutter, the overall mess that is new cars these days. i want to see a car that is simple, lightweight, and just has the essentials.
For the variable exhaust's problems:
1) Consider using a linear motor to push steel into the exhaust tube.
2) If I called one "side" of your design "rubber pushed by air with a block of steel", you could flip it to be "steel pushed into the exhaust cavity by rubber expanding against some other surface outside the exhaust route".
can't wait to show you what i'll be designing for the body.
Ditto!
Quick idea, route and ignite the exaust gasses to a turbo connected to a generator.
I do not know how much torque a turbo produces tough
That's interesting. I wonder if anyone has tried...
1930s styled . VW torsion beam front end ( Bugatti replica style ) . Slant-4 half-LS engine . T5 5-speed . Narrowed and chopped mini-truck cab . 7.5 ford solid axle .
Commenting with more than 6 words to boost the algo. Thanks for your open source contribution, Stand Racing
I WANT THIS TO BE A REALITY SOOOO BADDDD.
Edit: how can I contribute to this project, I am a coding WIZARD 😈
Me too! Please fill out this form and I'll get in touch www.standracing.com/volunteer
In third-world countries, they can weld 10 seats on a moped and drive their whole family. Its cheap, its efficient, and parts are readily available. The problem isn't engineering. it's government regulation.
Liked, subbed, have been a Technician with high-end manufacturers my for my whole career. My day-dreams and aspirations have always been towards a project like this, with many sketches and postulation about what I would use, how I would do it. I love this, I’ve always wanted this to be a thing. Love that you’re making a move towards this type of thing.
That seems like a cool project, I'm glad YT recommended it to me - looking forward to future videos :)
You’ll know you’re on the right track when the big boys try to hire you or start bringing legal action. I’m rooting for you. Great concept.
Your variable diameter inlet is how hydraulic tool holders/collets/chucks work on CNC machines. I belief they use a spring steel inner "tube" with hydraulic fluid on the back side and vary the pressure with a set screw.
Not sure the steel could flex enough to make a big difference in your application?
I love the idea of modular open source vehicles. Being able to have many manufacturers contributing to a collective design of interchangeable and customizable parts could be amazing. One of the best parts of open source is the ability to bootstrap by looking at prior work in the field. Now that you have put out an initial baseline of your "clean sheet" ideas, maybe you could spend an episode looking at the other open source vehicles that are already out there (Woodpecker, OSSEV, OSCAR, etc) to see whether any of their work is applicable to your project?
I hope this spread within the auto UA-cam community
For basic variables exhaust diameters, to have the “power valve” thing you get on some Rotax engines - basically a gate with a cutout, it pops up under exhaust pressure to get full bore at higher output.
When I saw this video pop up, I thought it was going to be about/an update on the Wikispeed project. That was an open source car project that seemed promising. They were also talking about having the body/layout be modular, so that you could swap the body out from a car to a truck, but you'd only need to own one chassis. Not sure how that would work with the varying loads that come with that, but it sounded useful!
I think Tesla ended up hiring the Wikispeed owner or something.
Such a simple idea, should have been made ages ago, just looking at where 3d printed guns are now, we can tell this can go far!
But just a thought: it is my expererience that things take much longer and much more work than expected to be made tested and improved to a satisfactory level, so maybe focus on either the engine or the chassis first? Everytime someone says cheap and light i think put a motorcycle engine in it, there are a few kinks to fix especially with reverse but it is a known quantity that fits the bill (although i am sure it would still give SOME headache, as everything does), hell, if the rotary is working just put it in there and then add the electric system later, at least you know how the chassis works and behaves so theres only one thing to focus on. Not to diminish the idea of the hybrid rotary, allways thought it would be a great pairing of tech but never thought puting it between the rotors!
I can’t to wait to see the projects staying tuned
I have an idea for the variable diameter tube, what about instead of having a membrane like that you have an electronically controlled mechanism that constricts the diameter of the tubing and just have the tube be made of some kind of rubber so it’s flexible. The mechanism I’m thinking of is similar to how a camera shutter works where it dialates in and out based on what the ecu says
Are you saying the whole tube or just one little "flap" in the intake? If it is just the flap remember that having only one restriction will mean that the air will naturally want to fill the rest of the space past the restriction- leading to not getting any more torque, and less power overall (I just got out of school so I can't think of how to word this better lol- but look up BMWs DISA system on the M54B30 to make a bit of sense lol).
You might be able to have the exhaust mechanically "expand" and "contract" by having concentric tubes where the inner tube seals and unseals effectively opening up the diameter.
