Air powered Car [merged threads]

[nameless411]

thanks ghosthunter , that was indeed very enlightening. so 1970's pa pala LPG?

maybe it took so long to become mainstream because gas / diesel was dirt cheap, hence no pressure to make it mainstream...

but with today's high fuel costs, im sure that alternative fuel systems will become mainstream much much sooner than expected....

though im not expecting the automakers to make these changes....

it might be up to innovators / consumers to make the proverbial "leap of faith"

back to the aircar - does it indeed run on the rotary engine?

(i like your logo sir, am a big fan of mythbusters too - mustve watched every episode they ever made. sayang di nila test yung aerogas and khaos, that would be interesting)

[ghosthunter]

back to the aircar - does it indeed run on the rotary engine?

From what I remember, no, it uses a standard piston engine design. It would be similar to a typical air compressor but running in reverse.

[nameless411]

im surprised that rotary engines are not that common, it eliminates all the energy loss from pistons, connecting rods, main crankshaft, etc.. its attached directly to the transmission.....does mazda still use rotary engines on its sports car models?

also, does anyone know the australian firm that produces the aircar version that runs with the rotary engine?

[ghosthunter]

im surprised that rotary engines are not that common, it eliminates all the energy loss from pistons, connecting rods, main crankshaft, etc.. its attached directly to the transmission.....does mazda still use rotary engines on its sports car models?

Mazda only uses the rotary engine in it's RX8 car.

The rotary engine is a nice piece of engineering but it does have major flaws. It emits too much pollution. It is not fuel efficient. It will self-destruct if the engine "pings" even just once.

[Algernon]

The rotary engine is a nice piece of engineering but it does have major flaws. It emits too much pollution. It is not fuel efficient. It will self-destruct if the engine "pings" even just once.

The Australian-designed rotary air engine eliminates practically all those defects, since the mechanical parts don't come into direct contact with each other, being cushioned by a thin layer of air. Because of this, there's hardly any effort needed to overcome friction, making the engine extremely efficient.

*nameless The company's name is EngineAir. Link: http://www.engineair.com.au/

[ghosthunter]

The Australian-designed rotary air engine eliminates practically all those defects, since the mechanical parts don't come into direct contact with each other, being cushioned by a thin layer of air. Because of this, there's hardly any effort needed to overcome friction, making the engine extremely efficient.

*nameless The company's name is EngineAir. Link: http://www.engineair.com.au/

interesting site but a bit short on specifications of the air motor like torque and HP figures which would have been interesting to find out.

[Algernon]

interesting site but a bit short on specifications of the air motor like torque and HP figures which would have been interesting to find out.

I agree. The closest I found to something that showed what it can do was a somewhat old Youtube video clip of Beyond Tomorrow showing the warehouse air-powered vehicle pulling a much larger covered pickup around (just shown for a few seconds though, toward the end...the first part shows the MDI air engine, non-rotary).

http://gas2.org/2008/07/15/an-air-ca...ed-air-hybrid/

[nameless411]

the range (i think) would be defined by the pressure and the size of the tanks. the engine i saw in the video is extremely small, one man can hold it in his hands (as opposed to our current gas engines that takes a chain block to lift).....

[LoBudget]

This would be really cool!! As an emergency measure maybe it can have like a bike pedal system for you to manually compress air in a spare tank. Who knows, maybe have the passengers pumping away for long trips...

My question to this would be what about creature comforts like aircon and other electricals? In a normal car the belts to the engine powers the alternators and stuff, what happens to that, all battery powered?

[ghosthunter]

This would be really cool!! As an emergency measure maybe it can have like a bike pedal system for you to manually compress air in a spare tank. Who knows, maybe have the passengers pumping away for long trips...

if riding with you means I have to pedal my lungs out, I'd rather take a taxi.

My question to this would be what about creature comforts like aircon and other electricals? In a normal car the belts to the engine powers the alternators and stuff, what happens to that, all battery powered?

The air motor would have an electrical generator similar to an alternator. It would generate enough power to run basic electrical items like lights, fans, radio. As for aircon, I doubt if it would be present. It simple takes too much power to run.

[niky]

The amount of pedal power it would take to recharge the air tank would be better put to use just running the vehicle. Better if you have an onboard air-compressor powered by a small gasoline or diesel engine.