Lit Motors C-1

[Raffy.Roma]

With respect to point 1 I agree with you Jerry because as I told in this case there are losses due to the drag experienced by the gyro wheels and the resistance of the wires (Joule effect).
With respect to point 2 I disagree because IMO in this case you don't take energy out of one system and put it in another, but you simply convert an existing energy into another kind of energy like you do for instance in the case of wind moving a turbine.

 

[jerry33]

With respect to point 2 I disagree because IMO in this case you don't take energy out of one system and put it in another, but you simply convert an existing energy into another kind of energy like you do for instance in the case of wind moving a turbine.

Moving a turbine with also reduces the energy that the wind has.

 

[Raffy.Roma]

Hi Jerry I studied a little bit this matter and I came to the conclusion that you are right. In fact the current produced by the gyro flywheels will experience the Lorentz Force because of the magnetic field originated by the magnet slowing down the gyro flywheels. You are right.
That's why Litmotors uses this system to generate energy only while the brakes are on, because in this case you have much more kinetical energy in the gyro flywheels and you manage to get energy without stoping the gyro flywheels.

 

[jerry33]

That's why Litmotors uses this system to generate energy only while the brakes are on, because in this case you have much more kinetical energy in the gyro flywheels.

That's correct. it's far better to turn the kinetic energy into electricity and heat rather than turning it all into heat the way friction brakes do.

 

[Raffy.Roma]

While studying a little bit of magnetism I came to the conclusion that the magnetic field coupling the circuit on the gyro flywheels is not generated by a magnet, because in this case such a circuit would have been always been coupled to the magnetic field causing unwanted losses (see my discussion above with Jerry), but such a magnetic field is generated by a current. This way the regen action of C1 may happen only when the brakes are activated.

 

[EVenthusiast]

For what it's worth, I started Lit Motors Forums late last year in order to get as much information as possible in 1 place. There is tons of good info on the site already, plus you can interact with Lit Motors employees.

Also, if you are one of the 60 people who backed the C-1 Lit Motors campaign on KickStarter, be aware that it's a scam which finally got shut down today.

 

[thelastdeadmouse]

Obviously there's no free lunches in terms of getting extra energy from the gyros, but is it possible to store a noticeable amount of energy by spinning up the gyros to their maximum speed when plugged in? If you only need to spin the gyros at 20% of their maximum speed for driving stability, the rest of that kinetic energy is available for one time use just like if you had charged a battery. If you spun it fast enough you could store, say, an extra 2kwh in kinetic energy, bringing the total system storage energy to 10kwh. I don't remember how to calculate how much energy storage you could get off hand (and probably shouldn't do the research at work), napkin math anyone?

 

[JRP3]

I'm guessing the mass and speed of the gyro flywheels would be too small to store significant amounts of energy.

 

[DuncanWatson]

For what it's worth, I started Lit Motors Forums late last year in order to get as much information as possible in 1 place. There is tons of good info on the site already, plus you can interact with Lit Motors employees.

Also, if you are one of the 60 people who backed the C-1 Lit Motors campaign on KickStarter, be aware that it's a scam which finally got shut down today.

Thanks for the link. As a pre-order customer I appreciate the forum.

 

[thelastdeadmouse]

I'm guessing the mass and speed of the gyro flywheels would be too small to store significant amounts of energy.

Now that's had a chance to play with the numbers you're right. KERS flywheels used in F1 had 5kg of rotating mass, 240mm diameter, and spins just shy of 65,000 RPM. That comes out to nearly 250wh. If you drop that down to the 10,000 RPM Lit has stated, that drops to just 5wh.

So if you were willing to pay $60,000 for 2 F1 gyros instead of 2 Lit Motors gyros you can get an extra .5kwh or so of energy storage.

 

[Raffy.Roma]

Obviously there's no free lunches in terms of getting extra energy from the gyros, but is it possible to store a noticeable amount of energy by spinning up the gyros to their maximum speed when plugged in?

IMO the answer is no because it would be got at the expence of the energy coming from the plug (and decreased from the losses due to the conversion of energy).

 

[domenick]

Lit Motors had a patent awarded for its stabilization system. Lots of detail into how, exactly, this system works is now available.

 

[doug]

Coolness. Thanks Domenick!

 

[Raffy.Roma]

Lit Motors had a patent awarded for its stabilization system. Lots of detail into how, exactly, this system works is now available.

View attachment 34512

Really interesting! I can't wait to see the first C1 delivered.

- - - Updated - - -

I would like to report an interesting article concerning the C1.

http://www.7x7.com/tech-gadgets/car-future-here-sf

 

[doug]

Lit Motors is awesome, but let's be realistic -- GigaOm - Tech News and Analysis

SUMMARY:
Lit Motors is a cool company but that might not be enough to get its C-1 electric scooter to market.

 

[jerry33]

SUMMARY:
Lit Motors is a cool company but that might not be enough to get its C-1 electric scooter to market.

I think it will depend on whether or not Lit can get regulators to accept this vehicle as a car (no motorcycle license required). I'd seriously consider one if that was the case.

 

[doug]

Hmm... but then if it's a car, aren't there expensive crash test requirements?

 

[JRP3]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it has to be a motorcycle:

the C-1 is not a car. That’s a key distinction, as motorcycles (which the C-1 technically is) are subject to much less regulation than cars. Less regulation means both cheaper and faster development,

A comment from Lit motors CMO.

 

[doug]

I think it will depend on whether or not Lit can get regulators to accept this vehicle as a car (no motorcycle license required). I'd seriously consider one if that was the case.

Whether a motorcycle license is needed also depends on the state. I believe the Aptera claimed you didn't need a motorcycle license. Didn't need a helmet either, since it was enclosed, as is the case here.

I suppose if your state determined the C-1 required a license, then by definition you could use it for your test.

 

[MikeL]

Imagine my surprise on coming to this thread to find new posts - from today even! Just want to say the Lit Motors March Newsletter is out today with a good amount of interesting new stuff, including the Forbes article mentioned in the GigaOm piece above. Or just go to their website litmotors.com for the blog about building the new prototype. I KNOW one of you guys can identify those cells they are loading into a pack.