Editing 3244: Pullback Drive

{{comic
| number    = 3244
| date      = May 11, 2026
| title     = Pullback Drive
| image     = pullback_drive_2x.png
| imagesize = 303x292px
| noexpand  = true
| titletext = "How does the spring not run out almost immediately?" "We pull it back REALLY far."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by A STOMP ROCKET POWERED CAR. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

This comic is a reference to toy cars with {{w|pullback motor}}s. Normally used for small toy cars, the spring motor stores potential energy when the car is pulled backwards, and the potential energy (including the final energy used in holding the car against its spring) is immediately released as kinetic energy when the car is released.

A very simple version of pull-back car will only go as far forward as it is drawn backwards in the first place, although by the use of free-wheel gearing at the end of its 'powered' phase and change in effective gearing (between 'charging' the spring by back-pulling, and thenetting it 'expend' in the forward direction) can store a lot of torque from a little distance and expend it in more speed/distance for the very light toy, which then may run on 'unpowered' for a significant further distance in the right circumstanes. On the other hand, they do not have the ability to store indefinite degrees of energy in their spring, they may hit a hard limit whereby the spring cannot be wound any firther, or (commonly for such toys) a slip-gear will audibly produce rapid 'click's as the mechansim no longer tries to convert pull-back movement into sprung potential (letting the child know that their toy is at maximum readiness).

In this comic, [[Hairy]] suggests a full-scale version of a pullback car. Making this type of energy store work on the scale of a full-size car would be extremely impractical, due to the {{w|Energy density#In material deformation|low power}} and the requirement to pull it back far enough to then go anywhere meaningful. Hairy tries to sell the car by saying that [[Cueball]] won't need to worry about gas or electricity prices. This is technically true, but cars that run on petroleum or electricity have the advantage of their energy supply being refillable, while this pullback car presumably does not. Also the power relies on the car 'being pulled back '''''really''''' far', which would require a lot of difficulty, and would not go very far at all unless - as pointed out by Hairy in the title text - it was pulled back very far (though how they intend to do that is unclear).

The entire reason for Hairy attempting this new type of propulsion is the rising electricity and gas prices as a result of the closure of the {{w|Strait of Hormuz}} due to the {{w|2026 Iran war}}. The strait was a very common waterway used for the international trade of natural gas and petroleum from the Middle East, but the Iranian government is currently not allowing any foreign ships to pass through it. If this type of propulsion works, this would negate the need to fuel the car, making it a good energy-efficient alternative if implemented correctly.

It would be possible to "recharge" such a car by repeating the process of pulling it backwards. However, the energy being stored in the spring motor would have to come from somewhere. A flywheel connected to the motor could be occasionally lowered onto the road when the car is under braking and then automatically raised, which may work as a form of charging if the released kinetic energy could be diverted to the main wheels. However, the automatic lowering and raising of the flywheel would require an external energy source, and it would be much simpler to just use an electric car at that point. Plus, this would produce diminishing returns and the car would need to be "recharged" every so often. 

In the title text, Cueball points out that such a motor would store very little energy and would run out almost immediately compared to a traditional combustion or electric engine. Hairy says that to counteract this, they "pull it back '''''REALLY''''' far," which would not actually solve the problem of it being a single-use and incredibly inefficient energy source. However, how they propose to do that is unclear, but to do it manually would be very difficult to pull off{{citation needed}}, and if pulled by a kind of mechanical device it would defeat the main purpose of the pullback car - That it doesn't rely on various fuels to keep it going.

==Transcript==

[Hairy and Cueball are standing to the right of a medium-size car. Hairy has raised one hand slightly to point to the car.]

Hairy: You won't have to worry about gas prices '''''or''''' electricity prices with our new pullback drive model.

Hairy: At the factory, we put the car on the ground and tow it all the way backward until it starts clicking.

Hairy: To drive forward, you just release the brake and it goes.

Title text: How does the spring not run out almost immediately? We pull it back REALLY far.

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