Hi Duca, With one wheel in back, there is not enough rubber on the ground for good traction the rear wheel can slip, hence fishtail. With electronic steering, no more front suspension, springs, tires, tie rods, steering wheel, big weight savings for batteries. More distance.
Tom Sines
Electric EVette
[QUOTE=unique electric car;8956]Hi Duca, With one wheel in back, there is not enough rubber on the ground for good traction the rear wheel can slip, hence fishtail. With electronic steering, no more front suspension, springs, tires, tie rods, steering wheel, big weight savings for batteries. More distance.
Tom Sines
Electric EVette[/QUOTE]
Ok understood what you mean. It depends however on how much kW you have to bring on the road, the size of the tire and many factors more. In a comparaison between 1 front steering wheel + 2 hind wheels vs two front steering wheels and 1 hind traction, I stay with the idea that a reverse trike has got basically more stability. Your reasoning about weight and components is sound, but the development into a completely failure-safe and accepted drive by wire system without any mechanical backup for steering has a very long way to go still. If I were to self build an electric trike whith some hope of getting it through homologation, Iād rather go the ātraditionalā way.
Hi Duca, The electric EVette has 37" on road, off road tires, very good traction. Also, two motors, twice the power. Experiments have shown it can be driven by conputer(autonomous) no more drunk driving. Think about it!
Tom Sines:D
http://electricevette.com
Iām not challenging the soundness of your particular design, Iām just saying that you couldnāt possibly get it homologated here in EU (our bad).
How can you show to the homologation authority that your computer takes care of every possible traction unbalance? What happens if one engine quits undetected and the other keeps pushing and you start spinning around like a freesbee ? Iām sure you have accounted for all of this, but I doubt that any engineer of any EU homologation authority would take the responsibility to certify that a software only is able to ensure the road safety of a vehicle: Iām not 100% sure, but yes Iām quite sure, that it is mandatory to have a fail-safe mechanical device which ensures the direction of the vehicle. How can you convince the customers that your computer is thrustworthy enough as to let him drive when you are drunk? Fact is, until now, that such driving methods you are using are, for now, only allowed for vehicles whose speed doesnāt exceed 5km/h. The only exception I know to the principle that each and every road vehicle must have a mechanical connection between steering device and the wheels are agricultural tractors who have sometimes an hydraulic connection between steering wheel and steering box: but these machines are usually allowed for 40km/h maximum speedā¦ I donāt see how, today, you could get something like your trike homologated for mass production in EU (but also as a single prototype).
That said I like your design very much, but If I had to put a trike on the road tomorrow morning here where I live, I could only go the path of a traditional steering, or accept a ridiculous speed limitation. Regards
Hi Duca, I understand your concerns. The EVette has hydraulic backup to steer the car, in case of power failure. Like the tractor, I guess the EVette could go 40km/h in the EU. As to going in to a spin like freesbee, as it turns out that doesnt happen, inertia makes the car want to go straight, especially at higher speeds. Also, when gas is $10 a gallon the EU could change their mind, that shouldnt take to long!
Tom Sines:D
Electric EVette
[QUOTE=unique electric car;8960]Hi Duca, I understand your concerns. The EVette has hydraulic backup to steer the car, in case of power failure. Like the tractor, I guess the EVette could go 40km/h in the EU. As to going in to a spin like freesbee, as it turns out that doesnt happen, inertia makes the car want to go straight, especially at higher speeds. Also, when gas is $10 a gallon the EU could change their mind, that shouldnt take to long!
Tom Sines:D
Electric EVette[/QUOTE]
Hehe, we are at over 1,5ā¬ PER LITRE in Italy.
Just for my better understanding: is the front wheel free pivoting and only steerable in case of power failure via hydraulic backup, the ānormalā steering occurring via speed regulation of the traction wheels? If this is the case, is the pivoting of the front wheel somehow ādampenedā in some way (say hydraulically) when speed is increasing?
Thank you
Hi Duca, Like most tractors the EVette has left and right hydraulic brake to bring the car to a controled stop. Also, the EVette can turn 360% in its tracks, something conventional cars can`t do. Great for parking.
