Running an extra motor for regen only

[Jacobsmess]

Humour me and then tell me I'm stupid but.
If converting a 4WD vehicle, would there be any advantage in adding a 2nd motor for the FWD component and using it solely for regen? My thinking is you want 70% or so of breaking power up front rather than in the back but for RWD vehicles the regen is limited. Any ideas?

The RWD component could be handles by the GS450H or similar.

[muehlpower]

Formula E has a motor just for recuperation. In my opinion, it only makes sense if you often want to decelerate sharply, as in racing. In road traffic, 30kW is probably enough to handle 95% of the braking maneuvers that occur, with conventional brakes being used for the remaining 5%. Brake distribution plays no role at low deceleration. The additional weight and friction will tend to reduce overall efficiency. Therefore, drive only one axle or use both motors for propulsion and benefit from the advantages of an AWD.

[muehlpower]

This is also an interesting use of an AWD

[johu]

But with one motor per wheel

[jrbe]

If converting a 4WD vehicle, would there be any advantage in adding a 2nd motor for the FWD component and using it solely for regen?

You could, but it's a lot of space, packaging, work, and likely weight specifically for regen.

In a similar thought experiment you could use a large motor for the front and a large motor for the rear and only output say 30% of the front motors capable drive torque but use 100% of it's regen torque. The rear motor could be setup to use 100% available drive torque but say only 30% available regen torque.
This would need a very controllable & smooth regen input for the inverters, maybe some motor "abs" feedback for decel, and likely an adjustable deceleration ramp so it's not miserable to drive.

[SuperV8]

If you are going to the extra work in fitting a front motor - why wouldn't you also use that for acceleration?