[dimitri]

As some of you may know my first EV build was 2001 Mazda Miata, it’s still in the Garage here and on EVAlbum, but it has found a new owner. It was a lot of fun to build and drive, but it did not serve my primary goal - become a gas independent family. Since my wife does more driving than I do, and our family consists of more than 2 people, the 2 seater Roadster was not up to the challenge. It was heartbreaking to let it go, so much love and dedication went into that car, but on the bright side it has better future as an EV than any stock Miata could ever hope for. OK, enough sentiments….
After much research and planning I found the donor that would fit all my family needs, yet still sporty and pretty cool looking, high quality and in great mechanical shape, 2002 Mazda Protégé5.
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While working on Miata I fell in love with Mazda’s engineering, its simple, elegant, well thought out design, high quality parts, and reasonable cost. Protégé gets highest reviews all over the Internet, there are specialized forums, tons of technical info, upgrades, etc. I found complete workshop manual, schematics, everything I would need to take it apart and put it back together.
My main technical goals for this EV are – automatic transmission and LiFePo4 battery pack. The rest is pretty standard DC conversion, Warp9 motor, etc. I am hoping to become one of the first customers for not yet existent but already so popular DC controller designed by Tesseract and Qer from this forum, keep up the good work guys, customers are waiting in line.
Before I get flamed for automatic transmission, let me just say up front, I have read every single word on every single EV forum and mailing list regarding auto tranny conversions, so its unlikely that you will tell me something I don’t already know. I am inspired by couple of successful auto conversions, by SGC and couple of other folks. I am convinced that it will turn out very nice, plus I have no choice in the matter, because primary driver of this EV refuses to learn the stick, so there you go…
Interestingly enough, this particular Protégé came with sport auto tranny, so it can be put in semi-manual mode, very much resembling clutchless manual conversions. But, again, main goal is to make auto tranny work just like OEM, truly automatic and as efficient as possible. More on that later…
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So far I already have Warp9 sitting in my garage, batteries have been ordered, but will take 6-8 weeks to deliver, all small parts have been ordered thru Ebay and various EV suppliers. I hope to get motor in and most of the work done to get ready for controller and batteries. Then I will be at the mercy of Tesseract and Qer to finish the controller ( hurry up guys ) and Elite Power to get my batteries.

[PatricioIN]

well that all sounds very exciting... I can't wait to see your numerous detailed entries in this build thread (subtle eh?)! I have actually greatly considered the Protege in many different generations as a very good candidate for an EV conversion. Good luck and keep the info coming!

[TheSGC]

Nice! That is one nice looking donor car.

Do you have any info on the gear ratios of the transmission? I just got a ADC FB1-4001A for my Civic, and I have gone through the calculations and found that the 9" will handle all 4 gears, where my little 6.7" could only take 1st and 2nd gear.

Also, do you have a model number for the car and the transmission computer? Some of the newer (2000+) vehicles can have the transmission computer reprogrammed to what you want, and that would be sweet. My 1996 Civic isn't programmable, but the gear ratios work out nicely, and my new beast motor will help out a lot.

I too had to do an Auto-EV since no one in my family will drive a stick (benefit for me since no one takes my car!) And so far so good, have over 60 EV miles on it and no problems, except the tiny motor.

[DC Braveheart]

That's cool - I'm buying a Protege5 from a colleague at work who is returning to the UK - I really liked it when I drove. That adds to my collection of Mazda's ... I already have a 1992 Miata and a 2007 CX-7 (yeah - I know ... a true gas guzzler). Now I REALLY need to start working on converting ONE of them!

[dimitri]

Do you have any info on the gear ratios of the transmission?

1GR - 2.816
2GR - 1.497
3GR - 1.000
4GR - 0.725

I don't have the model of the ECU yet, I will look for it. Do you have any info or links regarding reprogramming of the ECUs? The only thing I need is to move shift points to higher RPMs, I have an idea on how to do that later, but it would be much easier to just change it in the stock ECU.

Thanks

[TheSGC]

Also, what's the Final Drive gear ratio?

I don't have links for Mazda ECU's, so a google search would be in order. Search for performance ECUs, programming ECUs and chip upgrades. Also the dealer may have equipment for reprogramming the ECU.

Originally Posted by dimitri

1GR - 2.816
2GR - 1.497
3GR - 1.000
4GR - 0.725

I don't have the model of the ECU yet, I will look for it. Do you have any info or links regarding reprogramming of the ECUs? The only thing I need is to move shift points to higher RPMs, I have an idea on how to do that later, but it would be much easier to just change it in the stock ECU.

Thanks

[RKM]

Dimitri,

You'll have your first and second build done in less time than many of us (me at least) will take to do our first! Great choice for a very practical and fun conversion. I won't bug you about the auto tranny... you gotta do what you gotta do. I'm sure it was hard to sell the roadster, my condolences.

Can you share more about your LFP pack? Cell size, quantity? Why did you choose that supplier...? Has there been any break on pricing?

I'll be wanting to have two LFP packs (45X160Ah) for spring. Hoping the price will soften.

Rob

[dimitri]

Originally Posted by RKM

Can you share more about your LFP pack? Cell size, quantity? Why did you choose that supplier...? Has there been any break on pricing?

I decided to use 40 cells of TS LFP160AH for a nominal pack voltage of 128V. Initially I wanted 45 cells, but for many reasons decided to lower to 40. One of the reasons is that I want to use PakTrakr as my Battery Monitoring System and it only goes to 40 cells, also I can fit 40 cells entirely in the back of this car and will just need to upgrade rear springs to hold 500Lb of lithium. And of course 40 cells cost less than 45 cells while providing enough power for my projected range of 50-70 miles.

I bought from Elite Power because their price is competitive with direct orders from China, yet I have a peace of mind in dealing with US company and not worrying about customs, etc. I'd rather not post prices here, you can call or Email them for a quote. There has not been any major price break yet, but if these cells last as they claim, they should be cheaper than LA even at today's price.

Battery cost is the largest chunk of my budget, so I am saving every penny on other parts, buying from Ebay and cherry picking EV suppliers, instead of buying a whole kit like I did with my first EV.

[bblocher]

Hey Dimitri,

Glad to see you're tracking this build somewhere. I'll keep an eye on it. Looks like a great donor car. Have fun man!

[dimitri]

This is the sport auto shifter I mentioned...
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While still collecting parts and planning the conversion, I decided to take care of some things that are not EV related, like changing brake rotors and pads. Old rotors were pretty worn out, so I found a good deal on Ebay for a complete kit, 4 rotors and 4 sets of ceramic pads for $199 shipped. Previous owner had painted calipers, but the paint was all chipped, so instead of scraping the old paint, I decided to repaint it, looks cool, eh?
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I also put in my favorite in-dash media player and XM Radio.
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Oh, and the pedals too....
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OK, this car had its last gas dinner , once the tank is empty the engine will come out. Poor ICE doesn't know its days are numbered