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hikingsticks t1_j6dvtfd wrote

Reply to comment by sault18 in Eli5 why aren't gas only vehicles far more fuel efficient than before by Live_Strongerrr

That's a good point about allowing the engine to run closer to peak efficiency more of the time, rather than having to do exactly what the driver requires. The buses in London are all hybrid diesels, and you hear them pull away from each stop on the electric motors, then the engine starts up shortly afterwards and trundles away as needed. So they can avoid the need for peak power on acceleration which tends to be more inefficient. It probably leads to increased reliability as well.

Regarding the valve timing, from memory that's called the Atkinson cycle. It's also used on non hybrid setups sometimes. I used to have a Peugeot 307 2.0 petrol engine that ran exactly like that, and I've encountered it in a lot of other engines as well over the years. As you said it's a reduction in maximum power output in order to increase efficiency.

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sault18 t1_j6dysos wrote

Yeah, the ability to accelerate from a stop up to 5 to 10mph on electric only really boosts city fuel economy. For a conventional car or bus, this is where they have the absolute worst fuel economy gulping down fuel in 1st or 2nd gear. I'd also suspect that bus drivers taking off from a stop in a regular diesel bus would step on the throttle and cause the engine to run a rich fuel / air mixture. So the benefits accrue here as well in the fuel efficiency and maintenance departments.

Going forward, I'm glad we're seeing explosive growth in all electric buses and cars. They're vastly more efficient and simpler than a hybrid drive train, avoiding the tradeoffs between power and efficiency hybrids had to make. Hybridization was a great technology for its time but it's increasingly being supplanted by full electric architecture.

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