2004 VY Series 2 - V6 - Hybrid conversion (To Petrol / Electric!) ??

[vk4akp]

Hi Guys,

Been following the adventures of Elon Musk and Tesla for some time now.

It's surprised me how fast the world is transitioning towards Solar and batteries for both home and transport.

I really like my V6 Ecotec Commodore that I've now only had for some 6 ish months. It's my first modern car that doesn't require the points to be filed and set for a tune up and if possible I'd really like to keep it for some time.

So I see batteries being the big hurdle for a few years yet and the interim thing seems to be hybrids.

So I'm wondering if it may be possible to modify the lovely old VY to be a Hybrid instead?
There is certainly enough room in the engine bay to add an electric motor. Or perhaps the bell housing / torque converter area or even gear box could be redesigned to splice in an electric motor?

I invite people to post their idea's on this subject. I'm sure there could be a generally designed replacement or partial replacement for the same 4 speed transmission that is used in many models across the Commodore range. I'm sure it would be a welcomed conversion as the ICE engine age starts to slip away from us.

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[Interloper94]

Ofcourse its possible,but remember everything always come down to the almighty dollar.
I'd personally just go full electric, no beating around the bush.

 

[Trayner]

Electric cars don't really have a "transmission". More of a direct drive setup

 

[stick3]

Electric Holden Commodore

 

[vk4akp]

Yea it's true that full EV's don't have multi speed boxes. But there is a lot of people that convert older cars to electric and leave the box and drive chain as is.
It's not about converting to full electric it's more about reducing running costs by going hybrid to extend the use of the vehicle further into the full EV era.

As far as costs. Look at solar panels. How cheap they have become now compared to the beginning. Everything is demand and production driven.
Produce a product that can fit a multitude of vehicles and that helps drive down the costs.

Looks like someone has already had the same idea BTW.

https://www.google.com/patents/US6474428

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[vk4akp]

High Efficiency Electromagnetic Torque Converter for Hybrid Electric Vehicles
High Efficiency Electromagnetic Torque Converter for Hybrid Electric Vehicles

Electric torque converter mounted on parallel hybrid vehicle - US 6474428 B1
Patent US6474428 - Electric torque converter mounted on parallel hybrid vehicle - Google Patents

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[vk4akp]

Electric Holden Commodore

That's pretty cool!

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[malmensa]

It is certainly POSSIBLE, but would not be easy. Simplest way would be a serial hybrid. Do the following:

1. Remove the current engine and transmission, they are not useful.
2. Obtain an engine of 1 - 2 Litre, with good fuel economy, and low peak power. You will probably have to build a custom one, using an Atkinson cycle cam profile. It need not be able to idle. A direct injected 2 stroke might work well. Pointless using a "normal" engine.
3. Obtain a matching generator, capable of being fitted to the back of the ICE, and designed with its characteristic in mind.
4. Either fit a single electric motor where the transmission was, and connect it to the drive shaft, or for better performance, remove the differential, and fit separate motors for each back wheel.
5. Construct a couple of battery packs using a heap of 18650 lithium cells. You will need at least 1000, depending on your design goals. Might be able to fit them in the boot.
6. Design and build custom control electronics and processing for the whole package.

Good luck!

 

[vk4akp]

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[vk4akp]

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