Hybird Tahoe?

[Original_Ranger84]

I saw the commercial for the new "Hybrid Tahoe".
I think it is a turn in the right direction but i don't get how it would be more efficient. Ok the prius and small hybrids weigh maybe 1 ton tops and the motors can handle it and move them but the tahoe must weigh atleast twice that. Hybrids get better mileage in the city then the highway because they don't use the gas engine and they are stop and go which is the hardest thing apart from start up on a gas engine. To the point the motor can start and stop a small car without using up to much power from the battery but they also are a very small mass compared to a full sized tahoe. Is it just me because i think that the tahoe would be to much weight to keep starting and stopping to be that efficient because the engine would have to turn on alot just to charge the battery. But i guess since its on the market then they must have worked out most of the problems.

 

[JohnnyO]

Depends what kind of driving you do. Mostly in-town, it will save you gas. On the highway a lot, then no.
That said, somebody did a study taking into account the nickel mining, transportation, battery disposal, etc., and determined that a Hummer is less harmful to the environment overall than hybrid vehicles.
Same with ethanol, nobody looks at how much diesel fuel it takes to produce all that corn.

 

[Will]

Those studies are very sketchy at best. It's more like someone had an idea and then went on a crusade to try and prove it.

The last GM hybrid truck I saw was a 1500 with the worlds tiniest electric drive on it. They called it "with hybrid technology" and it wasn't really a hybrid. I don't know if the Tahoe is a real one or not. But electrc motors are way better in town and the small gas motor is all you need on the highway. You only need a huge motor for torque to get you going. Once you are going a big Kohler with a pull start will keep you going on the highway.

I think we will see hybrid semis in a decade for the same reason. Massive torque to get you going and a small efficient diesel to keep you going. The motor becomes a generator on down grades (quieter than a Jake) and helps on upgrades.

I believe in hybrids. Electric motors are awesome.

 

[AllanD]

The advantage to the hybred is that the fuel burning engine can be MUCH smaller because the electric motor is there to help....

The rub is that with Nickel Metal Hydride batteries thare are ENORMOUS environmental effects just making the battery used in the first place.

And Ethanol just ticks me off....
It is NOT the best alcohol fuel to be making from "corn"

If they made Butanol instead that could be run DIRECTLY in gasoline engines
MORE (by volume or weight) can be produced from the same GRAIN and it has NEARLY DOUBLE the heat energy per unit of alcohol produced.

add to this that butanol can be efficiently produced from the corn STALKS
and the corn used to feed people or animals...

Remember that only a very small percentage of the growth from an acre of land is the actual GRAIN, there is far more biomass of stalk, leaf and cob produced
and pound for pound you can get NEARLY as much butanol from the stalk as you can get ethanol from the kernel and there is far more stalk and leave

So all this rush to ethanol is a stupid waste of infrastructure investment
that will only produce a fuel that's marginal as a replacement for gasoline.

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[85_Ranger4x4]

The last GM hybrid truck I saw was a 1500 with the worlds tiniest electric drive on it. They called it "with hybrid technology" and it wasn't really a hybrid. I don't know if the Tahoe is a real one or not. But electrc motors are way better in town and the small gas motor is all you need on the highway. You only need a huge motor for torque to get you going. Once you are going a big Kohler with a pull start will keep you going on the highway.

I think the starter motor doubles as the electric motor, kind of a neat idea really.

They have used internal combustion engines over electric motors for decades, diesel trains use them quite effectivly.

 

[exbass94]

The hybrid Tahoe isn't going to have some tiny gas engine and a tiny electric motor to get it going like the Prius. Chevy isn't THAT stupid, they know something like that isn't gonna get a heavy Tahoe moving. The hybrid Tahoe still has a Vortech V8 with displacement-on-demand along with an electric motor, and it's expected to "deliver an appoximate 25% improvement in overall fuel economy." (compared to the EPA 15 city/21 highway rating of 2007 Tahoe). Don't expect this thing to get the same mileage as a Prius. It's just the same yuppie-soccer mom mobile it's always been, except now people can feel a little less guilty about driving them because "it's a hybrid." GM is planning on building hybrid pickups very soon too.

 

[JohnnyO]

Locomotives have been hybrids since the 1930's. The diesel engine does not turn the wheels directly, it powers generators that in turn power electric motors that drive the wheels and as far as I know they do not use batteries.
A hybrid semi would probably work on the same principle.
Which brings me to this, IMO rail transport is the most efficient and least environmentally harmful way to move large amounts of stuff. .02.

