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Hyundai Uni Wheel electric drive system could revolutionize EV design

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31–40 of 192 posts

Re: Hyundai Uni Wheel electric drive system could revolutionize EV design

#31
post #21
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's why station wagons and vans exist. SUVs do not provide more space, they just occupy more (on top of being dangerous to others)

Large station wagons no longer exist in the US market. The biggest one remaining is probably the Volvo V90, which is a nice car but can barely fit 5 people, and if you put a dog in the back then there's no room for cargo. It's also too expensive for most families; several large SUVs are actually cheaper. Minivans are a good option for some families. But they suck for towing trailers, and the ground clearance is terri…

Right.

I am all in on retrofitting a 1973 Ford Country Squire faux-wood-panel-in-green station wagon with a set of Kia uniwheels.

Re: Hyundai Uni Wheel electric drive system could revolutionize EV design

#33
My understanding is they can't shorten the CV Shaft/Joint because it causes problems.If they can move it into the wheel hub, it allows them to make the motor smaller which is where they save the room. By taking one big motor to drive both front or rear wheels, they now have smaller ones much closure to each individual wheel. This reconfiguration leaves more room for interior space or extra batteries.

Re: Hyundai Uni Wheel electric drive system could revolutionize EV design

#36

Disappointed that they didn't explain how steering works. Seems like a major oversight.

A very simple and incomplete explanation. You have an electrical or hydraulic steering rack that spans your vehicle just behind the wheels behind your engine and close to the bottom. It connects to each wheel with a tie rod that has a ball joint on the end (not to be confused with your actual ball joints that are part of your control arms). When you turn your steering wheel it moves the tie rods to steer the car. Steering doesn't really have anything to do with the CV Joints or power to your wheels, it is a separate system.

Re: Hyundai Uni Wheel electric drive system could revolutionize EV design

#37
post #35

Correct me if I’m wrong here but this is just sort of an alternative to a cv joint, sort of because it can’t handle rotation. It also has nothing to do with EVs specifically, a ICE could use this.

An ice could use this but there is no real purpose. The whole goal was to make the electric motor smaller and closure to each wheel so there is more room for other things.

Re: Hyundai Uni Wheel electric drive system could revolutionize EV design

#38

FWIW, there was recently a now-defunct car company (Lordstown motors) that utilized an in-wheel motor from the company Elaphe ( https://in-wheel.com/en/technology/#in-wheel-motor-technolog... ) I think the tradeoff is between more flexibility & fewer parts (no cv joints) but possibly more rolling resistance. But watch the video, this uni-wheel thing is different. It isnt an in-wheel motor, more of a cv-joint alternat…

unsprung weight I believe is also a big issue with hub motors esp as you get up to car size at speed

It is the issue for in-hub motors. Solve that one and the world will beat a path to your door and shower you with money.

Re: Hyundai Uni Wheel electric drive system could revolutionize EV design

#39
post #9

So we could have a slightly bigger inside to the usual EV SUV. woo

Optimistically, we could have smaller cars without compromising on cabin space or storage. …except when large SUVs are bought as a status symbol, or the race to drive the biggest tank on the road in defense from the other tanks or the road.

I actually suspect part of the reason people keep buying larger cars is because larger cars are safer and sometimes get better safety scores because in a two vehicle collision a heavier vehicle will experience less acceleration in the crash. Also more space to absorb the impact, increasing the time over which the acceleration happens. This genuinely makes heavier and larger cars safer if they are designed properly and maintain the same braking performance, which is totally possible. However the issue is that a larger car is only a safety advantage if your car is large compared to other cars on the road, so if everyone else also buys heavier cars no one wins and pedestrians, the environment and so on all lose.

Re: Hyundai Uni Wheel electric drive system could revolutionize EV design

#40
post #13

Maybe I can't tell from the video, or maybe they're not working on this yet... But what about the steering wheels? Surely the driveshaft will have to have a joint on it on the front wheels in order for the front wheels to turn? Also this doesn't look like it would deal with camber changes which are needed to keep your tires flat on the road when cornering...

This will work and you will still be able to steer.
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