Thread: electric 4wd through transfer case

Maaate!
That’s an idea with exploring I reckon.

How about installing an electric motor at the PTO which ASSISTS the normal engine in front of it? Could be used to assist acceleration and also for regenerative braking?

Hi,
They would have a massive mechanical disadvantage to work against, wouldn't they?
Cheers

Issues I see:-

1. Need to have motors that turn at the right speed

2. The top gear on the transfer case relies for alignment on the output bearing of the gearbox and the PTO or the bearing that is there if no PTO. Replace these by two electric motors, and the adapters had better be pretty accurate or it will be noisy. Since the gears are spiral, the motor bearings need to accept end thrust, in both directions (forward and reverse).

3. Seals and venting would need to be considered

4. Since the transfer case relies for location and torque reaction in part on the gearbox and engine, additional location will be needed, with rubber engine mounts, and designed to handle the mass of transfer case plus motors.

If I was to work on this project. I would look at installing 4x motors, (one for each wheel), then look at how each wheel could sinc when on the road and how to apply the right power when going off road for a true 4WD experience. I imagine it would need a lot of sensors to apply power where needed.

You could easily do this with very little effort. Synching electric motors is easy.

The motor I used in my EV LandRover is a HPEVS A/C 51 , the documentation PDF for the motor gives wiring diagram for single or dual motors & controllers hooked to the one throttle pedal pot . Dual A/C 51 will be more than adequate power and torque to get rid of the gearbox.

The motor/controller sets are $7500 so its not going to be a paddock basher.

Minimal machine work required to hook one motor to the Gearbox input side of the TC , same for PTO side . One motor will need to be driven in reverse , you can do this with a simple switch wiring or in software.

You could make a state of the art 4x4 using this method .


cjc_td5 , your idea has been done by LandRover, theres 3 prototypes, one 109 (in Dunsfold collection) & two 110's , existing engine up front & Electric going into PTO .

I am toying with doing this on my Iveco , as its about the same cost of putting a Telma Retarder , the benefit of the Electric Motor over Telma is the regenerative braking will charge batteries which in turn can provide power for the traction circuit. Effectively making a Hybrid.

Forget about 4 motors for 4x4 , direct drive is out of the question , they need to be geared either through gearboxes or diff ratio.

Look at how a Bollinger B1 works . Thats the 4x4 EV Benchmark in my opinion.

Originally Posted by JDNSW

Issues I see:-

1. Need to have motors that turn at the right speed

2. The top gear on the transfer case relies for alignment on the output bearing of the gearbox and the PTO or the bearing that is there if no PTO. Replace these by two electric motors, and the adapters had better be pretty accurate or it will be noisy. Since the gears are spiral, the motor bearings need to accept end thrust, in both directions (forward and reverse).

3. Seals and venting would need to be considered

4. Since the transfer case relies for location and torque reaction in part on the gearbox and engine, additional location will be needed, with rubber engine mounts, and designed to handle the mass of transfer case plus motors.

John - might be late in the day thus my mind is a bit mush but i didn't follow point 2. The others are minor in the grand scheme of things. Pick 2 identical motors modulated with rpm sensors and ecu. Any uni student in electrical engineering could code a simple program to keep the motors spinning in unison. Venting = hole in case with tube on end. The motors will be mounted to the chassis.

Austastar - probably. It wouldn't be setting land speed records but imagine high and low gearing with 100% torque from 1 rpm as a putt about vehicle.

cjc-td5 - your comment was the original of the thought but then i factored in the inconsistency of power from the engine, changing of gears etc which would have to be co-ordinated with the electric motor to avoid them fighting against each other or stripping gears.

I also considered a set up for a motor front and rear fed into a differential up high between the chassis rail with CV joints to the wheel hub (think IFS set up). That only gives you a single speed (with a multiplier set by the differential) but for a putt about vehicle it might be all you need.