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5,000+ Pound EV

12K views 25 replies 8 participants last post by  vixenrvconversion 
#1 ·
I am thinking about making a classic car into an EV. I know it is really heavy and it will probably be slow and have a short range. I just want to be able to cruise around town without getting 8 mpg.

That said would a AC50/Curtis setup connected to a transmission have enough power to cruise around? Any idea on the speeds I could reasonably accelerate to? I understand the rule of thumb for Wh/mi is divide the weight of the car by 10.

I am not having much luck figuring out how powerful of a motor I would need.

Thanks
John
 
#6 · (Edited)
I second that. And say 144+ volts of calb 180 gray cells or more voltage and 100ah cells. What does your budget and range expectations look like? Big heavy vehicles require a lot of battery to have any range.

I think HPEVS recommends something like 3500lbs max on the ac-50 or you'll have really poor performance.
 
#7 · (Edited)
I'd love to do that kind of conversion too, heheh. It might not be the most economical electric vehicle but then what? It will be cool.

I'd say your car will perform similar to original with 11" dc motor and 1000A controller. Maybe even better as you get all the torque at really low rpm. You'll also need a large battery pack. AC50 might work too but will lack performance.

Take advantage of controllers high voltage capability if you end up going dc motor route. Go higher than 144V to keep battery amp draw lower and push all that torque to higher rpm.
 
#8 ·
I'd love to do that kind of conversion too, heheh. It might not be the most economical electric vehicle but then what? It will be cool.

I'd say your car will perform similar to original with 11" dc motor and 1000A controller. Maybe even better as you get all the torque at really low rpm. You'll also need a large battery pack. AC50 might work too but will lack performance.
Would the AC-50 be enough for cruising around like on 35 mph roads? No interstate or 2 lanes, right?

Thanks,
John
 
#9 ·
Do you already have the ac 50? I have been looking at HPEV’s AC motors and from what I have read they sound good. I have also corresponded with three guys that are running the AC50 and they give good reports on the performance but none of them are over 3,000 pounds. At 5,000 pounds you will need a real low gear to get that barge moving with out tearing up the motor. The Packard sounds like a cool car to cruise in. Is it going to look stock or are you going to slam it? Cruising is about being cool and showing your ride so even if you don’t smoke the tires you still don’t want it to be a total dog on take off.
 
#11 · (Edited)
No I don't have the AC50. Gonna Keep it stock Looking. Good points.


Thanks Adeyo for the link.

That EV has a 4L60E which has a 3.059 1st gear and a 150 Lb.-Ft motor so 458.85 Lb.-Ft of torque after the trans in 1st.

The AC-50 has 110 Lb.-Ft. but I wanted to use a 6L45 trans which has a 4.06 1st gear which gives 446.6 Lb.-Ft of torque which is almost the same so it might work I guess maybe not as high speed though. (Not as easy to get or work on would be a ZF 8HP trans with a 4.696 1st gear.)

Thoughts?

John
 
#13 ·
That AC project by Topeka looks like a really good conversion. It was drawing about 300 amps from the 100V battery pack at 60 MPH, or about 30kW/40HP which seems about right for a 6000 lb truck, and their battery pack is 400 A-h, so they should get about an hour of driving or 60 miles. They also stated 5 Ah/mile at 45 MPH, or about 500 Wh/mile, which also correlates well to the usual figures I've seen for vehicles half the size/weight. At that rate they could get 80 mile range, although not good to run the batteries flat.

Looks like they sell the motor and controller for about $12,500. The batteries would be about 64 * $240 or just over $15,000. Theoretically, about the same performance might be obtained with the Packard, but I think it will require a transmission with better ratios than the original. Maybe get the same one as those guys use if it will fit. Seemed to have a nice shift selection box.
 
#18 ·
The Packard peaked my interest and I got kind of enthused about one as an EV so I did a fast drawing of it lowered. I should have done a profile to get the low look better. You can use it as an avatar if you want but I hold the common copyright so if you sell it for millions I get 50% or my estate after I die. Have you made any progress? I still think a big DC is the way to go.
 
#21 ·
If it takes a while to get the project started I know HPEVS is working on higher voltage controller, with a couple higher voltage motors to go with it. As well as a dual motor controller kit using a couple ac-35's. I think some of it is scheduled to be available for the end of the year/beginning of next if all goes well.

I think someone on this forum is also working on testing the Scott drive motors/controllers.
 
#25 ·
I am sticking to my guns about a big DC setup but have been reading a little about the AC57 and think if you are set on AC then the AC57 is the one to get. I just posted the following in the motors section.
Just got off the phone from HPEV and was told they have not set a solid price yet but the word is the 96 volt 650 amp setup will be around $5,200. And the 144 volt 500 amp that should be out by Dec. will be at $6,000. These are ball park figures so these are not set prices.
 
#26 · (Edited)
We are purchasing a Vixen RV in the next few years. After extensive research we feel it,s the best RV for an electric conversion. It is a 5,000 lbs vehicle and after adding batteries, hi top for sleeping and a full roof of either laminated pv panels or maybe 300 watt rv panels it will be even heavier. We are at least trying to go 85 mph and at the minumum 60 mpg. If it was to be a hybrid than were thinking of a BMW twin turbo 6 cylinder 3.0 liter hybrid engine. Would this work?Wondering the next step? We are cost evaluating at the moment, early stage. Any additional info would be appreciated.
Thanks EV community!
 
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