 

[dranger21]

And Ethanol just ticks me off....
It is NOT the best alcohol fuel to be making from "corn"

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I've actually heard of a couple studies that say that is the truth. Its kind of interesting but its amazing that no one can open their eyes and see that.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2005/07/boosting_biomas.html

 

[CopyKat]

I think we will see hybrid semis in a decade for the same reason. Massive torque to get you going and a small efficient diesel to keep you going. The motor becomes a generator on down grades (quieter than a Jake) and helps on upgrades.

I believe in hybrids. Electric motors are awesome.

Already being done.

 

[Will]

The hybrid Tahoe isn't going to have some tiny gas engine and a tiny electric motor to get it going like the Prius. Chevy isn't THAT stupid, they know something like that isn't gonna get a heavy Tahoe moving. The hybrid Tahoe still has a Vortech V8 with displacement-on-demand along with an electric motor, and it's expected to "deliver an appoximate 25% improvement in overall fuel economy." (compared to the EPA 15 city/21 highway rating of 2007 Tahoe). Don't expect this thing to get the same mileage as a Prius. It's just the same yuppie-soccer mom mobile it's always been, except now people can feel a little less guilty about driving them because "it's a hybrid." GM is planning on building hybrid pickups very soon too.

The Prius has a big honking electric motor, which is what makes it different from most other so-called hybrids. It makes 300ft# of torque from 0-1,200rpm, and that would get a Tahoe moving. It makes 67hp--more than the diesel in a Rabbit or something. Plus it has 76hp gas motor and can use either or both as it needs to. The Prius has been built for 11 years, weigh 2,921# (exactly the same weight as a Ford Contour) seats 5, can go 0-60 in 10 seconds and 105mph top speed. It's a real car that gets really good mileage. The drawback is that it's expensive.

And GM IS that stupid. They have been proving it for years as witnessed by their continual downward spiral. GM had that piece of trash EV1 electric car thing that tanked about 15 minutes after they launched it. And don't blame it on oil companies. Very few people can afford to have a 2-seater car that you have to plug in every 50 miles. It was a toy.

You should read more about the Prius before bashing it.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The Prius has a big honking electric motor, which is what makes it different from most other so-called hybrids. It makes 300ft# of torque from 0-1,200rpm, and that would get a Tahoe moving. It makes 67hp--more than the diesel in a Rabbit or something. Plus it has 76hp gas motor and can use either or both as it needs to. The Prius has been built for 11 years, weigh 2,921# (exactly the same weight as a Ford Contour) seats 5, can go 0-60 in 10 seconds and 105mph top speed. It's a real car that gets really good mileage. The drawback is that it's expensive.

A Tahoe is a much heavier vehicle, if they put a 300 ft-lb motor in a 2,921 lb car they did it for a reason. Combined with the gas engine it only has 143 hp, that won't come close to cutting it with a big vehicle like a Tahoe. It could be that the engines that are tough enough to handle what a truck does and put out enough power are still too big or take too much juice to be practical. The 2.3 in a hybrid Escape puts 133hp, a Tahoe will take alot more than that just due to the sheere size difference.

And to those concerned about the safety of them, there is a switch you throw that kills the power at the battery, the rest of the car dead with no fuel to leak.

 

[Will]

If they can put motors in locomotives to drive them, they can do any vehicle. They don't see a market for it.

The little car doesn't need that 300ft# motor, it needs the horsepower. It's a true continously variable tranny so if the gas motor can get by on that 80ft#, the electric could. But a characteristic of an electric motor with that much power. I'm sure they could "chip" the computer and that electric motor would shred the tranny.
That Tahoe could make use of the 300ft# electric motor. It would be quite a in-town machine having 300ft# right off the get go. The 5.3 makes 325ft# but it isn't at idle. If the drive train could survive it, your plastic Jesus wouldn't stick to the dash. You put in a 200hp gas motor of 3.0 liters (don't need torque because the electric has it) to bridge the gap and you now have a real hybrid Suburban.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

You would think someone would be doing it if it was that easy, that Prius wasn't exactly a hit for the first couple years until it caught on. The Chevrolet system increases milage by up to 10% and keeps the most of the standard drivetrain to keep the cost/complexity down, it seems like a good idea to me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mild_hybrid

 

[Will]

It's not that easy. The Prius wasn't some crap tacked on to an existing vehicle.

The Prius was already old when it hit the US. It was a hit in Japan when it frist came out. If it hadn't of sold well in the US, it wasn't a problem. They sell everyone before it even arrives at the lot.

That half-assed GM thing will disappear because it's garnish, not meat and potatoes. it only powers accessories and shuts off at low speeds. It's nothing. It's not a hybrid at all. They just want to tack the name on for sales.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

It's not a hybrid at all. They just want to tack the name on for sales.

If it saves gas, why does it really matter how it does it? In stop and go at least my truck does more than its fair share of idling that really doesn't accomplish a whole lot, shutting off and turning on when needed wouldn't really hurt anything.