Forumlurker24
Well-known member
An engine designed for boost will have a lower compression to compensate so auto detonation is a non issue. The whole point of a turbo is to scavenge energy from the exhaust to increase efficiency and I think there are a ton of real world examples of this from high end generators, boats, and trains. Diesel is ignited from compression, yes but that's the only real difference from gas (other than energy density) let me ask you this, why have diesels gone to turbos instead of having a longer stroke? I am also under the impression that peak efficiency is when the engine is at peak torque, and smaller turbo engines produce peak torque at lower rpms and generally have more.I appreciate your gentlemanly response, thank you.
But your first paragraph is just flat incorrect and your second has a basic misunderstanding of how the PHEV's should ideally work.
Regarding FI (Forced Induction) engines, they are less efficient because the boost leads to detonation, so to deal with this manufacturers do two things on stock FI engines: 1) they reduce compression, both static and dynamic, and 2) they retard ignition timing as boost comes in. Not doing so, leads to detonation and excessive engine failure (see FI 5.0s).
Both of these compromises lead to reduced efficiency, and not a small amount either. If you scan your modern turbo charged engine, like my own PB, it'll be running 40 degrees of timing advance with no boost (to improve economy) and the moment boost comes in timing will drop to close to 0'.
To be clear, diesels actually require that detonation (detonation: high heat causes spontaneous combustion) to even run and diesel is quite hard to even ignite, so are mostly exempt from these rules.
What FI engines do quite well is allow you to have a smaller displacement engine that can get close to the efficiency of a normal small displacement engine while off boost, yet still make big power when on the boost. However, a PB while holding 400hp almost certainly is getting a lot less economy than a NA 5.0 also holding exactly 400 hp. Where a PB can excel, is when both only need 40 hp and the PB is off-boost. Still, it won't be as efficient as the same displacement motor NA with higher compression, less weight, and less exhaust restriction. Also, FI is great at altitude. I always laugh when people say 'there is no replacement for displacement', because there is, FI. A 3.5 at 14.7 lbs boost (technically a bit more due to inefficiencies) is pumping air just like a 7.0 liter engine!
Regarding your second paragraph, the RE (Range Extender) is not designed to put out the same power as a full size truck engine so that you can maintain towing power indefinitely. See electric propulsion is flat superior, it's the energy storage of batteries that sucks.
The entire point is that you gain all of the efficiency of electric propulsion, 90% conversion of energy, regen braking, instant torque, no energy wasted in traffic or while idling, and the batteries really act as a buffer. The RE's job is to efficiently and quietly recharge the battery pack, but it's not a motor designed to provide 400 towing hp worth of juice indefinitely as that would be heavy, not efficient and expensive.
The goal of the RE is to maintain enough battery juice so that you can comfortably crest the grade to get ready to recharge on the way back down. Not to maintain 100% of your charge while climbing the Grapevine. Also you can recharge while parked getting lunch, boating, parked on the side of the road (might sound stupid but compared to trying to find an EV plug is a big advantage), or camping or even just run it while towing to greatly extend range. For that, a 175hp generator is sufficient but more importantly, very simple and efficient with it's fuel useage. The fixed rpm generator motor has been figured out a long time ago. They know exactly how to create a basic NA engine where cam duration and timing, intake and exhaust length and therefore pulsewaves, airbox design, harmonics are all optimized to have the highest Volumetric Efficiency at a very specific RPM. This generator engine doesn't need to idle, or over-rev, or take off from idle. It just needs to make the most power per fuel used while not being intrusive or unreliable. When it doesn't have to be designed for general useability, it can be highly optimized for very specific things. That's it's sole purpose.
Hope that helps.
I'm not a fan of the system you describe it just slightly increasing the range. My understanding was that the ice engine would be enough to keep the battery topped off if going long range, not extending the battery and that's why I said a naturally aspirated probably wouldn't be enough. I guess that rules out the scout and ram charger for me since I don't have a house to charge it at. But ideally I would want a system that can operate both ways, running efficiently to slowly add some charge with the option to run it less efficiently to keep the battery topped off when going really far
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