Introduction to Gas Powered Remote Control Vehicles

Posted by admin on Aug 8, 2010 in Articles | 0 comments

Are you new to the RC racing world? Read this article to get yourself started in this fast paced hobby.

There are many ways on how to start with gas-powered RC car or truck. There are many realistic features offered by these remote-controlled cars and trucks. They come in a variety of styles and types in the industry. In choosing one, there are many considerations you should take before eventually owning one.

Radio-controlled cars and trucks lack the power and running time. But if you want to consider, you can convert them into gas powered RC cars, with the use of nitromethane-based fuel. This fuel provides RC cars a level or realism or performance, which are absent on other battery-powered vehicles. Aside from this, they are also highly customizable making it possible for you to integrate RC car accessories and personalize them. There are options of engines and transmitters available to allow you to choose one depending on how you’d want the RC car works.

To help you begin in finding the right gas-powered RC car, the following are the factors you should consider:

1.    Engines. The most important aspect in a gas RC car, you can choose from the variety of engine models available to choose from. Generally, most RC cars use a specific type, which is commonly called as “glow” engine. It is a 2-cycle combustion engine, which creates power to the RC car preparing it for realism that also produces exhaust in the process. In replacement of spark plugs utilized by automotive engines, a “glow plug” is used for this engine. It is being heated in turn by a “glow starter.” The heat will be held by the “glow plug” to which this is now used to fire engine strokes for rest of the running power.

2.    Fuel. Just like the actual gasoline used in automobiles, the nitromethane-based gas fuel the RC cars. The fuel mixture is formulated with special lubricants so that it protects the engine from the excessive heat produced by the combustion process. The lubricants are the same with the gas-oil you use with your small engine equipments or some chainsaws. Accessories such as a special bottle pump may be needed to get nitro-fuel into your fuel tank of the RC car. Filters are also used on these cars and the same with your automobile they require replacement at a proper time interval.

3.    Radio. Radio controller is used to control the RC car and could be same type used on electrically-powered RC cars. It is radio controller operates on 2-channel system that needs batteries to make it work. Additional batteries would be needed to power the receiver though there are other receivers that are fed from the motor itself.

4.    Sport or competition. This is an aspect you most considered when choosing body style. There are different options for you; you have choices from sedans, trucks, buggies, stock cars, and other popular car models. These are basically available in two versions: sports, and competition version. Sports RC cars typically cost less than the car you intend to race, which of course would need more power and higher speeds. Ball bearings and oil shocks are some of the advanced options included for the competition RC car version.

Depending on the type you need, RC car kits and ready-to-car or RTR kits are available. If you are a beginner, RTR kits are what you need as this comes out of the box ready for the fuel. RC car kit, on the other hand, requires heavy work but allows you to decide how they would be put together.

read more

Battery-only cars face avalanche of negatives

Posted by admin on Aug 2, 2010 in Articles | 0 comments

I didn’t think I could come up with another reason why battery-electric cars make no sense for the foreseeable future, but try this.

The only way that unaffordable, impractical, battery-only cars will sell is because of huge government subsidies, and a few early-adopter zealots with too much money who don’t mind being stranded every couple of weeks. Germany, Britain and the rest of Europe are involved in planning massive, painful and unprecedented spending cuts to their welfare, pension and public health schemes. Guess which government budgets will survive the cull; money for rich people who already have $30,000 to buy a second car, or funds for the poor    (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ battery)?

So as the launch of the first battery-only electric cars approaches, the evidence is building. They cost too much. They have limited and unpredictable range. Claims that they emit zero carbon dioxide are erroneous, unless you live in nuclear-powered France, or hydroelectric Switzerland. Plans to have a store of charged batteries ready to replace spent ones might make sense in small countries like Israel and Denmark (as planned by Renault of France and Better Place), but the economics of the scheme don’t look compelling     (Sony VGP-BPS8 battery).

Later this year, Peugeot and Citroen of France will launch their C-Zero and Peugeot iOn battery-only cars on the market. Both vehicles are based on the Mitsubishi iMiEV, which is already on sale here    (Sony VGP-BPL9 battery).

According to Automotive News Europe, these cars, about the same size as a Honda Fit, will cost $57,300 after tax but before government subsidies. The slightly bigger Nissan Leaf will be on sale later this year in Europe and next year in the United States. Here, the price is said to be under $36,000 after taxes but including incentives. Next year, Renault will see the first fruits of its battery car scheme when the Fluence appears    (Sony VGP-BPL11 battery).

Volt helped by gas engine

At about the same time, Chevrolet should be on the market with its extended range electric Volt (battery-only power, but augmented by gasoline engine; range 300 miles), followed by the Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid in 2012 (gasoline engine, electric motor used together or separately; range 300 miles  (Sony VGP-BPL15 battery).

How can battery-only cars that run for 60 miles if you’re lucky compete with electric vehicles that can use gasoline engines to extend their range, unless a government forces their sale? Battery-only vehicles are simply not yet ready for prime time and await some significant technical breakthrough     (ASUS Eee PC 1000HE Battery).

Most independent automotive experts share this doubt about battery-only cars. Renault and its Nissan affiliate reckon that by 2020, 10 percent of global car sales will be battery only. This is a much higher forecast than HSBC bank’s 4.5 percent estimate. Germany’s VW is believed to project around 1.5 percent     (Dell Inspiron 6400 battery).

2 percent by 2020

Professor Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive Management at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany, reckons about 2 percent of the global market in 2020 will be battery only, with 14 percent “alternative” powertrains, including hybrids, plug-in hybrids, or extended range electric vehicles    (SONY VAIO VGN-FZ4000 Battery).

