http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/ Engadget Comments for Michelin's e-wheel eliminates gearboxes, drive shaft, and really boss rims http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/
This is exactly what we'll need to build a WARTHOG.]]>Feb 16th 2009 9:06PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 16th 2009 9:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 16th 2009 9:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 16th 2009 10:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/
Volvos new Hybrid
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T40ZqLZiZyg

And another vid here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tLQ2-yKT4Y]]>Feb 16th 2009 10:37PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 16th 2009 11:54PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 16th 2009 9:06PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 16th 2009 9:08PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/
like i drive a car with 22's....lol]]>Feb 16th 2009 10:47PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 16th 2009 9:07PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 16th 2009 9:22PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/
Traction control is no longer an odd combination of active center diffs and minute braking corrections. Now it's merely "reduce power to wheel # 3 by 4.2 volts".

A car with this type of powertrain will RULE and form of motorsport it takes part in. The car's computer can actively keep the tires right at their limit of adhesion through the turns. You could easily go as fast as possible without having to worry about understeer or the tail kicking out.

Not to mention that any braking will put power back into the system as will any bump on the road due to the active suspension. Running low on fuel? Take the dirt road home!

This also clears out the front and rear axles as well so it would be simple to integrate powered 4-wheel steering giving the car the ability to quite literally tun on a dime. Think about those old "Cyclone" R/C cars from years back.

No doubt there will always be a place for the internal combustion engine and a classic drivetrain - especially in motorsports, but for a daily driven car just pair these in an all wheel drive system with a hydrogen fuel cell and a supercapacitor (rather than a battery - no harmful chemicals) and you have the perfect car of the future.]]>Feb 16th 2009 10:33PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 16th 2009 11:42PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 16th 2009 11:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/
Of couse, if each wheel had its own motor... that would be better (I think). No bulky and heavy differentials and driveshafts. But unsprung weight is definitely an issue with this design.]]>Feb 16th 2009 11:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 17th 2009 10:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 17th 2009 10:33AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 18th 2009 4:39AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 16th 2009 9:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 17th 2009 1:48AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 16th 2009 9:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 16th 2009 10:43PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 16th 2009 10:55PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 17th 2009 8:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/
1992 called. Saved By The Bell wants its meme back.]]>Feb 17th 2009 8:46AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 16th 2009 9:13PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 16th 2009 9:18PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 16th 2009 9:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/
Seems to me that it would actually make a vehicle more complicated and more difficult to maintain.

Not to mention the different driving characteristics associate with taking the main mass away from the center of the vehicle. When you add all this weight to the edges, you increase moment of inertia as well as unsprung weight.

and what would a vehicle like this be driving on snow and pavement?

I've like to imagine that more weight on the wheels would increase traction in snow - but, its possible snow could quickly damage the metal components - and can you saw UNDERSTEER?]]>Feb 16th 2009 9:44PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 16th 2009 9:57PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/
I'm not crazy; i do realize that electrics will have their own issues, especially early on. But anyway you slice it, an electric is not going to piss out a quart of oil on my driveway once a month. if the powertrain is located in each wheel, the bulk of the repairs can be executed by removing the troubled wheel and replacing/rebuilding the necessary components.
For handling, I too was concerned by the idea of having the bulk of the weight moved to the outer fringes of the vehicle. (i live in Cleveland, Ohio a land where no one can drive worth a damn) There are two things to consider: The weight of the battery system will likely be the heaviest single system of the vehicle and this can be designed and placed flexibly where ever best suits the vehicle. This will offset the gained weight on the outer edges which i would speculate to be much less than the overall weight of a standard engine. anyone who has ever taken a V6 or larger apart knows what i'm talking about here. Furthermore, having drive delivered to each of the 4 wheels directly inherently makes intelligent traction control a much simpler system than any current AWD traction control system where you would have electronic systems activating and interacting with mechanical systems. A system like this would be electronic all the way to the wheel and thus much simpler to control and likely allowing for finer tuned traction control and safety.


]]>Feb 16th 2009 10:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 16th 2009 10:11PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 16th 2009 10:32PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/
Nothing new here!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxvPtKKAOtI

They are presently starting new car prototype that will use those motor ( I think ) Maybe not those wheel motors but something electric.

Can't wait to see.]]>Feb 17th 2009 12:57AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/
This is a horrible idea and it will never ever catch on. Think about all the vibration that occur within the wheels a vehicle. So much vibration occurs that we have suspension to help dampen and absorb the frequent shock. Not sure about you guys, but prolonged vibration to gearboxes don't seem like a very good idea. It also drastically increases unsprung weight.

But what do I know, I'm just an sophomore mechanical engineering student.]]>Feb 16th 2009 11:31PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/
I should have just said...IPHONE IS #1 and this wheel CAN RUN CRYSIS.

You guys are dumb.

But what do I know, I'm just a science professional holding two masters degrees which allows me to be an AP for science and technology.]]>Feb 16th 2009 11:53PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/
I totally agree. Can you imagine the dawn of the real modular car? Pick out a chassis, then a power source (Li-ion, hydrogen fuel cell, gasoline-hybrid, natural gas hybrid, whatever), then bolt on the 4 motor/wheels of your choice (or you really only need two with motors). If a newer, more efficient power source comes along, you don't have to scrap the whole vehicle. Same thing goes for when your motors begin to wear, simply replace them and it's as good as new, unlike todays cars where nothing seems to work the same after you replace the engine. I think GM had a similar concept with their "skateboard," but this goes way beyond that.]]>Feb 17th 2009 12:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/You're down ranked not because you bring up valid points, but because you seem to put yourself on this pedestal that Engadget readers have yet to achieve or something.
But what do I know? I'm just God.
Peace!]]>Feb 17th 2009 2:05PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 16th 2009 9:25PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 16th 2009 9:35PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/
Or even more - shops can sell pre-assembled e-wheels (eBay?) and you can replace your faulty motor/suspension/rim in minutes.

Modular design rules!




]]>Feb 16th 2009 9:54PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 16th 2009 11:25PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/But then who will make our wednesday nights better with spirited renditions of oasis tunes?
Oh wait, they killed him off. Freakin' Lost writers.]]>Feb 16th 2009 9:38PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 16th 2009 9:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 16th 2009 10:11PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 16th 2009 10:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/
You mean a Motoslave?]]>Feb 16th 2009 11:13PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 16th 2009 10:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/01/michelin-partners-with-chinese-firm-to-create-active-wheel-syste/]]>Feb 16th 2009 10:22PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/16/michelins-e-wheel-eliminates-gearboxes-drive-shaft-and/Feb 16th 2009 10:21PM