Buzz,

Thanks for the link. I had kind of understood how the regenerative charging worked but that made it much easier. Unfortunately we have a few mountains here such as the ones between me and the coast where you have to follow the old stage coach trail and in some places it just winds around and around in the canyons and is a steady uphill climb for miles before you get to a downhill area. And East of me is a very steep and several miles long grade up to Lassen Park which would really be a drag on the battery.

Ron

Source: USA Today:

" Hybrid debut " :

" Having received approval for its battery system from the FIA, Corsa Motorsports' Ginetta-Zytek 09 hybrid will make its ALMS debut at Lime Rock. The prototype, which combines an ethanol-fueled 4.0-liter V8 with an on-board lithium-ion energy-storage system, was to have been raced at Miller Motorsports Park two months ago but had to be crash-tested to ensure its battery pack could withstand an impact of 60 Gs."

"We have the car equivalent of the space shuttle now," Corsa owner Steve Pruitt said of the hybrid, which is driven by Johnny Mowlem and Stefan Johansson. "It's been a long, costly process to this point, but we're encouraged by the capabilities and testing."

Don,

That combination should give them a big edge in fuel mileage, but won't they still have to follow the rules about pit stops just the same as the rest? Otherwise they could go a whole race without stopping unless they had tire problems or something. I will be interested in seeing how the car does.

Ron :)

Electric Cobra AlGore's wet dream..

This is interesting Hummer vs. Prius: Which is eco-friendly?
http://www.khou.com/topstories/stori....1ce5897b.html

Map,

That is an interesting article, but then they never gave any facts about the pollution caused by the making of the steel and other things for the Hummer. I would very much like to see a practical non polluting vehicle that could be built in a price range where people that weren't wealthy could afford them. I think the batteries still have a long way to go unless you just take short trips on relatively level ground. But any thing that will help would be good.

Ron :)

Considering the advantages, it's funny it took so long. I suppose they had to still jump through some hoops. More.

=========================================

Map,

That silly business of the Hummer being more eco friendly has been pretty much debunked. It is interesting, like you say, though. Gives us an idea how far petro-industry Kool-Aid propoganda will go. :LOL:

Wes

...

The same steel,aluminum,plastic,copper,Glass could be used in both cars or a 757.
We have the cleanest country on the planet!

I'm here in Pittsburgh I know what pollution is 99% of the tree huggers don't have a clue what it was like here in the 50/60/70s I remember days in the middle of the summer when all the windows had to be kept closed to keep out the sulfur smell from J&L steel & the Galvanizing plant kinda like China & India today.

A friend of mine spends a lot of time in China (work related) he says it's a rare occasion to see the sun because of the pollution.

I think all the environmental Nazis should move to China and try to change there view on air quality and bring there body Armor!

I get so sick of hearing this electric ****! We should have at least one Nuke plant in every state and drill then tell the middle east to kiss our ass!

Now we have this fool in the white house forcing this down out throats...

Map,

Yeah, we're pretty lucky the huggers did what they did here so far. I doubt many of us would trade our fuel injected gas burners for carburators anymore. Or trade industrial plants for the past.

Gotta totally agree with you on the nuke plants. I think that is the only viable alternative to fossil fuels given the current time constraints to "save the world" and dump the middle-east. Nuclear energy promotion is one of the realistic things I really liked about McCain. Too bad he was shot down by fringe wingers in his own party.

As for, "forcing this down out throats", I guess we will all have to wash it down with our own particular brand of Kool-Aid. :LOL:

Wes

...

From MotorSports.com

Lime Rock: Johnny Mowlem preview
Racing series ALMS
Date 2009-07-16
MOWLEM TO RACE ZYTEK WITH HYBRID POWER AT LIME ROCK

" LIME ROCK PARK, Conn. (July 15, 2009) -- Johnny Mowlem and the Corsa Motorsports team will bring a new revolution to New England when the team competes in the July 18 American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park.

The Lime Rock race will be the first competitive appearance for a hybrid racecar.

The Corsa car, the Ginetta-Zytek 09HS hybrid racer, packs both electric and internal combustion power into its slender frame. Mowlem and co-driver Stefan Johansson will pilot the car around the 1.53-mile course through the stunning Connecticut landscape.

"Nothing moves development forward like racing," Mowlem said. "We generated a great deal of information about the car and we've been able to apply it to the car for this race. We've had a long stint between races and that has worked to our advantage."

The car raced with conventional power in the most recent ALMS race but has recently completed the acceptance process to race as a hybrid. The battery pack has proven to perform well.

Let the revolution begin.

Mowlem has shouldered much of the driving portion of the development process, making him the most experienced hybrid racer among the world's elite sports car drivers.

At the heart of the Corsa/Zytek program is the revolutionary KERS (kinetic energy recovery) hybrid power plant, a combination of an ethanol-fueled (E10) internal combustion engine and a three-phase induction electric motor. The normally aspirated 4.5-liter V8 produces an estimated 625 hp. The electric motor is a direct drive Zytek proprietary design powered by an on-board lithium-ion energy storage system with a KERS supplemental regeneration system.

The race airs live on SPEED. Race time is scheduled for 2:05 Eastern Time in the United States. "

Don,

Thanks for the information. I will definitely watch that race as I was wondering what to do for this hot weekend. I am a little surprised that the V-8 pits out that much horsepower though. I thought it was mainly ran to recharge the battery.

Ron

Speedtv.com ( not cable ) will live stream the Friday July 17 qualifying, EDT

http://www.speedtv.com/programs/amer...ualifying-live

3:35 pm - 3:55 pm Qualifying - American Le Mans Series (GT2/ALMS Challenge)
4:00 pm - 4:20 pm Qualifying - American Le Mans Series (P1/P2)
4:30 pm - 4:50 pm Qualifying #2 - Formula BMW Americas
5:00 pm - 5:20 pm Qualifying - IMSA Lites presented by Frisby Performance Tire
5:30 pm - 5:55 pm Qualifying - Cooper Tires Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda

.......#48 finished 7 laps behind the P1 overall winner

Lime Rock: Corsa Motorsports race report
Racing series ALMS
Date 2009-07-18
HISTORIC FINISH FOR CORSA MOTORSPORTS LE MANS P1 ENTRY

" Lakeville, Connecticut (July 18, 2009). In a turn of fortune from the trials and tribulations that plagued the debut of the Corsa Motorsports LMP1 hybrid electric racecar, the world's first alternative-fueled such propulsion system, the team ended up with a historic podium finish in the first ever outing for the GZ-09-SH car. "

http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=337131

They have a lot of work to still be done. I watched one interview where one of the team said that they were having problems getting the car balanced because of the weight of the electric motor and where they had to mount it. From the way he talked the electric motor feed juice into the gear box all the time for extra power and recharges the batteries on braking. If that is the case, what advantage is there to the set up?

I know that they have a lot to get straightened out, but just gaining extra power that way seems to be sort of like a long term nitrous shot. I was hoping they would be able to run part of the race just on the electric motor.

Ron

Update:

Lime Rock: Zytek Motorsports race report
Racing series ALMS
Date 2009-07-20
Zytek Makes History First ever overall podium for a hybrid in Le Mans-style race

"The first ever podium place for a hybrid-powered car in a race featuring Le Mans-style prototypes has been scored by Zytek Engineering. All the more impressive is that the history-creating car, the Corsa Motorsports entered Ginetta-Zytek GZ09HS was making its debut in hybrid form "


http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=337445