# Air-powered car? **URL:** \ **Category:** NYSpeed Automotive\ **Created:** [January 29, 2006, 11:56am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/air-powered-car/7463 "2006-01-29T11:56:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![98tegette](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/98tegette/32/7236_2.png) [@98tegette](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/98tegette)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 11:56am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/air-powered-car/7463/1 "2006-01-29T11:56:50Z")
wow [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2281011.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2281011.stm) how it will work? > **[How the Air Car Works](https://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/vehicles/air-car.htm)** > > As gasoline continues to lose its cachet as a reliable energy source, auto manufacturers have started to turn toward cleaner-burning fuels. However, they're still trying to figure out how to use the cleanest fuel of all -- the air we breathe. ---
**Author:** ![Jack](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/jack/32/7613_2.png) [@Jack](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Jack)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 12:16pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/air-powered-car/7463/2 "2006-01-29T12:16:36Z")
but what about heat and running accessories? Where is the radio and the AC? ---
**Author:** ![blk300tt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ab992/32.png) [@blk300tt](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/blk300tt)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 5:21pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/air-powered-car/7463/3 "2006-01-29T17:21:16Z")
> [@Jack](#): > > but what about heat and running accessories? Where is the radio and the AC? they said the aim is for taxi’s and delivery vehicles. im sure they have thought of something as far as accessories goes. but yea thats a good question. and would legislation ever let something like this go into production? im sure the oil companies would have something to say about it cool idea tho ---
**Author:** ![supry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@supry](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/supry)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 5:43pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/air-powered-car/7463/4 "2006-01-29T17:43:38Z")
The thing is, the electricity needed to run the compressors would be produced by using fossil fuels or even nuke plants, therefore not really saving the evironment. ---
**Author:** ![Bucker](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/bucker/32/7379_2.png) [@Bucker](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Bucker)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/air-powered-car/7463/5 "2006-01-29T17:54:21Z")
? Nuke plants are better than FF by far. ---
**Author:** ![Bacon](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/bacon/32/7230_2.png) [@Bacon](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Bacon)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 6:22pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/air-powered-car/7463/6 "2006-01-29T18:22:38Z")
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t energy generation (Ex. coal, nuclear, etc.) a bit more efficent than your average internal combustion engine? And the resources/energy used to create the fuel/oil for it. ---
**Author:** ![HotRodKid](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/hotrodkid/32/7609_2.png) [@HotRodKid](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/HotRodKid)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 6:27pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/air-powered-car/7463/7 "2006-01-29T18:27:52Z")
> [@FuzzyFish](#): > > Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t energy generation (Ex. coal, nuclear, etc.) a bit more efficent than your average internal combustion engine? And the resources/energy used to create the fuel/oil for it. correct, since power production plants know how to efficiently extract every bit of power posible from a pound of coal, one power plant powering "“xxx” number of air powered cars would be better then the same number of cars each running a diesel or gas engine another thing nice about an air powered car is that while “basicly” speaking, they are powered by the local powerplant, they dont have batteries like an electric vehical … which also cuts pollution cool idea :tup: ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Eyed\_Devil](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/blue_eyed_devil/32/7292_2.png) [@Blue\_Eyed\_Devil](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Blue_Eyed_Devil)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 6:39pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/air-powered-car/7463/8 "2006-01-29T18:39:55Z")
4500psi air. You could put a horse on a tread mill to power a compressor. Scrap that idea, more horses means more methane gas. Seriously though, is driving around with 4500psi air tanks safe? Maybe as safe as gasoline.:gotme: The liquid nitrogen idea sounds good too. ---
**Author:** ![psychopjv](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/psychopjv/32/7251_2.png) [@psychopjv](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/psychopjv)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 8:03pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/air-powered-car/7463/9 "2006-01-29T20:03:08Z")
> [@AWDrifter](#): > > 4500psi air. > You could put a horse on a tread mill to power a compressor. > Scrap that idea, more horses means more methane gas. > > Seriously though, is driving around with 4500psi air tanks safe? > Maybe as safe as gasoline.:gotme: > > The liquid nitrogen idea sounds good too. you know all those clean vehicles gm has running around? like the thruway authority silverado’s and cavaliers that are compressed natural gas? they all have huge tanks in them that have roughly 6-8k psi in them how about deisels? their fuel pressure can be as high as 16,000psi. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Russian](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/the_russian/32/7414_2.png) [@The\_Russian](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/The_Russian)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/air-powered-car/7463/10 "2006-01-29T20:09:08Z")
the Tanks are about as likely to rupture as a gas tank on a modern car, these arent pintos we got here, they are pretty darn safe ---
