After having watched my first F1 race of the season in full, I was excited to learn a little about the KERS implemented in some of the cars. For those of you here who still aren't aware of what it is - essentially it takes kinetic energy that is 'transferred' whilst braking and stores it to be used later as 'extra power'. This energy is typically either stored mechanically (in a flywheel system) or electrically (as chemical potential energy in a battery, I guess).

In road cars I can see this being extremely useful in increasing the fuel economy of vehicles, particularly in countryside driving. Imagine a twisty, hilly country road - you scrub speed off using brakes (when driving enthusiastically, at least ) when approaching corners and travelling down steep hills.

You burn more fuel when you need to climb the hills.

So why not have a sensor in the car that detects when the car is travelling uphill, and, instead of using more FUEL to maintain or increase your speed (depending on throttle position), use the energy in the KERS system. This means that fuel consumption is largely constant on flat and up hill (assuming you have enough energy in the KERS system stored) - and hence fuel economy on the whole increases.

I did a tiny bit of research (ok, I wikipediad it!) and found that allegedly BMW and a couple of other car manufacturers are testing it on their vehicles (not sure how true this is).

Essential point of this thread:

- Do you want to see a kinetic energy recovery system in road cars that could increase fuel economy AND give possible performance gains for overtaking, etc? The systems in the F1 cars typically supply an 'extra 80hp' of 'power'.

- Alternatively, do you see drivers being 'taught' to drive so that braking is required less (seeing ahead and planning for the corner by naturally reducing speed without brakes) as being a better option - and therefore see KERS as only 'applicable' in motorsport, where brakes are used heavily and then acceleration is required immediately afterwards?

My opinion is that coupling the two together - driver education AND technology development is the way forward. Imagine if a bluemotion polo (currently capable of near 80mpg I believe) was coupled with a decent economy-aware driver AND a KERS system - could we be seeing 100mpg or over from what is essentially a normal diesel engine and a normal family hatchback?

I do think that 'road safety experts' - you know, the people that don't drive themselves () - will object to KERS system being implemented in the same way as it is in road cars - so I think my example of using it to maintain your velocity when travelling up hills will be the most likely way it will be used should it find it's way on to production cars .

Doesn't the Prius use a energy recovery system already to re-charge the batteries?

I think it does - yes - but I'd be thinking of the KERS being applied as an 'additional power source' rather than something to charge up an electric motor which has a constant power output ability

It probably is one thing that will make it's way across from F1. It'll appear in luxo barges and big 4x4s first.

I've no idea what the gains will be. Any flywheel system is going to add mass to the car, could also affect handling in lightweight cars. I wonder if the F1 cars have two counter rotating flywheels to offset the gyroscopic forces?

could they not use this technology more on battery powered cars to increase their range?

could they not use this technology more on battery powered cars to increase their range?

I believe both the Tesla Roadster and the Lightning use regenerative technologies...

Rob.

I read in Auto-Express a few weeks ago that one manufacturer is incorporating KERS into there new car. Found it, it's the new Ferrari F450, see Ferrari F450 - Auto Express News.

How does the KERS work in the F1 cars :confused:

my car already has a kerr driving it lol.......boom tssh.....

ill get my coat......

For those wondering how it works, this could be helpful

F1 Essentials: How KERS Works | All Articles | Racecar Engineering

Just flicked through Autocar while I was shopping and it had a page on stuff Jaguar were doing, including a KERS flywheel system and an XJ with a 3 cyl engine used as a generator to power a 170BHP electric motor, reducing co2 to 120g/km!

Had a look on their website and can't see it (otherwise I'd have posted a link).

I do think that 'road safety experts' - you know, the people that don't drive themselves () - will object to KERS system being implemented in the same way as it is in road cars - so I think my example of using it to maintain your velocity when travelling up hills will be the most likely way it will be used should it find it's way on to production cars .

Yeah, i don't think the fun police will allow us to use KERS in anyway that could be enjoyable.... I think we can forget getting into the next octy/fabia vRS and finding a button on the steering wheel to unleash an extra --bhp :thumbdwn:

But, as you pointed out, it 's still a great idea and makes a whole heap of sense.

Hopefully they will have ironed out the small issues - namely the battery packs catching fire when there is a more than light drizzle.

And people quickly forget how bloody dangerous these systems really are:

And to think this kind of system could be commonplace on your family car in 5-10 years time

I think that having the power boosting function would be useful as it would enable companies to fit smaller engines to cars but maintain performance in key areas such as when overtaking, but also allow for increased economy in high consumption areas such as stop start traffic as getting the car rolling and up to speed in the first place is what uses a fair chunk of petrol. I suppose the main issue would be the limitations imposed by having a finite amount of charge available, so you'd have to recharge the system between overtakes etc.

It will happen, small electric motors on the rear wheels which will qualify a car to be called a hybrid and thus get no congestion charging