48 Volt VW Golf TDI

Holy sh1t. Can that be right ?

.... Seems so. More than double the max current of the Prius traction battery.

 

Joule has taught us how to create and to avoid those losses.
There are manufacturers that came up with a new law or have a heat sink to feed that we are missing...

 

The only true benefit of this system is gliding (or coasting?) with ICE off. This would mean minimum 10% gain in MPG, Prius gains minimum 20%. And as I said before DSG and TSI engine alone adds a very nice premium that already comes in a range of HSD.

 

Allowing control of regen separate from the brake pedal allows the use of it in situations where the driver would down shift in a standard ICE car. Like going down hill, where vague pedal feel could mean heating up friction brakes with unnecessary use.

This isn't going on a Golf TSI. VW already has their own mild hybrid system that is a step up from this.

This system is made by Continental Automotive -Automotive Group. A parts supplier to companies that actually make cars. The Golf in the article is just a demo car to show off the system.

OP article-
"Wiesenberger revealed that a production 48-V system based on the prototype is scheduled to launch at two OEMs in the 2016 time frame, with “a number of projects” in the pipeline."
Chrysler recently announced an upcoming mild-hybrid mini-van. They might be using this system. Actually not this system. The Conti rep in the article mentions that there is at least one more generation beyond this one that is capable of EV crawling.

We only have part of the of the picture.

"The lithium-ion battery and compact dc-dc converter are located in the demo Golf’s trunk. Supplied by SK Continental E-motion, Conti’s joint-venture with battery-cell maker SK Innovation, the battery’s small size could mistake it for a 12-V unit. All in all, the 48-V module is a tidy package, its bill-of-material reduced by half compared to a previous system, due to piggybacking the power inverter on the e-motor and eliminating their connecting cables."

Sounds like the only wire is between the motor/inverter and the battery/dc-dc converter. We don't know what the inverter and converter are outputting to that wire.

 

I see that someone else wasn't sleeping through their basic electronics classes...

 

Jetta, Gulf, and the Beetle all share the same platform & engines, so if VW made a Gulf Hybrid it would have the same turbocharged engine & hybrid system as the Jetta
.

 

Could be, but maybe they are looking at cheaper option, current Jetta hybrid is not exactly a hot seller. VW did show upgraded "Jetta" hybrid system in new plug-in Golf GTE, so they are obviously not abandoning it.

 

Turbochanging is basically only a POWER enhancer, because it works on HIGH exhaust gas velocities, which occur when the engine RPMs are high...which is NOT conducive to either fuel economy or optimum torque. So-o-o-o-o, it is VERY doubtful that a turbocharger would be used on the ICE in a hybrid vehicle.

 

It appears that is what VW did.

The current generation of turbos start boosting early. The torque peaks at 1600rpm on the Jetta hybrid 1.4 turbo. That is about where it peaks on the Sonic and Cruze 1.4 turbo.

A turbo can allow for engine downsizing in a car's design. Same basic theory as with a hybrid. Use an engine just large enough that is at efficiency operation for most of the time. Then use a motor to assist during the times when such an engine would give acceptable performance. A turbo can be used to attain the same goals. Granted, not as well as a hybrid, but for better packaging and cost. In the case of the Sonic, and maybe Cruze, the low torque peak allows the use of a second overdrive gear on the manual transmission.

Perhaps the Jetta hybrid could have used a 1.8L like the Prius, and gotten the same results. The block may have been too large to fit with the motor in the engine bay though. Or the smaller displacement of the turbo allowed for better city numbers. There must have been a worthwhile reason for VW to use a turbo. Not exactly the same, but the Pathfinder hybrid is supercharged.

 

FWIW, we HAD a Chevrolet Cruze with turbocharged 1.4L engine for 3 years and it was NEITHER peppy nor economical.

 

If this system was for existing used cars and it used a wheel motor hooked up on the rear wheel on front wheel drive car it could work but I think the batt is too small and it should be more of a plug in hybrid that would drive 5 or 10 miles on electric and would also have regen brakes. I think an electric retrofit for existing cars would be cool

 

I went with a Sonic because of the Cruzes weight. Hopefully GM has been serious about reducing models weight with the new 2015.