Rear wheels charge battery?

Sounds like a good idea. However, the rear wheels are in fact not connected to anything, so that would require a pretty big modification to hook up something like a generator or motor.

You could make a suggestion to Toyota to incorporate this idea in the next generation Prius.

 

That's not necessary, they are already planning to offer it.

The third of the 3 new Prius models is expected to offer AWD... which will have a motor in back, just like Estima & Highlander already do.

 

The added weight for this would negate the benefits since when you are slowing down the kinetic energy of the car is transfered to the front of the car.

Now if the car was 4wd, alot of the needed components is already installed, so other than cost there's little reason not to do it.

 

This isn't another perpetual motion thread, is it? I hope you are not suggesting that the rear wheels be used to charge the battery while the front ones are used to power the car. That is a net energy looser.

Tom

 

I don't think that's what he was getting at.

 

I hate to be pedantic, but:

The kinetic energy of the car does not move about. The center of gravity moves forward slightly when you brake, as the front of the car dips and the rear of the car rises. Since all four wheels are in contact with the ground, technically you could regenerate using the rear wheels, but since more of the vehicle's weight is over the front wheels, it makes sense to apply the drag of regenerating to those wheels, rather than the rear wheels, where the resistance to rotation might cause the wheels to lock.

 

The Lexus LS 600h is some what different.
It is equipped by a mechanical AWD with a center differential.

Ken@Japan

 

As long as the front and rear wheels are connected to each other via the chassis, it doesn't matter if 1, 2, or 4 wheels are used to capture the energy! There is no difference in efficiency.