Only if you want to look like a drunk driver. I wish it worked like that, but all it does is jerk back to the center of the lane about half the time and then complain that "steering is required".
I’m not seeing how this could work on most driving surfaces. On asphalt you would have to penetrate the surface, which would require extreme force, or somehow apply additional downforce to a friction device, which would reduce braking friction to the other wheels.
There are these things called "bumps in the road" that redirect horizontal momentum into vertical force. It's why cars and bikes have suspension. What do you think pushes against a gas shock? Vertical force. This wheel captures that force in a spring and dissipates it through torque instead of just compressing gas in a cylinder. I don't see why it wouldn't work.
This dude just reinvented the wheel.
My only question is how effective it actually is. 30% is a lot.
Even if it would work... what would hovering even do that is beneficial? Without tires touching the pavement, you won't turn or stop well at all. You will bottom out over every speed bump and driveway and parking lot entrance, unless you're hovering like a foot off the ground. The efficiency gains from the decreased rolling resistance will certainly not overcome the juice that these things will suck down...
Maybe it works on the track, but for normal road use it's a really bad idea. Turn your head to one side at speed and the rotating disk gets ripped right off, if you're lucky!
That’s pretty much SOP (there are videos on YouTube), however it still wastes time, and damages lines, and if the car parks on a line you have to waste time shifting the car itself.
> I've thought about doing something like that but I'm not sure if the plastic wheels and gear box can handle it
As long as the braking power does not exceed the power for acceleration, no need to worry (and you can always start with low braking load). Reversing the motor while the car is in motion is the dangerous thing.
We don’t know the perspective or the contours of the illustrated road well enough to say this. I could imagine some perspectives where this actually works out, especially if the tires are causing the vehicle to slide sideways.
It would make an already dangerous sport even more dangerous. Also, just because it may be theoretically possible it doesn't mean it is practically achievable. Think about what would happen if the driver can't approach the loop that turns the car upside down with enough speed, or within the angle range that's needed for the car to stay on it because of another car, or some problem... Basically any small mistake would be fatal.
I guess the yoke might work on American highways, and in parking lots your speed is low enough for a "bad" steering wheel to work well enough.
But on the winding shit roads in Norway, this is probably going to be a really sad solution.
reply