It's rated for 18kw nominal which is about the same as the DC motors a lot of us use in our cars. Figure in that it is (from what I can tell) an AC motor and you have a lot more high-end torque.
On the other hand, it's rated at 48v, with apparently higher end ratings available? For good performance and range you'll probably want a lot more than that.
Bottom line- it's probably a good idea to do a little more research so you can better define your requirements.
This uses a more powerful version of the same Curtis controller, running at 96-108 volts 550 amps, 8 inch air cooled AC motor: http://www.thunderstruck-ev.com/AC_drive_performance.htm
I'm thinking of using it in my Fiero conversion.
I know there are different versions of the Curtis 1238, some supposedly can handle 108 nominal with a cutoff at 122. I'm debating running 32 lithiums at 108 nominal, 3.2 per cell, charged to 3.7 takes you to 118.4, which might be cutting it close.
I still would like to see spec for this 108V curtis, their webpage doesn't mention it nor does the manual I found for 1238. And from the amount of configuration options it looks as hell of the controler I wish it could be pushed a bit further past 51 Kw they specify. 108V is a step in good direction 120v -144V would do the job for me.
It looks as past this curtis (power wise) there is no AC solutions on the market untill those prohibitively expensive like UQM ($20,690 for 75 Kw)
I guess you could try contacting Curtis directly, but the people at HPG who make the motor and Brian Hall from Thunderstruck EV who sell it both say the same thing about the controller, 108V nominal 122V cutoff.
As for AC systems Victor at Metric Mind has some options for less than $20K I think as does electroautomotive who carries the Solectria/Azure systems for between $6-$8K or so.
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