[rbgrn]

http://www.digg.com/hardware/These_G..._Electric_Cars

[rbgrn]

I posted that. It looked like one of you was planning on doing the GT90. Oops..

[rbgrn]

It should be known that I enjoy promoting the work of DIY EVers

[david85]

Originally Posted by Lexus

OK ..... Just woke up and read that was like LOL

Uhh,, yeah me too.... GT 90? compete with tesla? Well maybe, but I'm not exactly building yet, its just ideas for now, and pricing, Looooooooooottts of pricing out of components and systems.............

Lexus, I don't think you are going to need a 50kwh battery if your car is going to be super light, arodynamic, and travel at an average speed of 80 KPH. The sunrise got 200 miles at ~80 KPH with with only 22 kwh, and it was a 4 seater. These batteries are less than half the weight of lead, and that means a longer range for the same amount of energy consumed.

Also, remember that the LFP TS batteries are maintainence free, and are good for thousands of high discharge cycles. One company in the USA is offering a more expencive version of the lithium ion battery that comes with a lifetime waranty. Although for some reason, the japanese do not seem to take kindly to cars that last longer than 15 years.

[david85]

I'm still not sure what shape the car will take, but so far the responce has been very positive toward an high tech approach as opposed to a classic one, though I will admit, I am a sucker for old cars. In all honesty, I would preffer the GT40 classic, but in the end, arodynamics and outside feedback will play a bigger role, since the long term goal is to sell these things. But of course, its whats on the inside that REALLY counts.

[david85]

Well, seeing that we have passed 1500 views, I going to try and push my luck a little.....

One of the biggest problems I am facing, is what should the car look like? I'm going to start post different cars that are appealing to me, Lexus has so far contributed a lot of different ideas, and I'm going to do the same, but I'm hoping others can weigh in with their own ideas as well. This thread has moved on something that is bigger than just my car and my ideas, maybe some others who are following can share in the dream as well.

OK, heres what I've got for now.






1971 toyota celica (we had one briefly when I was really young)



Similar idea, but this is a later 1977 with striking resemblance to the mustang mach 1.



Datsun 240Z.

Both these cars cave a similar profile, and would do reasonably well in a wind tunnel (1977 celica is better for Aerodynamics than 1971). They also have a low profile front grill that makes it more adaptable to electric duty.



....and this is the 1969 mustang I mentioned earlier in the thread (reproduction bodies are available for this one).

[rbgrn]

Out of those 4, my vote would have to go with the 240Z.

[david85]

As I understand it, Tesla motors developed their own BMS. They have since started a division aimed at engineering battery systems for other companies (I doubt they will talk to mortals like us).

Metric Mind has a pretty good BMS though, not quite as pretty as this, but seems to show all the same info. Also comes with a PC friendly interface so you could integrate it into a more refined display.

http://www.metricmind.com/bms.htm

[mattW]

Hey guys just a suggestion; if you have any new topics/questions how bout doing it in a new thread? This baby is already 9 pages and I would hate to be an eager new member having to read through it all to get to what they were interested in!

[david85]

I think you might be on to something there, matt. Lets face it, there are a lot of guts in a car!

I didn't want to start several threads all geared toward the same idea, but maybe that is a better way to go, now that its a little out of hand.

I'm neck deep in an engine overhaul right now (gotta love internal combustion), so time is tight right now, and I haven't had a chance to do as much research as I would like lately.

How would it be if I were to summarize the main points of, say

structure,

suspension,

motors,

batteries,

interior,

Range extenders/hybrid,

and use that as a heading for each part of "building from the ground up" in a separate thread? Then as more info/questions come up, each topic can be more, well, on topic.

Any thoughts or suggestions for how to set this up?