Like if the inner tube is two concentric layers with slots in them running lengthwise, you could rotate one of the layers so the slots are open or closed and see how that affects efficiency. Not sure if it would have the desired effect, but it may require less unique of a material sciences skillset to implement sucessfully and be viable as a long lasting part
You had me at "Longitudinally Phased Electric Motor for Rear Wheel Drive Hybrid Retrofits". (And the rotary stuff). Subscribed and shared to everyone I know!
One cool thing would be to make it like the NASCAR, with 3 section bolted tube chassis + bolted on composite body panels. This makes the ultimate in access to components for servicability. One thing that the NASCAR doesn't do, that would be cool to do would be to make the body pannels part of the structural integrity of the frame, by creating a sandwich composite material. This allows for a lighter / simpler frame.
The slowing down of the rotary is such a creative idea, I'm so curious how it'll pan out!
Also talking about hybrid engines you might be able to pull some ideas from the silent hawk motorcycle's power train, it uses a electric motor with a gas generator
3 wheels is mechanically simpler, lighter, and drags less. Love the idea of an open source car.
I just made a 3 wheeled vehicle with a trike and an E bike. All I had to do was build a body for it, goes 30 mph, free charging from solar panels, drive it like 60 miles a day!
At first you had me thinking of the Elio but then the idea flow had me thinking of a steel corkscrew kind of restrictor instead of a 'membrane' ! Great video :)
i've been looking for open source vehicle videos for ever. thank you.
Have you considered the Citroën 2CV? It could be an optimal platform for experimentation. Although it is 4-seat, 4-door car it lends itself to the concept quite well. Especially the rear mounted electrical assist engine. The Citroën Sahara did this but with an additional ICE. A simplified suspension, a robust gas/electric powertrain coupled with a fiberglass infused thermo plastic body could be the keys to the kingdom. This could be the scalable, long-lasting, do-anything vehicle we have been hoping for.
With California banning the sale of purely ICE vehicles in 2035, and California being the largest market in the USA, you should go with a diesel-electric drivetrain. Diesel engine powering a generator to drive a motor in each wheel. Diesel engines are also capable of running on biodiesel, which one can make fairly easily at home from waste cooking oil with household chemicals.
One solution, on problem:
- Adjust intake and exhaust using cone-shapped plugs in cone shaped pipes to adjust to desired diameter. This is how the engines on the SR71 Blackbird adjust to their current altitude needs.
- What's to stop someone from trying to make it even cheaper by using unsafe materials instead of the correct ones? I imagine the gov would then set up some sort of testing and fee for that like they do with emissions.
I think your single-rotor idea is really cool. It would be amazing if it could increase the fuel efficiency drastically. However, I think the vibration would be a concern.
Normally, rotor engines have an even amount of rotors to counter the movement of the opposing rotor. Without that counter-force, not only would there be much more rattling, it might severely degrade the materials.
As one of those blasted tree-huggers, I believe that hybrid is a great choice! I also suggest experimenting with regenerative breaking, allowing the user to recharge the electric side when using gas to get even further milage.
For the variable compressor, I believe you'd need a non-compressable fluid like water or oil. Still thinking about potential materials though.
Forget the flexible membrane, instead have a fixed size chamber partitioned into two. Between the two have two plates with large holes drilled in them. Adjust the alignment of the holes on the plates to control the aperture. (Think slider). Two cables to push/pull.
Another simpler option to the flexible membrane is the variable intake runners used on the 787B or something like the CV carburetors you find on most motorcycles
Use an electrolysis system and you'll solve several of these challenges you mentioned:
1. Burning hydrogen gets you a cleaner and more fuel efficient burn on any engine.
2. That cleaner burn actually produces much, much cooler exhaust temperatures for your exhaust experiment (cool to the touch in most cases).
3. Burning hydrogen has been proven to increase horsepower without added engine stress (in fact it cleans the engine of carbon with continued use).
4. Added benefit of being a 3 way hybrid (gas, electric and hydrogen) without having to store hydrogen like the Hindenburg.
5. Systems are cheap and fully adjustable to what your needs will be. Also can be self contained within the car body/engine compartment.
6. Draws very little power (can use a car battery on a regular engine when being recharged by the alternator).
Here for the ride! ♥
Drum brakes…
Cheaper, lighter, last the life of the vehicle and safer as they do not lock up like discs and therefore ABS not required.
Don’t dismiss them immediately, modern sealed ones means no brake dust and most of the cooling issues they used to have are dealt with.
Also drum brakes are a huge upgrade for electric driven cars because discs are always dragging where as drum shoes are sprung and do not drag.
And that’s not all… the electric does regen, for normal driving it can do 100% of your braking.
Sounds amazing what you are presenting here, open source in automotive design/engineering is something I had on my mind as well, very excited for what is coming out of this.
