Is it possible to have a manual transmission in an electric car?

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whatever_n

I know that electric cars don't need a transmission at all, but that would take a lot of the fun out of driving it. Would it be possible to have a manual transmission in an electric car?

Answer
It is possible to as you said, make an electric car without a transmission. Perhaps the best configuration for this is a 4 wheel drive electric vehicle with hub motors. But with even one motor a transmission is not required.

However most conversions from an internal combustion engine to an electric motor will keep the transmission and rear axle. Although this adds a lot of unnecessary weight is makes the conversion process a lot easier. Manual transmissions may even keep their clutch but it may not be necessary or desirable to use it.

I usually drive an automatic transmission but for the last week I was in rural Georgia driving a Mazda Miata (1) on country roads. It was a fun car to drive. I enjoyed the manual transmission and steering for this small car. But back in a big northeastern city, traffic, snow, and just needing to get where I am going easily makes me grateful for the simplicity of an automatic.

Electric cars will not initially be for everyone. They may offer the most advantages for commuters who have a garage or other place to charge them. But in an interesting development, electric vehicles are being offered to niche markets at first: You have the NEV (2), the neighborhood electric vehicle for that quiet little vehicle that can give you a short hop with little fuss and no fuel. Then there is the much publicized Tesla Roadster (3) that has a two speed transmission. And last is another unique "commuter" vehicle, the Tango, (4) this is among a new class of vehicle that has been called "Narrow track vehicles" (5: interesting viewing) This last video suggests vehicles that might be considered fun to drive with or without a transmission.

What kind of engineers design electric cars?

Joseph

I'm looking for my major in engineering for sure, I'm just not sure where I want to go into it. I'm really interested in electric cars but I'm just not sure which category of engineering it falls under.

Answer
car design will mostly fall under mechanical. it took more then a certain type of engineer to design the electric car. you can help build it if your a mechanical, electrical or probably some other type of engineer related in the field.

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How hard is it getting a BS in electrical engineering ?

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wodasha

I'm asking this because I was taking a pre-reg math class (not going back to school until fall '12). I went on this one site and it said that on average it takes 10-15 hours to finish homework problems in an engineering field. I was interested in computer science, but am now more interested in EE.

Best answer 10 points.

Answer
It is easy. Recently graduated high school kids do it all the time. There are hard schools and easy schools. Once you have a EE degree you are one, regardless of what school you got it from. It can be done in 4 years, or less if you want to go to summer school. Getting a EE degree can cost you as little as $8,000 per year (http://www.pcci.edu/). Getting an EE degree online is also soon to become a reality, which could further reduce your cost, and working at your own pace has some advantages. I spent about 2 hours homework for each class hour I attended at Purdue University. Getting a EE degree is about assimilating the necessary amount of Information. It is something you do, not the instructor. You can get the understanding of the information on your own, from the internet, books, and doing experiments to check your understanding of what you have assimilated. School are to assist you in doing this. It is the understanding of the subject, that you have in your head, that is your tool kit to work as a EE, solving the worlds problems, one at a time, for the rest of your lifetime. It is a fun and rewarding career. I am having fun working on putting an electric cars motors, in the wheels.

How familiar are you with using solar electricity to power a residential house?

skattered0

I was wondering how much the average person knows about using the suns energy to power the average residential home...

Do you know of any countries that already use the sun to power homes?

please tell me where you are from as well please...

thankyou!

Answer
Hey 0077, to answer your primary question, I am quite familiar with solar power. We've been powering our home from the wind and sun for 11 years now, and for the last 5 or 6 years, we've been going into the local schools and doing seminars on the subject. In some cases, the schools have loaded a bus with kids and brought them out to our home to see it first hand. As for your second question, the average homeowner knows about as much about solar power as they do about the furnace in their basement. Unfortunately, this is where the technology has fallen down. Lots of people want to build a new home, and talk to the builder about solar power. Frequently they are told, "Solar doesn't work," or, "Solar is prohibitively expensive." Generally this is all they need to hear, and the panels are taken off the house plan.

Solar is not for everyone, or everyplace. Just because a home has solar panels does not mean they don't have an electric bill, and that says nothing to the fact that a stand alone solar home that does not have access to utility power has to live with a finite amount of electricity. What do they do on a cloudy week? Most stand alone homes, like ours was, use both wind and solar. The reason for this is that the two compliment each other quite well. In the summer, we have long sunny days, but little wind. In the fall and winter, we have short cloudy days, and high winds. When you have a shortage of one, there is generally a surplus of the other. Trying to decide between the two technologies is like trying to decide between a 3 passenger pickup truck and an 8 passenger van as your sole family car. Each has its advantages, but it probably makes sense for a two car family to have one of each.

There is also the fact that lots of people like to grow their own tomatoes, even if it is cheaper to buy them at the market. They have to learn all about watering, bugs, soil ph and weeding. People who live in a solar powered home have a similar curse, they can tell you just how much sun shined last November, and how much power the stereo uses down to the last watthour. Any self respecting homeowner wouldn't bother with the solar power, or the tomatoes, they would simply buy vegetables at the store, and electricity from the power company, and then sit home and complain about the price and quality of each. That used to be me, now I'm the other guy.

So no, the average homeowner does not know much about solar power, or furnaces. Most homes have furnaces, not many have solar panels. I wish they had both. In the 11 years we have had both, I can tell you that once solar power is installed, it is generally care free. We are on our third wind turbine here, and even though the last one is working better than the first two, it has had its moments. It has shut down 3 times, and had to be repaired twice. In all that time, my first solar panel has continued to make electricity, and I've never turned a screw on it or added a drop of oil. Yet, everyone I talk to about renewable energy wants to learn more about wind turbines it seems. They are neat, they move, they seem to have their own personality. They just require tall towers and routine maintenance. So does a car, and almost everyone has one of those too.

Many countries use solar power, almost all of them in fact, you just never hear about it, or see the panels in service. In the US alone there are over 100,000 homes and businesses using some level of solar power right now to operate at least some of their loads. That number is getting bigger as you read this by the way. I'll list some sources you can check out below if you want to learn more. Take care 0077, Rudydoo

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