Is it be the next gen of imiev?

[hkbob123]

http://www.carsrepairmanuals.com/in...nd-legs-of-behavior-and-cruising-distance.htm

Completely new suspension system and in-wheel motor has been developing.

 

[JoeS]

Looks like inboard drum brakes. I guess that it was simply easier to use the i-MiEV as a test vehicle instead of building another car. Those wheel assemblies are massive - talk about unsprung weight!

Putting such a drive on every wheel of a car with independent drive/regen control over all four wheels is certainly an intriguing concept for marginal conditions, be it racing or mud or snow.

IIRC, independent drive (but not in-wheel drive) I believe has already been incorporated into some of the Pikes Peak race cars. By comparison, the Baja electric racer with dc motors from four years ago seems to be sooo last century:
http://www.race-dezert.com/home/ev1-electric-race-car-35312.html

Wouldn't it be great if there was an unrestricted BEV European Rally-type series to test these various ideas?

(Presently in southern Florida heading for Key West in the Tesla)

 

[siai47]

When I see all that unsprung weight, I think of the old 60's Jaguar XK-E's with the inboard mounted disc brakes---just to get rid of that weight! I am glad to see Mitsubishi still looking at future EV's. It was hard to figure out a lot from the translation of the article but it appears that some of the wheel motors (current?) have the inverters built in and therefore are heavy. Others have a separate inverter (like the I-MiEV) to reduce the wheel motor weight. That is the reason the I-MiEV uses a De Dion rear suspension instead of a standard "live" axle. The motor and reduction gear could have been made part of a solid rear axle assembly (like a golf cart) except for the ride and handling problems caused by the extra unspung weight. Don's Tesla has the motor and gearbox bolted together like the I-MiEV but also has the inverter attached to the same assembly as the motor. This allows the high voltage wiring between the inverter and motor to be short and makes the whole unit compact. In fact many small variable speed motors like the battery cooling fan in the I-MiEV are DC brushless style with the inverter built right in the motor. It seems like from reading the article we are looking at the heavy motor---at least that's what I got from the text. However, if the inverter was in the motor, the vehicle pictured would not need three power cables, only two would be required to go to the motor. The DC to three phase conversion would take place within the unit not externally. Also, I think the things that look like brake drums might be the bearing carriers for the motors. The bottom line is the fact that the prototype exists at all. The castings used in the parts you can see (like the motor housings and the control unit) look a lot further developed than prototype stages where stuff is usually fabricated to get the job done. I hope that Mitsubishi and their new partner will continue to explore the possibilities of the multi-motor design, either in-wheel or shaft driven configuration, as there are some real vehicle dynamics gains when you tie them into a vehicle stability control system. I also hope Mitsubishi's current fuel economy crisis doesn't cripple funding for projects like this in the future.

And to Don who must have taken the long way to the store for a cup of coffee (via Key West) I hope your trip is going great for you---we need updates

 

[Rahtid]

http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com/jp/corporate/pressrelease/corporate/detail1321.html
Mitsubishi has been looking at this idea for over ten years

 

[JoeS]

...And to Don who must have taken the long way to the store for a cup of coffee (via Key West) I hope your trip is going great for you---we need updates

I won't take offense, as Don and I actually met up a few days ago. siai47 - check your PM inbox (sending this from Marathon, just short of Key West, where I'm SuperCharging. Update forthcoming as soon as we stop long enough...)

Back on-topic, those are pretty massive-looking three-phase wires leading to the in-wheel motors! As I understand it, unsprung weight, brakes, and shock resistance are just a few of the issues to overcome with wheel motors. Glad to see continued development and share siai47's concerns about Mitsubishi's ability to keep doing that in light of the other issues.