You have the exact understanding of the type of progression that is needed for developments in the future.. GMTFT 🤖👽🤓
The tandem car design is something I have also been thinking of for years, I would make it 3 rows, with the rows in the back being enough to sit 2 children side by side, or 1 (possibly overweight) adult comfortably
im not fond of the people who were in charge, but i am in love with the engineering of the old beetle. check it out when you have a chance and then tell me its not screaming out for an upgrade.
Looking at your rendering and your chosen configuration, I think this should be a three seat tandem.
The front seat is always the front seat that’s where the driver is, the two rear seats work like a three row SUV. The seat would fold down And become part of the floor and then you would have a hatch in the back to be able to use that entire length for transporting goods. Pop up that middle seat, you have a two seater, and then if you’re not carrying a lot of stuff, then pop up that third seat and you would have a small amount of storage behind that.
The tricky here will be where does the propulsion system go, but if you go electric, then you could easily put motors either in two or four of the wheels, or have them in board in the front and the back. If you put the battery under the entire length of the vehicle at the bottom, then you get a lowered center of gravity, and a flat floor.
Using current state of the interior designing, as a passengers or further back in the vehicle, their feet go under the seat in front of them giving them decent legroom.
Ideally, this is a front wheel drive vehicle with batteries that end just behind the third seat, thereby allowing storage the full height of the back of the vehicle.
Odds are good you’re going to end up with a teardrop shape, so the back of the vehicle is going to be a little shorter but you should still have enough space for three backpacks, or possibly six carry-on bags.
Because of this configuration, you would not be able to use a rearview mirror, instead you need a camera in the back. However, you might be able to use cameras if they become legal in the United States, Sideview mirrors would do a lot of really good work in a vehicle like this.
One thing that you’re going to want to do for this project is collect information from different states in the US in different countries around the world as far as what the rules are for self built vehicles. I imagine some countries would not allow you to drive a vehicle you built yourself on the road. For those countries, you would want to come up with some kind of system whereby you could have people sell a kit that they would be allowed to put together and drive on the road, or establish a business in that country that would assemble the cars for them and somehow fulfill that countries legal requirements.
In the United States, each state and possibly sum as a pities will have different rules with regards to self built vehicles.worst, you may find yourself having to build a car in another state and get it licensed there.
Still, having all that information collected in one place will make it much easier for folks to be able to build a car to their local specs.
You should seriously consider starting a discord server for this! Would be a great way for people to connect and do screen shares while they tinker with the files, not to mention be a place for people to dump ideas and stay connected.
excited for the rotary as that had me scratching my head, though watching rob dahm really still gives me hope. These all Sound fantastic, just hope in practice they can achieve. laughed when you talked about the rotary as a 4 stroke, i view them more akin to 2 strokes.
The tandem seating is absolute genius. Most of the time when im driving im alone in the car and pushing five peoples worth of air is wasteful. And being how cheap this car could be it would be possible to have another vehicle for when you have to move more people.
You don’t need need to flexible membrane for your variable intake and exhaust what you need is an adjustable orifice or simply a throttling valve on either side. You could use an extra large ball valve to restrict the flow of intake or exhaust.
I encourage your enthusiasm, it is people like you thinking outside the box the brings about changes. I wish you the best of luck.
I go into this on my channel a lot. The legacy car makers are pretty much done. When a tail light failure can cost you six grand, the auto industry is pretty much on it's ear. I have a tandem two seat car modeling on my channel.
Here are my automotive ideas that you can throw on the pile:
- first, if you’re going to have an engine that burns fuel, it should be multi fuel. With either minor adjustments, or small changes in the structure of the engine that can be done by somebody who could build a car, you should be able to run this vehicle on gasoline mixture, alcohol, diesel, vegetable oil, hydrogen, propane, etc. There are some engines that can run on multiple fuels, there should be a fundamental part of the vehicle.
-, You should be able to relatively easily swap out the powertrain. That means that the propulsive system Should be able to be hybrid, pure gas, electric, whatever. This would mean probably a larger engine bay in order to accommodate different accessories that are needed for different kinds of propulsion.
- While being made out of some kind of lightweight special material is a fine idea, the construction should be such that you can actually use whatever materials you have on hand. So if you needed to replace a body panel With steel or even would, the structure should be designed in such a way that you can do that. For example, using square tube channels and drill holes would allow you to fasten metal to the frame with nut bolt, or you could rip a piece of wood, place that in the channel, and then screw in from the other side. This would make an eminently repairable vehicle For those who are trying to use whatever they have on hand.
