I haven't paid attention to recent advances, but I had some 200A PWM controllers that easily fit in my palm and cost less than $50. I think the resistance across the transistor bank was around .002 ohm,
Peak voltage is also an issue. Silicon gets expensive when you need both voltage- and current-handling ability. Still, I haven't been keeping up much. I know that heavy-current applications are using IGBT's instead of FET's now, because it caps the voltage drop. For a car, though, where most of the time you're at cruising (lower) power probably the FET pack would be superior.
I always figured the way to go would be four brushless motors built into the hubs, with four separate controllers and a computer to give it 4wd, traction control, and regenerative brakes with ABS. For a redundant braking system, Girling front calipers from a Saab 99 would give you a handbrake that can lock the front wheels at 80mph.
Regen braking is feeble, you'd still need a good set of service brakes for safety, whether or not they were SAAB-ey. I wouldn't want to bet my life on active braking. I agree that four wheel motors would probably be the best for a true electric fresh-from-scratch vehicle. For a retrofit It's still a nice fantasy to pop the engine off the tranny and bolt on an electric motor, then fill the engine bay with batteries. Lead-acid's a bit too heavy for that configuration, though, so the price would go way up. -- Jim _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
