-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Can you give us any more details on what this "hybrid" power train is? Is it just more of a gearing difference between the front and back? (back geared to get things going, front geared to keep things going with minimal power?)
Well, *if* this hybrid rumor is correct, it likely means that Tesla has moved away from a pure induction motor design - there are some motor designs that have been described as hybrids between the most common motor designs.
One possibility is that Tesla has decided to include permanent magnets in the motor, which allows for greater efficiency. I have my doubts Tesla has started using permanent magnets, though. Magnets use rare earth metals, they're expensive and fragile, they aren't easy to combine with high power and low weight.
Another possibility is that Tesla has started using a switched reluctance motor or something similar. These don't use permanent magnets, but they are complex to control, and they aren't very powerful.
It might even be possible to combine a standard induction motor with a high-efficiency PM-motor or SR-motor in the same casing on the same motor shaft. At low load the induction motor could idle while the high-efficiency motor provides power. Then when you need the power, boom, the induction motor kicks in.
My guess would be that the Model 3 uses a standard induction motor, though. This is a low-cost, high-power solution with acceptable efficiency.
One possibility is that Tesla has decided to include permanent magnets in the motor, which allows for greater efficiency. I have my doubts Tesla has started using permanent magnets, though. Magnets use rare earth metals, they're expensive and fragile, they aren't easy to combine with high power and low weight.
Another possibility is that Tesla has started using a switched reluctance motor or something similar. These don't use permanent magnets, but they are complex to control, and they aren't very powerful.
It might even be possible to combine a standard induction motor with a high-efficiency PM-motor or SR-motor in the same casing on the same motor shaft. At low load the induction motor could idle while the high-efficiency motor provides power. Then when you need the power, boom, the induction motor kicks in.
My guess would be that the Model 3 uses a standard induction motor, though. This is a low-cost, high-power solution with acceptable efficiency.
JeffK
Well-Known Member
Any sources for this supposed rumor?
Tesla has two hybrid systems with regards to their patents surrounding the drive train. The first is the dual motors torque sleep patent and the second is the older hybrid electrical system combining Li Ion and metal-air batteries in one vehicle for huge increases in range.
Li-air are years away from being viable in my opinion (in an EV).
Tesla has two hybrid systems with regards to their patents surrounding the drive train. The first is the dual motors torque sleep patent and the second is the older hybrid electrical system combining Li Ion and metal-air batteries in one vehicle for huge increases in range.
Li-air are years away from being viable in my opinion (in an EV).
Last edited:
Maybe the 3 will have a small permanent magnet motor driving the front wheels for higher efficiency along with the standard induction motor for the rear wheels? Or a motor with a PM stage and an induction stage?
I've never seen that done before, but it could have potential - PM that's small enough that normal cruising is always in the sweet spot performance range, then a bigger induction stage beside it to handle heavy acceleration and regeneration that you just switch off in cruise. Lots of extra complexity, but it would probably give higher efficiency, and not much more weight.
I've never seen that done before, but it could have potential - PM that's small enough that normal cruising is always in the sweet spot performance range, then a bigger induction stage beside it to handle heavy acceleration and regeneration that you just switch off in cruise. Lots of extra complexity, but it would probably give higher efficiency, and not much more weight.
SageBrush
REJECT Fascism
I'll guess this hybrid is the two motor, AWD model.
The car power demands dictate which (or both) motors are used.
Anything more exotic would run counter to EM's promise to KISS this time around.
The car power demands dictate which (or both) motors are used.
Anything more exotic would run counter to EM's promise to KISS this time around.
BluestarE3
Active Member
I find this a plausible theory on what a hybrid motor in Model 3 might mean.
I wonder if the hybrid part means e.g. a hybrid front motor (two technologies inside one motor) - or merely different technologies used in the two motors (rear different than front). Both seem plausible.
That, or Elon has finally seen light and went all out with an ICE PHEV...
Realistically we can not know what Elon meant when he said they'd keep Model 3 simpler this time. He might simply be referring to axing some wilder all glass roof/falcon wings/monopost rear seats type of things that made Model X so hard to build. He may have just meant they chose a more traditional design as the production car.
It does not necessarily mean anything regarding the drivetrain. Tesla certainly has a history of making both their batteries and drivetrains more and more complex (e.g. see D, the 100 battery and Ludicrous mode for example) to keep evolving them. Creating a new type of motor certainly could range from a simple change to a big change, really.
Also, note, the rumor is about the dual motor version. Keeping the single-motor version non-hybrid would allow for a more KISS approach there and then upsell a bit more complex one with a pricier hybrid dual-motor.
Historically, a lot of rumors posted on TMC have turned out to be correct in the end. This was definitely the case with Model X where a lot of stuff was known thanks to leaksters (but not always believed, unfortunately).
While this one could be false, it is by no means certain. The simplest answer would be, someone with a source under NDA spilled a bean...
Hey don't joke with stuff like that - at least one person on here thinks that a wind turbine provides some form of "free" energy when fitted to a carWind turbine!
Hey don't joke with stuff like that - at least one person on here thinks that a wind turbine provides some form of "free" energy when fitted to a car
Yeah, be careful there, or you end up with something like this:
BluestarE3
Active Member
You mean to tell me this doesn't really work?Hey don't joke with stuff like that - at least one person on here thinks that a wind turbine provides some form of "free" energy when fitted to a car
Strap This Wind Turbine To Your Electric Car and You Can Drive Forever
It was on Gizmodo, so they must know what they're talking about, right?
BluestarE3
Active Member
Oh, my. I guess when those lead-acid batteries run out of juice, the two of them can get out out and push the car. If they run really, really fast, they might be able to get the rotors to spin and generate a minuscule amount of electricity to recharge the batteries an even more minuscule amount.
Similar threads