- Even for an electric version of this vehicle, to know electronics should be required. That is to say, you want to be able to build this vehicle without an infotainment system. Obviously, if you’re going electric or hybrid, you probably need some kind of battery controller to ensure that the system doesn’t fire. That doesn’t mean you need a complicated infotainment system.
- For batteries, it should be able to use any kind of batteries you want, from lead acid to lithium ion to nicad.
- if an infotainment system is installed, the entire system should be modular. That is to say, if you just want the screen for all of your information, that would be your choice, but you should also be able to have manual by wire controls for any system that is in the infotainment system.
- It should be easy to make this vehicle legal no matter what side of the road you drive on
- the vehicle should be modular enough that you can change the number of seats, change the wheelbase, add a van or wagon like structure in the back, make a hatchback, whatever it is that you need.
Now. Here's a thought.
This suggestion is for, all you commentors, who say you have tossed ideas around for years, yet have not done anything with them, (and, who claim to have an extreme interest in this channel's progress).
So. Submit your ideas to this channel, and let someone, who is actually doing the work, sift through them for the best ones.
I mean; this is what "OPEN SOURCE" is all about. Right?
Disclaimer:
I have NO affiliation with this channel, or its creators.
I came across this video, just as many of you did. The UA-cam algorithm decided I needed to see it.
It makes no difference to me, wether you share your ideas, or not.
I was just pointing out the fact that, so many of you are saying you've been thinking on this for years.
So. Now's your chance to put your ideas out there.
I worked in the automotive industry and have seen how it has evolved since 2000. Yes, hybrid is going to be the direction we're headed to. Throw that rotary engine out of your desk. Friction is too much even with modern materials, and it has never worked as intended. Go with a three cylinder diesel instead and a high efficiency generator attached.
You have a huge workload ahead. My first idea would be using an existing chassis and frame and build an universal kit.
I designed a very similar project in high school. Even with a rotary engine. A lot of people think these are their ideas and they can do this. This project isn't going anywhere. Hopefully he will learn something from it. I don't mean to be critical but an open source car is a bad idea from concept. On top of that this guy just really doesn't have any idea what he's doing. He's introducing a ton of complications so he can include some neat untested tech he learned about. Cars are the way they are for many reasons. On top of that, if you want an open source car, get an original beetle or dune buggy. I hate how much I'm crapping on this but this is a lot like if a super smart 14 year old just got in to drawing and designing cool cars in his notebook. It isn't worth any more of your time than you've already wasted watching this
More than 40 years ago Toyota had a mini pickup they called the TUV.
1300cc engine and EVERY panel was either flat or was bent up using a sheet metal bender - NO PRESS FORMED PIECES AT ALL.
All glass was flat.
The chassis was a ladder made from formed sheet metal like the stuff they use in commercial roofs.
Very basic brakes, steering and suspension and a metal box to hold the instrumentation.
Bench seats (plywood covered with foam and vinyl) - NO LUXURY AT ALL - JUST FUNCTIONALITY.
Was the cheapest light utility vehicle at the time BY FAR.
Different flavors of cross-members to accommodate different axels, steering and motor/gearbox mount combinations from different "donor" cars and away yo go.
Would not be too difficult to make it able to accommodate a front wheel drive motor/gearbox.
Sold as a pre-assembled body/chassis with mounts and cross-members to suit the donor car you specified.
A kit like that I would buy in a heartbeat.
Electric motors get less efficient when hot. Reluctance or PM. Because the conductors become more resistive, which wastes more energy as heat, which increases the temperature, which increases resistance, and so the feedback loop drops off a cliff. Motor cooling is super important. Maybe more important than integrating it into the engine. Might be WAY easier to go for a Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive (IIRC) style system where the engine and motor are separate and you combine the power in a gearbox.
I enjoy talking with you about this, send me an email if you have the time warner@standmotors.com
I had inboard brakes on my '84 Alfa Romeo GTV6. Definitely approve. It also had torsion bar front suspension and s DeDion rear suspension set up. Great handling, highly communicative.
This reminds me of the Wintergarten Marble Machine X, something you might want to be inspired from that is having a discord/community to talk/compare etc
Also, you could further increase the Electric efficiency by making a generator linked to the hot side of a turbo, this way youre using wasted energy to generate more power for the batteries!
this and an electric motor between the hot and cold sides to keep it spooled would be interesting
The GE T700 401C uses an engine inlet anti ice system implementing freon bellows that are temperature based in operation. They don't come in direct contact with the hot air going through the system, which can be in excess of 93C. Temperature shouldn't be an issue with variable exhaust.
Siumple solution: rebuild the 2CV citroën.... Easy to build, cheap, low fuel consumption, max. speed 60 miles/hour. Can transport 4 people and a little cargo (or more cargo and less people), can go offroad, snow, etc.