I had this brilliant idea the other day about using the waste heat from a petrol engine to boilw water to power a steam turbine which could assist the petrol engine and increase fuel efficiency...
Imagine my dissapointment when the next day I found this
http://www.autoblog.com/2005/12/09/bmw-turbosteamer-gets-hot-and-goes/
BMW have beaten my to it!!!
Still, it seams such a simple idea, most people know that a large amount of energy from a petrol engine is lost as heat, so why has it taken so long to start doing something about recovering that heat to drive the car, or at least charge the battery, particularly when you consider how long steam technology has been around. I sonewhat feel this is evidence of a general lack of focus on fuel efficency over the years.
Has anyone else come up with or hear of any brilliant fuel saving ideas, particularly if they are retrofittable?
