Goodwin Assist Hybrid-Electric Kit

[Hans3T]

I just saw Teaka Toys post-up on Facebook about this -- a kit that aids your Hummer in achieving 100 mpg. (No, I did not double-tap the "0" key!) Does this seem kind of familiar to anyone? Anybody remember Raser Technologies?

Who knows if it would stand up to abuse on the trail, but considering the amount of technology in this, it's still pretty cool. I could get used to filling up every 3k miles or so...

The Patented Goodwin Assist is a revolutionary new technology for converting Hummers into highly fuel efficient plug in hybrids. The Goodwin Assist is focused squarely on bang for the buck proposition of maximizing fuel savings with minimal capital investment resulting in the shortest ROI.

Benefits: 18-24 Months ROI, 60% Fuel Cost Reduction, 60% Less Emissions

The Goodwin Assist provides 80% of the financial benefits of other solutions at 20% of the cost. Typical drive trains, transmissions and internal combustion engines are highly inefficient. Goodwin Assist components include a state of the art electric motor, system controller, and a modular lithium ion battery pack...which can be plugged into any standard 1-10 outlet, to store inexpensive power from the grid.

The Goodwin Assist applies that stored energy via the electric motor to assist the internal combustion engine when it is most inefficient, significantly reducing workload of the engine and the use of fossil fuel. This duel-fuel approach allows vehicles to take advantage of the great power delivered at the equivalent of $0.75 per gallon.

The Goodwin Assist reads the engines performance and increases the assist when the internal combustion engine will benefit most from a fuel saving perspective such as frequent starts and stops.

The Goodwin Assist requires no EPA approval or crash testing, and is comprised mostly of approved off the shelf components from industry leading automotive providers. Once converted, these vehicles see their fuel cost is cut in half or more. The conversion process is simple, inexpensive and requires no major overhaul of the vehicle.

Goodwin Assist's unique engineering allows for uninterrupted driving on the unlikely event of a system or component failure, making The Patented Goodwin Assist the only alternative for critical vehicle operation. This development has seen multiple generations of prototype vehicles with significant efforts placed on safety, components testing and systems engineering .

Untold hours of refinement and testing as well as enough miles driven across the United States many times over has allowed us to prove The Goodwin Assist system. The vehicles have exceed over 100 MPG with a simple to install retrofit solution.In addition of course is a performance mode. This mode allows the end user to maximize the performance benefit of the electric motors power. It becomes a reverse supercharger. Another feature of the system is regenerative braking. In this mode the Goodwin Assist becomes a generator for those critical times were electricity is at a premium.
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[Hans3T]

Looks like it was invented by the guy at H-Line Conversion -- a pioneer of the H2 Duramax swap. Interesting.

[video=youtube;9r4tg8hYhz8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r4tg8hYhz8[/video]

 

[nj3talpha]

What's the cost?

 

[TAPDH3T]

Ya got my attention!!!

 

[Kurt]

Goodwin doesn't have a great reputation in my books. Friend of mine had a duramax conversion done by H-lines and the build quality wasn't top notch. the truck was sent back several times and had plenty of fuel/air problems. It was later fixed down in Tustin hummer.

They even routed the exhaust below the frame rails and cross members, so you had 5" less ground clearance on an H1...

I'd exercise caution...

 

[Scarsman]

I just sent them a bunch of questions through their website. I'll post up with any response I get. :corn:



Edit to add: I sent questions direct to Goodwin. I'll call Teaka tomorrow and see if they have a price.

 

[Hans3T]

I'm interested to see what they come up with. That video was definitely too short to get an accurate idea of how the system really operates.

 

[Scarsman]

I agree. It was kind of underwhelming.

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[HUMMER INVESTMENTS]

Hmm interesting. Just think when you tell someone that you get 100 mpg in your H2 But this stuff does seems underwhelming as stated, and not even a shot of the video of the mpg computer on the H2.

 

[Portager]

That is totally uncredible!

 

[Scarsman]

Hmmm. No response yet! How strange!

