Page 24, On-Road Testing Now Underway

I am performing the on-road testing phase now. I will say that I am impressed so far, even without completing a recorded data set. It is truly amazing to feel the vehicle being pushed along using so very little power, while also decreasing the amount of throttle given to the engine because of the engine load decrease.

The only change I have made to the PIE is the addition of a switch and relay to control the PIE from the driver’s seat.

In the shop, I am preparing for PIE 2.0. I deliberated heavily about the planetary gear sets. I would like to replace them with machined gears which would run quieter and smoother, but I will stay with the simple fabricated gears for now. I already have parts made to fit the fabricated gears, so this will save the time and the expense of rebuilding some components.

I seriously thought of upgrading everything, bearings, plates, gears, weights, etc. but cannot justify that at the present so it will have to wait for version 3.0 or higher.  I am, however, planning on running weights on both sides of the flexplates. This should allow for heavier weights and higher RPMs which will both equal more thrust!