This question may sound retarded to some right now, but I think a lot of people will be asking it in the near future... Has anyone ever heard of somebody swaping their gas hogging motor with an electric motor??? There are some electric cars out there right now that get over 250 ft-lbs of torque, and that is through the entire rpm range!!! And they can operate for over 4 hours under normal driving conditions and only take 3 hours to fully charge. According to manufacturers it only costs a couple bucks worth of electricity for a full charge.

Think about it, if you spend around a $100 a week on gas that adds up to be over $5,000 a year!!! THATS RIDICULOUS!!! I only have a middle class income and I would gladly drop 10 to 20 grand to go electric, especially if I could get 250 ft-lbs of torque throughout the entire rpm range.

So I guess what im trying to ask is... is this even remotely possible right now, or are we going to have to wait a few more years??

Jeep has a few electric wrangler concepts, so I dont think that an electric engine swap sounds too far out there.

 

Electrical engines have been around for years. Although, their use has been limited mainly to trains and some busses (We have trolleys in some of boston's suburbs powered by overhead lines).


The problems with electrical engines are several: Until recently, we didn't really have the battery technology to hold the charges needed for an electric engine. Also, the batteries out there are still fairly expensive.

Also, electric motors and engines can get heavy really fast, so you run into several problems.

Another problem is distance. Right now if you wanted to drive across the country, you could fill up your tank, and drive until empty. At that point, you just add more gas. That's not really the case with electric cars, as they need to be charged for some time.

There's also environmental issues at stake. Batteries don't last forever, so how are we going to dispose of them? How are we going to clean up battery acid when you get into an accident?


I'm by no means an expert on electric cars. But I do know they've been tried many times before. Sure, they have lots of power, but they also tend to break things a lot easier, so we need heavier-duty components. Also, I don't know about you, but I would get the feeling the Wrangler would no longer be able to ford water with an electric setup.



Personally, I think the only solution to the "gas crisis" is synthetic gasoline. If a direct replacement could be made for gasoline, it would likely solve many problems, including our dependency on oil. Competition would set it, and our oil tycoons would have to reconsider charing you 3.15 a gallon so they can build this: http://gizmodo.com/373930/5250+foot-...ok-like-pencil

 

It's not stupid at all. The JK is a prime candidate because of the way the accessory drive is laid out all on a common bracket system. I don't think there's an electric motor capable of running all that AND driving the Jeep, too, but I may be wrong.

 

What would you do if you run out of power on the trail? There ain't no power outlets on the trees (this must be read with a heavy southern redneck dialect for full effectiveness).

 

LMAO...I don't know. Some of them thar solar panels???

 

What about a hybrid gas/electric engine in a JK?

I've never driven a hybrid vehicle, so I'm not even sure this would be desirable.

 

Electric motors get a ton of torque, in the entire range. That's why they use them for trains. The diesel is there to charge it.
To go full electric, you have to carry all your batteries with you. They weigh a lot and take up even more space.
Hybrid still requires the batteries, you just don't have to charge it, and it works better at high speeds where electric motors don't.
Wait for the technology.

 

At some point in the very near future someone absolutly will perfect the "self charging vehicle' I googled this concept and came up with this articl, among others.
http://pesn.com/Radio/Free_Energy_No..._Technologies/

 

That's one of the biggest issues right there. The materials that go into modern batteries can't just be tossed into the trash. On top of that, Li-ion batteries can't be operated at temperatures of over 140 degrees Fahrenheit or they run the risk of exploding and spreading toxic chemicals all over. There would have to be a pretty extensive cooling system built into the vehicle since in a lot of areas around the country a car will get above that just sitting in the sun, which would drain the battery even faster.

Personally though, I would love see an alternative source of power for our Jeeps/cars that we could produce in the United States with out crippling other industries, such as the food industry with E85. Besides, the higher demand there is for corn, the more forests will get stripped to make crop fields, and the fewer wheeling spots we'll have.

 

Well, I don't know about you, but my JK is a daily driver M-F, and Off road beast on a weekend. When i got off road, i spend AT LEAST 6 hours there, putting 50-70miles and wasting about 1/4 tank of gas. I don't see how an electric junk can handle all that, and then get me home, which is another hour of driving and 50mile distance.

PS: didn't we have like 100 discussions how JK is eating gas, and how expensive it gets? And now the electric motor for JK?? The second i saw the threads title, i busted out laughing. Seriously, if you are concerned about MPG and gas prices, why did you get a JK? Should have gotten a Toyota Prius or whatever its called.