Motoring Discussion > Driving over potholes 'can save fuel'	Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Dog	Replies: 14

New Sun 25 Jul 10 10:04   Driving over potholes 'can save fuel' - Dog

Driving over potholes could in the future cut fuel consumption thanks to a revolutionary new shock absorber. www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/7906697/Driving-over-potholes-can-save-fuel.html Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 25 Jul 10 10:10   Driving over potholes 'can save fuel' - Zero

I give it 3 years before they they find a way to tax you for using potholes. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 25 Jul 10 10:16   Driving over potholes 'can save fuel' - Bellboy

is that journalist on something? what about ruined tyres and bent rims and upsetting your spine on every rebound what tosh no wonder i gave my subscription up .................. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 25 Jul 10 10:23   Driving over potholes 'can save fuel' - Iffy

...is that journalist on something?.... He might be, but the idea has got nothing to do with him, he's just reporting it. The postman delivered a large credit card bill the other day, but I didn't blame him for it. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 25 Jul 10 10:28   Driving over potholes 'can save fuel' - Mike Hannon

April 1 again. And the man has a name like a bad hand at Scrabble... Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 25 Jul 10 10:29   Driving over potholes 'can save fuel' - CGNorwich

A variation on the perpetual motion theme! However the truth is your car will still use less energy on a flat road than a pot-holed one. It will however recover some of the energy that is currently wasted when it is turned into heat by the shock absorber. Even if it is only a fraction of a percent of the total energy used it could still make contribution to global energy saving. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 25 Jul 10 12:23   Driving over potholes 'can save fuel' - Old Navy

I would think that regenerative braking would be a better bet, I don't want to give politicians an excuse to neglect the infrastructure more than they have already. Any car is going to suffer from deliberate pothole surfing. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 25 Jul 10 12:58   Driving over potholes 'can save fuel' - Dog

So that's it then - bumpy ride generators + regenerative breaking systems + a mini wind turbine on the roof :) Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 25 Jul 10 13:37   Driving over potholes 'can save fuel' - Old Navy

>> So that's it then - bumpy ride generators + regenerative breaking systems + a mini >> wind turbine on the roof :) >> Regenerating breaking systems are a novel thought, I was referring to braking systems. :-) Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 25 Jul 10 13:42   Driving over potholes 'can save fuel' - Dog

>>Regenerating breaking systems are a novel thought, I was referring to braking systems. :-)<< My spell checker has the day orf on Sunday :-) Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 25 Jul 10 14:04   Driving over potholes 'can save fuel' - Bagpuss

This idea is actually nothing new. I remember someone I worked with trying to develop a similar idea around 20 years ago (he didn't patent it though). I guess now the technology is available to make it work at a reasonable cost. It's not really anything to do with driving on potholed roads, the shock absorbers on a car are working and therefore dissipating energy all the time. By the way, BMWs with "Efficient Dynamics" use regenerative braking to charge the battery. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 25 Jul 10 15:03   Driving over potholes 'can save fuel' - Iffy

...It's not really anything to do with driving on potholed roads, the shock absorbers on a car are working and therefore dissipating energy all the time... Yes, some on here seem to have taken the potholes line too literally. It was just a journalistic device to make something dull - a shock absorber going up and down - sound interesting. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 25 Jul 10 16:28   Driving over potholes 'can save fuel' - Bellboy

so he was just bouncing ideas around then im shocked but will rebound back later Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 25 Jul 10 17:54   Driving over potholes 'can save fuel' - Dog

Perhaps we need an overhead power supply for electric vehicles like they had for trams in the olde days, Perhaps I need to take the dog out :} Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 28 Jul 10 00:07   Driving over potholes 'can save fuel' - Auntie Lockbrakes

The best way to save fuel is to maintain a fixed speed with minimal braking and re-accelerating isn't it? Pot holes, like speed humps on housing estates, make us hit the brakes, and then our CO2 output balloons as we pull away again and our mpg falls. What a great scenario! Reply to this message | Report message