Tom Sines
Electric EVette
Hi Duca, Like most tractors the EVette has left and right hydraulic brake to bring the car to a controled stop. Also, the EVette can turn 360% in its tracks, something conventional cars can`t do. Great for parking.
Tom Sines:D
Electric EVette
So you are saying that unlike a motorbike where you can separately brake front and rear wheel, here you can brake left right separately? :eek: Is there some sort of device that avoids the drunken pilot to inadvertently full brake one side only at 100+ mph? (Is this a bird? Is this a plane? Is this a freesbee?..) 
I think you did put a great deal of work and money in your prototype, I appreciate it very much, so I hope you donāt get offended if I allow myself to joke a little about it and I also hope you take the criticism constructively, because the doubts we have on the forum could be the same a future homologationās engineer could haveā¦
Keep up the good work
Ciao
Hi Duca, No problem, I live in Florida weve got alligater skin here. By the way, Did I mention my 10 10 challenge, I say a conventional car cant stay with 10 feet of the EVette for 10 seconds on a two lane city street. A180% for a car is a three point turn, for the EVette its just a flick of the wrist.
Tom Sines
Electric EVette
[QUOTE=unique electric car;8973]Hi Duca, No problem, I live in Florida weve got alligater skin here. By the way, Did I mention my 10 10 challenge, I say a conventional car cant stay with 10 feet of the EVette for 10 seconds on a two lane city street. A180% for a car is a three point turn, for the EVette its just a flick of the wrist.
Tom Sines
Electric EVette[/QUOTE]
Good to know.
Iām not in the position to accept your challenge, and I know you would win hands down, on the other hand Iād be interested to know if you envision to bring a seriesā production of your vehicle on the street.
Ciao
Hi Duca, Sure, Id like to see thousands of these vehicles on the street. Unfortunately, no manufacturer has approached us yet. Theyre not thinking outside the box.
Tom Sines:D
Electric EVette
Hi, Gas is high and getting higher, and still less than 1% of cars are electric. People still dont understand, that conventional cars dont make good electric cars.
Tom Sines:D
electricevette.com
[QUOTE=unique electric car;8983]Hi, Gas is high and getting higher, and still less than 1% of cars are electric. People still dont understand, that conventional cars dont make good electric cars.
Tom Sines:D
electricevette.com[/QUOTE]
I rather think that people are too much talked into believing that viable personal transport solution can only come from the companies, which have provided them until now. These companies in turn are too used in approaching the problem in a conventional way so they keep trying to turn a conventional car into electric in order to keep the investments done in the past and use the cumulated know-how, instead of āreinventing the wheelā as it would be probably necessary in order to have a viable solution
Hi Duca, I agree.
Tom Sines:D
electricevette.com
BTW and for what is worth, I think that elctro-retrofitting of already existing gas cars meaning those already having been sold and running down the street, while far from optimal, could make some sense because you would extend the life span of the car, so you would mortage the invested amount of energy spent for building it over a far greater period of time while diminishing pollution.
Of course, Simpsonās Canonero would not be the car of first choice for such retro-fitting!
Hi Duca, Here in Florida, I helped convert about 60 gas cars to electric, with a friend of mine. We put them out fast, and cheap, and they didn`t go very far. I think his name was Homer!
Tom Sines:D
Electric EVette
Hi, Gas is creeping up to $4.00 a gallon. $5.00 a gallon is coming soon! Dig deep.
Tom Sines:D
electricevette.com
Hi,
Conventional electric cars are dinosaurs, they are way to heavy, they don`t carry enough batteries, and steering them requires several hunderd pounds of apparatis, steering wheel, front wheels, suspension, etc. electronic steering (drive by wire) is the way to go. Save all that weight, add batteries instead. Think about it.
Tom Sines:D
Electric EVette
Hi, Conventional electric cars have about 2,000lbs iron, and a about a 1,000lbs of lead, or lithium. Thats way to much iron, and not nearly enough lead, or lithium, and if they are little tiny electric cars, they can`t carry hardly any batteries, or people.
Tom Sines:D
http//electricevette.com