**Author:** ![Bacon](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/bacon/32/7230_2.png) [@Bacon](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Bacon)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 8:10pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/air-powered-car/7463/11 "2006-01-29T20:10:52Z")
Honestly I can’t see getting a decent amount of milage out of a compressed air vehicle. Just given the rate how something like a die-grinder, or impact gun uses it. Granted that is around 90 PSI or so. Although technically if someone could make a pump that could reliably and efficently be used for that pressure. You could do a “regenerative” braking deal like on hybrids, that would recompress air. To possibly extend range. EDIT: Just a thought though, technically could this be used in a hybrid type setup on a conventional vehicle. So instead of batteries that are waste hazards both to make, and dispose of you would have an air-tank at a much lower pressure 1000-2000psi that could be used until it was physically damaged in someway. Likewise, just refill it by using a mechanical pump. Could eliminate a lot of waste due to what is needed for a hybrid to work. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Eyed\_Devil](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/blue_eyed_devil/32/7292_2.png) [@Blue\_Eyed\_Devil](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Blue_Eyed_Devil)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 6:12am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/air-powered-car/7463/12 "2006-01-30T06:12:12Z")
> [@psychopjv](#): > > you know all those clean vehicles gm has running around? like the thruway authority silverado’s and cavaliers that are compressed natural gas? they all have huge tanks in them that have roughly 6-8k psi in them how about deisels? their fuel pressure can be as high as 16,000psi. That is true about the natural gas vehicles but the deisels don’t have pressurized tanks do they? ---
**Author:** ![JaysGreenLX](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/jaysgreenlx/32/7321_2.png) [@JaysGreenLX](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/JaysGreenLX)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 6:42am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/air-powered-car/7463/13 "2006-01-30T06:42:11Z")
The way to truely make this car a viable option for an automobile is to have the compressor constantly pulling air into it while you are driving. No need for fill ups and no worry abotu mileage. The power might not be there but in a public transport vehicle who really cares? ---
**Author:** ![Bacon](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/bacon/32/7230_2.png) [@Bacon](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Bacon)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 7:31am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/air-powered-car/7463/14 "2006-01-30T07:31:15Z")
Problem with that is it would only extend milage, not make it infinite. Mainly due to the fact you would have to lose some energy along the way. Mainly that used to drive the wheels. ---
**Author:** ![supry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@supry](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/supry)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 8:53am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/air-powered-car/7463/15 "2006-01-30T08:53:52Z")
I was just stating how this is not a total solution, but it would definatly help. As for using a compressor to pull in more air while driving? I’m not sure if this would work to well, as Fuzzyfish stated. Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed. And considering how no system is 100% efficient, you would eventually run out of energy to drive the compressor. If you had a system that recharged batteries while braking then you could use that energy to run your compressor, you would definatly get incredible mileage, just not infinite. ---
**Author:** ![JaysGreenLX](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/jaysgreenlx/32/7321_2.png) [@JaysGreenLX](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/JaysGreenLX)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 9:03am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/air-powered-car/7463/16 "2006-01-30T09:03:41Z")
I wasn’t saying that the power would be infinite. Of course something woudl have be power a compressor motor, be it electricity or something else. The brake battery recharge concept used in the Prius that was mentioned would work. However, it would probably take a lot more power than the brakes could provide to keep the compressor running. But thats for an engineer to figure out. ---
**Author:** ![HotRodKid](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/hotrodkid/32/7609_2.png) [@HotRodKid](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/HotRodKid)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 9:08am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/air-powered-car/7463/17 "2006-01-30T09:08:31Z")
the problem with using regenerative braking on a car like this is that a compressor designed to generate the kind of psi this car runs on would have to be very strong, and therefor very heavy i think that any benifit of regenerative braking would be lost on the extra effort it would take to move the car ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Eyed\_Devil](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/blue_eyed_devil/32/7292_2.png) [@Blue\_Eyed\_Devil](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Blue_Eyed_Devil)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 10:24am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/air-powered-car/7463/18 "2006-01-30T10:24:08Z")
> [@HotRodKid](#): > > the problem with using regenerative braking on a car like this is that a compressor designed to generate the kind of psi this car runs on would have to be very strong, and therefor very heavy > > i think that any benifit of regenerative braking would be lost on the extra effort it would take to move the car :word: Generating 4500psi would take much energy. ---
**Author:** ![HotRodKid](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/hotrodkid/32/7609_2.png) [@HotRodKid](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/HotRodKid)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 10:35am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/air-powered-car/7463/19 "2006-01-30T10:35:39Z")
> [@AWDrifter](#): > > :word: Generating 4500psi would take much energy. dont agree with me … im apparently an OT whore, which by default means i know nothing about mechanical equipment ---
**Author:** ![Skurge](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/skurge/32/7285_2.png) [@Skurge](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Skurge)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 2:06pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/air-powered-car/7463/20 "2006-01-30T14:06:54Z")
i dont think the tanks are dangerous at all I run around the paintball field with 4500psi under my arm, diving, sliding, whatever happens i would assume they would be using fiber wrapped tanks, they are pretty strong [Next page](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/air-powered-car/7463.md?page=2)