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mechmike0034
11-11-2006, 02:03 PM
Interesting concept - the hydrostatic drive is like having a variable-ratio transmission.

http://www.hydraulicinnovations.com/


This amazing machine got around 65-70 miles per gallon at 75mph in the Black Hills of South Dakota when it hit the road for the first time!!! Jeff finished building this motorcycle in the summer of 2004, just in time to bring it to the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis SD. It performed perfectly!! He took it on several rides through the steep, Black Hills and was very pleased with it's performance. It got excellent mileage and had plenty of power to ride up the steep grades.
johnnymk
11-11-2006, 03:07 PM
This is the concept I have been talking about for years and years. A diesel engine has gobs of torque and loves to be run within small RPM ranges. The hydrostatic drivetrain allows for this to occur.

I can't wait to see this on a larger vehicle.

However, I am not sure of heat generation problems and long term durability.

Most of the machinery I encountered such as All Wheel Loaders and Industrial tractors were for low speed use. But I am sure that the problems could be solved if not already.
mechmike0034
11-20-2006, 09:12 AM
Here's diesel power, but no hydro drive. This does use a CVT trans, tho...

http://www.gizmag.com/go/6493/
InfiniteNothing
11-20-2006, 10:30 AM
This is the concept I have been talking about for years and years. A diesel engine has gobs of torque and loves to be run within small RPM ranges. The hydrostatic drivetrain allows for this to occur.

I can't wait to see this on a larger vehicle.

However, I am not sure of heat generation problems and long term durability.

Most of the machinery I encountered such as All Wheel Loaders and Industrial tractors were for low speed use. But I am sure that the problems could be solved if not already.
In the limit of an unlimited CVT, torque becomes meaningless. It's all about HP. Just look at the Prius with its ~400ft/lbs of torque.

Now, if you had a 1 speed... yeah you want as much torque as you can get.
johnnymk
11-20-2006, 10:56 AM
In the limit of an unlimited CVT, torque becomes meaningless. It's all about HP. Just look at the Prius with its ~400ft/lbs of torque.

Now, if you had a 1 speed... yeah you want as much torque as you can get.

To clarify..many diesel engines have flat torque curves, i.e. they develop their peak torque over a larger range of RPMs than a gasoline engine, which generally peak at a high RPM and then drop. If the diesel engine can be set to operate within these range of RPMs and which is hopefully within the optimum fuel mileage RPMs and then couple it to an infinitely variable transmission, significant savings should result.

However, I am not sure if the belt versions would offer better savings than a hydrostatic coupling.

AKAIK, belt design is limited today by the amount of torque developed by the powerplant, but I am unsure what this figure is.