[VOLKSWAGNER420]

Hi there, I am new to this forum and to building EV's, I have researched enough on the subject to at least have a conversation about it. Anyone feel like answering a few questions I have? I am planning on doing away with the back seat to fit more battery's and I am aiming for 192 Volts for the DC motor and 3 or 4 battery's in series for the lights and stereo. I see a lot of warp 9's or 11's and D&D motors being used with Zilla controllers. I was thinking about going with a Model# FB1-4001 made by Advanced DC Motors. The motor dimensions are 9.1 inch diameter 15.5 inches long, and is rated at 144 Volts DC. For the controller I was thinking about a Curtis 1231C controller. It is rated at 144 volts DC at 400 amps. Any thoughts? I would appreciate any and all help. Any tips (other than not to shock the piss out of myself) would be great! Thanks!

 

[VOLKSWAGNER420]

Thanks for your reply Gottdi! You said that the GE is hard to find, is that due to price or do they not make them anymore? If I go with the warp 11 over the 9 would that give me more top speed or more torque and there fore the ability to operate in high gear at lower rpm and there for actually help range or? Have you ever tried putting taller and taller gears till your motor does its full potential amount of wheel turning per Ah? Also how do you know how many amps that your controller should be? Where is the cheapest source for QUALITY used parts that you have found so far? Or should I go new only? are rebuilt motors just as good as new ones? I have heard that golf cart battery's from Sam's Club ($75ish) are the most bang for the buck, is that so? Thanks for any help you can provide. I am ALL about learning from people who are more experienced then myself and you sound like you have been around the block a time or two....in an EV!

 

[drgrieve]

What is your budget?

Agree that if you afford it going to lithium is a much better option.

Without knowing your budget ($10k, $15k, $20k?) and range (at what mix of speeds) it's hard to make recommendations.

For a low range budget option (most folks here) with reliable components and where you can add more batteries later if needed - have a look at a kostov 9", Soliton Jnr, and 45 calb 100ah cells.

This is ~ $1350, $1850, $5400 = $8600 for main components which will give good performance and at non freeway speeds ~50 miles of range with 20% SOC left.

 

[Ziggythewiz]

Budget, range, and required speeds are the most important questions. With lithium you can likely keep the back seat no problem, unless you need extreme range.

 

[VOLKSWAGNER420]

drgreive, Thanks for your reply! Duh I guess the bottom line is the deciding factor when selecting parts for any project or else we would all be rolling on Flux Capacitors by now! My budget is around $10k up front for the main stuff and then small projects every month there after until it is how I want it. I already have the donor Beetle and I plan to do all the work myself (except for the paint job WAY down the road) as I am not afraid to get dirty (or rusty) I am a decent welder (my welds are strong...working on pretty) and I am in my second year of school for electrical engineering. In fact if I can pull this off in the next nine months it is going to be my final project (Capstone) for school. If not I will just have to dazzle them with a lame ass Solar panel (I build and install them on the side) or something,...snore. I need a good amount of range AND speed. The road to my school is 70MPh and if you are going to go 75MPH you had better be doing it in the SLOW lane! (damn N.C. NASCAR fans will run you off the road!) Plus I believe that a fast EV (or hybrid) will convert more people than a slow one. No one has ever took a 10MPH ride on a golf cart and got off and said "Hot damn what a ride, I need an EV!" I have come to realize that with this budget Lithium is out, maybe on my next build. I also realize that even with 16 lead acid battery's at that speed my range is gona be jack squat. Soooo, I was thinking of putting a 3,000 watt small, quiet, Honda generator up front so I can make the 80 mile round trip to school. I think it will just about keep up, not sure tho. This SEEMS to be the most practical way to accomplish my range and speed needs on my budget (cheat and use a little gas!) What do you think? Gottdi, what is the difference between the Warp 11 and the TransWarp 11? They seem to be set up to run in place of your trans and I want to bolt it to my trans and still use the clutch and gears. Got to have speed AND range so it seems like that means Lithium, or a generator and small amounts of Dino-juice, so unless you guys have a cheaper source for Lithium then I have found it is looking like the latter. Again ANY tips, sources, advice, do's, don'ts, things to research, will be GREATLY APPRECIATED! Thanks!

 

[VOLKSWAGNER420]

ZiggyTheWiz, nice bug! How do you have yours set up and what kind of range/speed do you get?

Gottdi, is this link ( http://greenev.zapto.org/GreenEV ) pictures of a DIY Lithium battery? Can I build a good one without poisoning myself? If so do they work well (efficiently) that would be the ticket if the materials are cheap enough. I just need function not looks. The only part that has to look good at some point is the Beetle, the driver and the parts can be as ugly as they want as long as they function well!

How many of these battery's (http://www.lithium-battery-division...8-x-28-x-1114in-br-449-x-71-x-283mm_p_13.html) would I need roughly? Am I even in the right department? Also it seems that the Kastovs are very close to the warps, but much cheaper, what are the MAIN differences between the two companies products?

 

[Ziggythewiz]

I started with 10 marine DCs and am working toward 15 GC8s while saving for lithium, max range is 25-30, I usually run 15-18. Top speed is 70, but I usually keep it around 45 in 2nd.

For that range on a low budget you're probably best off with a stock beetle. A 3000 watt generator won't come close to running a bug at 70 mph, for that you'd need a generator closer to the original engine size.

Maybe you could do a DIY charger and controller (maybe motor too) for your project and just do a short range with lead for demonstration purposes until you can afford the lithium for a real commuter.

 

[VOLKSWAGNER420]

Z, Why do you keep it in second/ Do the taller gears draw more Amps than they are worth? And thanks for keeping it real but I have a convertable PT cruiser that I run back and forth in now (Plus my gas hog truck) and I would never drive an no cat, smokin' ass bug, and claim that I am somehow helping the planet. I got this one with no motor in it just for an EV. Yeah, I know that $10k to start is not much of a budget for a commuter but am an fixing up one of my rental houses right now so my money is funny. I am not trying to have a true Hybrid if I go that rout as much as being able to self charge while in class so I can make it home. I would much rather solve this lithium battery price problem and have a true EV. I saw where a guy had built his own controller and it worked well. I am all for that as I am great at wiring, soldering, and schematics. And the charger seems doable too. Do they have DIY kits for these like they do for stereo amplifiers or is it just a blank circuit board and hope for the best? I DO want to get a good motor tho. What about the lithium battery's, anyone ever try to build them self a huge one? Cost effective? Safe-ish? Unheard of? Crazy? What do you think? Thanks!

 

[VOLKSWAGNER420]

Hey I found this looking around the site. Paul & Sabrina's 144v 500amp DC EV Motor Controller Kit (rev 2C) $600.00 That means that the max Volts that you can use it on is limited to 144V right? Would this run A warp 11? Seems like the DIY kits are the way to go! What are the cons other than the risk of screwing something up during the build?