Even by 2025, Bratzel expects battery-only to reach 5 percent, with 20 percent “alternative” — and variations on the conventional still accounting for 75 percent of global sales    (Toshiba PA3399U-2BAS Battery).

“We believe pure electric vehicles will be mostly in cities and metropolitan areas and as a second car,” Bratzel said. “Also we believe there will be a lot of financial incentives — we just saw from China the other day that they will invest a lot of money to boost electric vehicles in cities    (IBM ThinkPad T40 Battery).

“In Europe there are the same discussions. Germany is not giving much yet. Range problems and infrastructure will reduce electric vehicle sales for the next 10 to 20 years to cities. But we expect a lot of dynamic in Asia, especially in China. The government in China knows that they have a great gap in technology between (the) West in conventional technology and can be more in the forefront in electric technology,” Bratzel said   (Dell Inspiron 6000 battery).

Joining the battery-only doubters, Honda of Japan, which has bet heavily on hybrids and hedged its bets with some fuel-cell investments, recently explained why it wasn’t convinced by batteries   (Dell INSPIRON 1420 Battery).

“We lack confidence in the electric vehicle business,” said Tomohiko Kawanabe, president of Honda’s research and development, in an interview with Bloomberg, adding, “It’s questionable whether consumers will accept the annoyances of limited driving range and having to spend time charging them   (Dell Inspiron E1505 Battery).”

Strong consumer interest

Roland Berger Strategy Consultants of Germany recently surveyed some car buyers in Europe and found a strong interest in electric vehicles. The consultancy found that 37 percent of German customers and 35 percent of French ones were considering buying electric, with half of them willing to pay up to almost $5,000 extra to do this   (Fujitsu Lifebook S6120 battery).

But even this willingness won’t match the actual costs involved.

“The catch at the moment: Even customers’ willingness to pay more for electro-mobility will still not be sufficient in the next 10 years to offset the additional costs of the power train, especially the battery,” said Berger partner Wolfgang Bernhart    (HP PAVILION DV2000 Battery).

“The additional costs today are between 10,000 and 15,000 euros ($12,000 and $18,000) and will still amount to between 8,000 and 10,000 euros in 2015. The additional costs of an electric vehicle versus conventional powertrain will fall below 4,500 euros no sooner than 2020,” Bernhart said   (HP PAVILION DV3000 Battery).

Wasted electricity

Other issues with the viability of battery-only power are claims concerning waste of electricity between generation and finally reaching the car’s plug-in socket   (SONY VGP-BPS8 battery).

According to Bob Kozak, who runs the Frederick, Md.-based biofuel research and development company Atlantic Biomass Conversions, typically only one-third of electricity generated at a conventional coal-fired power station actually reaches the socket in the house where an electric car would be recharged   (ACER Aspire 3020 Battery).

Kozak, who published an essay, “The Myth of the Plug-In Hybrid,” was asked to back up the number and said it was published by the National Academy of Sciences.

“This number might not be so bad in Europe where they probably have more modern coal generation,” Kozak said   (ACER Travelmate 2300 Battery).

According to David Howey, research associate at London’s Imperial College, the loss figure is not just a single number, but indeed varies from country to country. In Britain, he figured that 79 percent of electricity generated by the turbine can go into turning the vehicle’s wheels. This compared with a combustion engine car where only about 25 percent of the fuel actually comes out of the engine as power, and some is lost in the transmission system. Therefore, only about 15 to 20 percent actually remains to turn the wheels   (ACER Aspire 3000 Battery).

“Even when electric vehicles are run from fossil fuel power stations, they still usually make better use of the fuel energy than an internal combustion engine. Plus electric vehicles allow a diversification in transport energy supply because energy can be generated from various sources,” Howey said  (HP PAVILION DV8000 Battery).

Severe overestimate

That might be a big positive for battery-only electric cars, but compared with the avalanche of negatives, it doesn’t add up to much. In a recent report on the global automotive industry, Moody’s Investors Service pointed out the huge negatives, including battery costs and lack of recharging infrastructure, and implied that companies like Renault may have severely overestimated the potential  (HP PAVILION DV2 Battery).

“The market for electric cars is still in its infancy,” the report said. “Battery costs are high, further advancements in battery technology are needed to improve travel range, and significant spending is needed to set up a reliable infrastructure for battery charging     (HP PAVILION DV3 Battery).

“As the envisaged price for an electric vehicle will likely be far above what the majority of customers can afford or are willing to pay for, Moody’s cautions that current expectations regarding the scale of the market could turn out to be too optimistic. In addition, high investment needs combined with initial low demand will limit the ability to generate profits in this segment over the short to medium term  (Apple A1281 battery).”

Oil prices a factor

Success depends on the level of government support, Moody’s said.

There is one scenario where all bets on the success of electric vehicles look good, Bratzel said.

“The price of oil is crucial to success of electric vehicles. If the price rises maybe to levels we have seen of $150 per barrel, a lot of pressure will come off electric vehicles as the price gap with conventional vehicles narrows,” Bratzel said (Apple M9848LL/A battery).

Meanwhile, electric vehicles need to prove to the public that they can actually perform in the marketplace. We should see some important evidence in the weeks ahead. BBC News is driving a Think battery-powered vehicle on a 4,000-mile tour of Europe.

Norwegian Think, which used to be owned by Ford, is scheduled to produce electric cars next year at its Indiana plant. The Think can go about 100 miles on a charge, and then takes eight to 10 hours to recharge. That is going to be some tedious journey (Sony vgp-bps8 battery).

Discount high quality Sony VGP-BPS8 batteryat  www.daily-battery.com
& www.laptopbattery-shop.co.uk

read more