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[alrock]

This video calls it a 10 hp motor. Somehow, I don't see a 10 hp motor, when combined with my gas engine, cutting my fuel consumption by 60%.
[video=youtube_share;9r4tg8hYhz8]http://youtu.be/9r4tg8hYhz8[/video]

GM is building electric assist vehicles like the Buick Lacrosse. It has a 15hp electric motor but doesn't claim to get nearly the increases Goodwin is claiming, despite a motor that adds more to the overall package than the Goodwin setup.

The LaCrosse’s 2.4-liter four-cylinder is largely unchanged, save for a belt-driven electric motor/generator hanging off the front instead of an alternator. It can apply 15 hp and 79 lb-ft of torque to complement the engine’s 182 hp and 172 lb-ft. A 0.5-kWh battery feeds—and is fed by, during regenerative braking—the motor/generator and sits in a lump at the front of the trunk, ​

I'm sure there are benefits to the Goodwin setup but I'm dubious to their claims holding up to everyday, normal use.

 

[Hans3T]

I asked Teaka Toys some questions about the kit via Facebook and they said they would get back to me.

I'm very interested to see what they have to say.

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[alrock]

More thoughts on this . . .

If I'm using 60% less fuel, then I'm using 40% of the fuel I previously used, right? No matter the type of motor, it takes the same HP to get down the road. The max the electric motor puts out is 10 HP. Using their math, I'm getting 40% of my power from my gas engine and 60% of my power from the electric motor for a total of approximately 17 HP (peak HP using the 60% less fuel statement).

I'm guessing the H2 and H3 use more than 17 HP a lot of the time. Peak efficiency is often said to be at the exact moment that the truck switches into its highest gear, which in the H3 is around 50 mph or so. It might be feasible that the truck is only using 17 hp at that time, but to get there it used a lot more power and to go at any higher speeds requires a LOT more power. I would not be surprised to hear that the Goodwin tests were tested for something like five miles at a steady 50 mph.

Keep in mind that as speed increases, HP requirements increase exponentially. (With a doubling of speed the drag (force) quadruples). Here's a good chart I found regarding BMW 8 series cars that includes resistance from powertrain, rolling and wind.

Speed	Power at the wheels	Power at the engine
35 mph	8 hp	9 hp
60 mph	20 hp	23 hp
80 mph	38 hp	44 hp
100 mph	64 hp	75 hp

Note that this chart was developed with a car with a coefficient of 0.29, a wee bit better than the H2/H3 at 0.57. http://www.e31.net/resistance.html, http://www.alltrac.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=14410

This support's Goodwin's statement of dramatically increased efficiency but only at a steady pace at a pre-selected speed. I suspect that if you drove your H3 at the lowest RPM in the highest gear, and kept it there, you might actually achieve 25-30 mpg or better during that time (without the benefit of the electric motor) but the reality is we can't keep the car in that sweet spot. The vehicles are incredibly inefficient on acceleration and cruising at non-ideal speeds.

If 10 HP is going to get me 100 mpg in a Hummer, shouldn't the 36 HP electric motor in the Prius get that vehicle to 150 mpg or better?

 

[Hans3T]

Great analysis there, Alex. You had ought to send your thoughts to Goodwin/Teaka to comment on.

Teaka just posted this on Facebook.

We need proof, eh gents?

 

[3Hummers]

Goodwin has a reputation of being big on promotion and lacking on delivery. I am shocked that Teaka Toys would be dealing with him on this product. I have never dealt with John but many that have don't speak in glowing terms about the association. I would advise all to remember the old adage, " buyer beware".
Hans I think you should buy one, install it and report back to the group on the results.

 

[Hans3T]

Sorry Dave, but I can't be the donor.......

My truck is already in the shop. I'm getting a donor engine from a 2005 Prius. By my estimates, I should easily get 64,000 mpg. :wink:

 

[ReconH3]

Smells like a gimmick. When something seems too good to be true, it's just that.


"Ex Umbris Venimus"

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