fairly
vehicles, I
variation
Other factors must be coming into play otherwise you look to be getting more energy out than you are putting in. B-)
Obvious one is the actual gradients, I can imagine that a short steep gradient gives better "return" from regen braking than a longer shallow one for the same vertical distance.
It's actually the other way round. The regen capability is typically limited by the amount of current the battery will accept, particularly on hybrids with NiMH rather than lithium ion batteries.
A long shallow descent with gentle braking will put a smaller current into the battery for a longer time, while a steep descent may overwhelm the ability of the battery to accept charge and need to waste the rest using the friction brakes.
Ascending it's a similar story - the battery and motors may not be sized to drive the car up a steep gradient so the engine has to contribute more. Meanwhile a shallow gradient may be within the capability of the motor alone.
It's still better than a non-hybrid though, since you can save up some of the energy recovered from descending for ascending - something you can't otherwise do (by coasting) if traffic or road conditions don't allow.
Theo
Short, steep can regen too much - more than the charging can cope with - or need "real" brakes. Long, fairly gentle downhill seems best - where without regen you might accelerate slightly, but with regen you simply maintain speed.
I've killed several pigeons, but only one of anything else.
I was quite upset about the hare; and that was the biggest. Didn't do the car any good either.
Andy
In Indonesia tuk-tuks are used for lots of things, not just taxis.
Andy
Electric motor pullaway, regen braking? (Didn't the Mk1 Prius have about a 3 mile range on electric only)?
Agreed.
Cool. And that seems to resonate worldwide (so over many driving conditions, Toyotas in general, not the Prius particularly).
I guess there would be a sweet spot for battery size / capacity and return on investment for that sort of role.
eg, It might still take a while for battery capacity to catch up with non-stop IC fuel range and in long trip scenarios, hybrids probably don't offer much in the way of savings (if any, if you amortise the initial cost compared with a straight IC car)?
For urban stop start, (and ignoring kerbside emissions for a sec) you only need as big a battery as required to pull away on electric and recover as much energy as possible (for the same urban use) without having any bigger battery than necessary?
I guess that's why the Mk1 Prius had such a small electric only range (it was never really designed for that use)?
Cheers, T i m
Yes, I didn't preclude their use for other things, just that they are commonly used for that role. ;-)
Like that not all London Taxis are the traditional 'Black Cab' (and I don't mean Minicabs) and not all TX4's are used for commercial hire and reward (now many are owned privately and run as std cars).
Like the Hindustan Ambassador, often used as a Taxi but also used privately and for Government use.
And like the Tuc Tuc, often most known for their roles as Taxis than anything else (even though that may not be their main roles etc)?
Cheers, T i m
What, and look the same you mean (London Black Cab)? I didn't really comment on that though, just that I believe there were ordinary cars licensed as 'London Taxi's' (not minicabs)?
No, indeed.
Isn't it more that they *can't* run them over a certain age or standard?
I know of two people who run them as such (handy for carrying quite a bit of shopping and straw to the stables ) and they seem tidy and reliable. ;-)
Cheers, T i m
Yes, although pullaway is fairly taxing. Early Priuses didn't have enough motor power to do a decent electric pullaway up to 30mph so would start the engine when reaching about 20mph if you weren't extremely gentle on the accelerator. They've improved that since the Mk3 (2010). Pure electric is mostly used on low speed cruise ( I guess there would be a sweet spot for battery size / capacity and
It depends, but the other things it simplifies can make it worthwhile, both in terms of reduced component costs (no DPF etc) and reduced maintenance. Especially if you're going automatic so need an auto gearbox anyway.
Indeed. You can force it into EV mode but it's less efficient than using the battery in the parts of the cycle where it's most useful It isn't really an electric car, although the early ones got attention from aftermarket PHEV conversions (one of which I happen to have in my shed...)
The system has been around for 23 years now. Having driven 2006 and 2016 Toyota hybrids, things improved quite a lot in that time.
Theo
No more than all cars look the same. The glass fibre Beardmore? looked very different to the FX range.
Not cars as such. More an MPV, I'd say. Like the Mercs that are common.
I'm not sure now - could well be emissions would be a problem. But many of the FX range have (or had) a different engine fitted to overcome this. But I assume they still all have to pass a pretty rigorous check every year. And a point will come where it is easier to just buy new.
I'd have thought a van better. ;-)
So, to clarify, can you confirm that there were several manufacturers of what most people would consider to be a 'London Taxi'.
Ok.
Yeah. I was talking to a cabbie who had just done that (bought a new cab with a mate) and they were running it in shifts between them to pay it off. He told me about the tats and the costs ... and how they can only be fixed in one (or a restricted number) of places.
Other than sometimes you can get insurance anomalies that make vans expensive.
Even when we have insured vans for 'private use', it's assumed they will contain valuable items and so a higher risk of being broken into and therefore damaged.
Running an estate or old taxi like a van (may small decorators run estates) can often be cheaper.
Cheers, T i m
Yes. Even more so if you take into account how many different firms have owned/made the 'standard' one.
A Hackney Carriage (london black cab) is simply a specification for a vehicle. Anyone who wants can make one to that spec. But given the relatively small sales, a niche market.
Ah, thanks.
Cool. Open source taxies. ;-)
Quite. Do we know if any of that design have been taken up elsewhere (countries)?
Cheers, T i m
Dunno - most seem to use variations of a standard car. Was quite surprised to see some BMWs in use in the Canaries of a much lower spec that on sale in the UK. Small diesel, plastic seats and few toys. Mercs too.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.