I dont know if anyone else has brought this up, but the thought just occurred to me that hybrid/IMA type setups like the insight ur dualnote would not fare very well under aggressive driving -- particularly on a racetrack.
NiMH batteries (like those on the insight/civic) usually can discharge at several times their charge rates. Ballpark figure (from panasonic) usually go as high as 10C discharge rates vs only 3C charge.
According to one description of the regenerative braking for the insight:
So, putting two and two together, I find that you will quickly run down the battery with hard acceleration. Most of this energy will not be recovered because only limited amounts can be regenerated during hard braking (or you would have to ride your brake continuously on the track.) This means that the bulk of the recharging energy will come from sapping it off the existing powerplant. So in the context of the dualnote (with ballpark figures), you would get your 400HP worth until the battery runs out in a few minutes. Then you'd be down to your base engine at ~350HP. Then the IMA system would be sapping power off your engine trying to recharge the batteries again. So you'd end up with something less than even the 350HP the gas engine puts out.
Ive seen only a handful of battery types that can cope with this short charge/discharge cycle. To make matters worse, the one that tops the list went bankrupt a few years ago. They also seem to have a high rate of leakage (ie, discharges quickly even if not used) and usually have a low energy density (ie, only good for SHORT bursts of acceleration).
Anyone have any thoughts on this problem?
Can Honda truly make a high performance car based on this technology considering its lack of endurance? More importantly, would you be willing to buy a sportscar with a lack of endurance?
Would you be willing to radically adjust your driving habits like the insight owners do so you can keep the IMA system happy?
NiMH batteries (like those on the insight/civic) usually can discharge at several times their charge rates. Ballpark figure (from panasonic) usually go as high as 10C discharge rates vs only 3C charge.
According to one description of the regenerative braking for the insight:
So, putting two and two together, I find that you will quickly run down the battery with hard acceleration. Most of this energy will not be recovered because only limited amounts can be regenerated during hard braking (or you would have to ride your brake continuously on the track.) This means that the bulk of the recharging energy will come from sapping it off the existing powerplant. So in the context of the dualnote (with ballpark figures), you would get your 400HP worth until the battery runs out in a few minutes. Then you'd be down to your base engine at ~350HP. Then the IMA system would be sapping power off your engine trying to recharge the batteries again. So you'd end up with something less than even the 350HP the gas engine puts out.
Ive seen only a handful of battery types that can cope with this short charge/discharge cycle. To make matters worse, the one that tops the list went bankrupt a few years ago. They also seem to have a high rate of leakage (ie, discharges quickly even if not used) and usually have a low energy density (ie, only good for SHORT bursts of acceleration).
Anyone have any thoughts on this problem?
Can Honda truly make a high performance car based on this technology considering its lack of endurance? More importantly, would you be willing to buy a sportscar with a lack of endurance?
Would you be willing to radically adjust your driving habits like the insight owners do so you can keep the IMA system happy?
