....this is the first mod I would put on it....so as not to end up like Clarkson with dead batteries while I'm flogging it around the city....

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/02/01/on-the-rebound-scientists-invent-regenerative-shocks/

Pretty interesting. Maybe they will come in a sporty version!

wow that really neat...i could even see those in gas powered cars in the place of a battery....instead of having a big black heavy square under you hood your shocks would give power to your electronics.

Hmmm, I could have my shock work, or generate electricity....Though it is a cool concept. There just isn't enough room for that in the average car or shock and still have it work.

I would love to see one up close and play with it. ( I used to rebuild hi-end shocks as part of my job)

wow that really neat...i could even see those in gas powered cars in the place of a battery....instead of having a big black heavy square under you hood your shocks would give power to your electronics.


Um, hate to burst your bubble but you can't ditch the battery. You need a way to store energy to start the car. Unless you enjoy push starting that is.

I don't think a stiffly sprung car would generate much electricity.

Um, hate to burst your bubble but you can't ditch the battery. You need a way to store energy to start the car. Unless you enjoy push starting that is.

yea after i posted that my dad said the same thing....lol

In theory this thing sounds great, but I"ll bet its crap in practice...How much juice are we talking here?? I say VERY little.

the roads here in tampa are pretty bumpy, i could see how these things are supposed to generate 20%-70% (on a truck...) of electrical demands. Compound this with the regenerative braking from the prius, and you have a pretty good amount of electrical generation.

I do agree this prolly wouldn't work well (as efficiently) with stiffer shocks.

if i could afford a tesla roadster id just get the lotus elise instead :D

I think these are a great invention, imagine stuffing them in a prius or other hybrid, they have softer springs with more travel.. but back to the point, if i could afford a tesla, I'd buy a Z06 and even with gas at $4.00 a gallon I'd walk away from the deal with extra money to blow on additional go-fast goodies; although a tesla would be pretty fun

if i could afford a tesla roadster id just get 3 lotus elise instead :D

Corrected [hihi] If you didn't see, Tesla actually raised the price on their cars and their books show the actual cost of one to be more around like $140K rather than the $90+/- it's listed at. What's messed up is for some pre-ordered cars, they actually told the customer they would have to pay more for certain options (over night charger for example) that they had already put a deposit down on. Bad business practices [thumbd] I doubt they'll weather the economic storm.

hmm why didnt i think of that? its the same concept as that shaking flashlight lol.

lol I can just imagine someone swerving erratically down the road to build a charge on these things.