[War-Daddi]

Hey all! I am VERY new to the EV game. I am a huge motorsports enthusiast in all forms and I dig the technology alot. I have been playing with the idea of converting a planned hill climb car into an electric hill climb car, but don't really know where to start. My ultimate goal would be to keep the drive line and remove the engine and replace it with a motor. My intentions are to keep the clutch, I have done a bit of research and have found mixed feeling on it.
I would love any and all tips and tricks you guys have learned!

 

[remy_martian]

We need technical, performance, and vehicle details, not a merely a story or a decision without explaining it ("keep the clutch")

 

[War-Daddi]

We need technical, performance, and vehicle details, not a merely a story or a decision without explaining it ("keep the clutch")

Oh shoot I'm so sorry!!
Let's try this again,
I have a 2007 Honda Civic ex, 5 speed manual.
I'm looking for something that's going to be a reliable conversion, and work with the factory clutch system and factory drive line (I want to keep the clutch to act as a last ditch disconnect in case the motor gets stuck on). The car would be staying front wheel drive. I'm not looking to make insane power right away, I'm just looking for something intuitive, and reliable. The goal is eventually to make this thing a hill-climb/ time attack machine but I need to get started somewhere. I apologize for any stupid questions in advance as I am brand new to all of this. Thank y'all!

 

[remy_martian]

You don't state top speed, hill grade, need for traction control, etc.

You don't need a clutch to disconnect the motor.

 

[War-Daddi]

I didn't need I'd need to know all of this to convert my car to electric. Does everyone else on this site know all of this information too or am I just screwed without it?

 

[remy_martian]

You can guess....

You're the first hillclimber Civic I know of

 

[War-Daddi]

Well shoot okay. I might have to do some research.
I know generally I want it to behave as a daily driver to begin with just to get the ball rolling. And from there kick it up a notch at a time

 

[remy_martian]

Kicking it up a notch to a hillclimber from a daily driver on flat roads is likely equivalent a second car build in time and bux.

Unless your idea of a hillclimber is sticking a daily driver in first gear and praying.

Maybe you should pick one for now. There's an active build here of a Leaf going into a Honda which will give you an idea of the surgery that's involved.

 

[War-Daddi]

I'll give that a look for sure thank you!
I think as of right now I'm just excited about the tech, I think doing a daily is probably the best idea and doing a second build after I've ironed out some kinks. I appreciate it!
I actually had one more quick question.
I had played with the idea with a buddy of mine (who knows even less than I do) with regenerative braking and controllable torque and power graphs, would it be possible to use the gearbox AS a gearbox. The idea is rev up to 4 or 5k rpm (maybe higher idk just spit balling), disengage clutch and let the motor Regen brake to bring down the speed of the motor then shift into that next gear? Or will an unloaded motor spindle simply stop rotating?

 

[reiderM]

Oh shoot I'm so sorry!!
Let's try this again,
I have a 2007 Honda Civic ex, 5 speed manual.
I'm looking for something that's going to be a reliable conversion, and work with the factory clutch system and factory drive line (I want to keep the clutch to act as a last ditch disconnect in case the motor gets stuck on). The car would be staying front wheel drive. I'm not looking to make insane power right away, I'm just looking for something intuitive, and reliable. The goal is eventually to make this thing a hill-climb/ time attack machine but I need to get started somewhere. I apologize for any stupid questions in advance as I am brand new to all of this. Thank y'all!

The hyper 9 motor is a good fit for this, as it's designed to be bolted to an existing transmission and its relatively low voltage (~100v or ~140v depending on the model), so safer than a high voltage 400v OEM motor for someone who is new to working with conversions. I'm using a hyper 9 in my project and keeping the clutch and transmission:

The clutch is not needed as a safety disconnect with AC motors though, as it's only DC motors that are at risk of failing in an always-on state. A Hyper 9 is also the most beginner-friendly motor option for sure.

With FWD, you won't want much more motor than a hyper 9 either, you'll start spinning the tires and the extra power won't get you anything off the line.

 

[War-Daddi]

I've taken a look at the hyper 9 motor and there alot of really awesome kits out there! I'm really liking the idea of a lower voltage system for safety reasons first and keep the cost of batteries down. How is the milage on conservative driving? How long for a charge roughly. I did see I'd be spinning tires and that's okay lol. I know tuning these things are limitless. As far as not needing a clutch goes, I have seen products that allow you to hook up a flywheel and clutch package, as far as direct drive goes, what are some of the options for a reliable direct drive option?

 

[reiderM]

Due to the hyper 9's design that integrates two types of motor designs into one, it's about as efficient as high-voltage OEM motors like the Nissan Leaf motor and others.

How long it'll take to charge depends on the charger and the total battery capacity you're using. Most people use a 6.6kw charger, that will charge a Tesla pack of 5 modules (with a low voltage hyper 9) from 0-100 in about 4 hours. With 5 modules in a civic I'd expect somewhere around 80-100 miles of range.

You can double that (10 modules) to roughly double the range. Or if you want something in between, you can use 7 modules with a hyper 9 HV, for probably 120-140 miles of range.

The hyper 9 is designed to be used with a transmission, but not everyone uses the clutch and flywheel. There are kits available (CanEV.com) that make it easy just bolt the motor right to the transmission and keep a clutch + flywheel. If you want to go clutch-less, your best bet would be to buy the CanEV kit and fabricate an adapter that attaches the motor coupler and the transmission input shaft.

If you mean strictly direct drive (like motor direct to differential, no transmission), I wouldn't recommend it as the hyper 9 can't rev up as high as OEM EV motors so you may be artificially limiting your top speed.

 

[War-Daddi]

The plan is to mate it to a gearbox for sure. I want to take advantage of the speed reduction.
That's actually a bit better than I thought for range. I'd like to keep the weight down as much as possible but I like the idea of almost 200 miles on a charge.
I know unfortunately the cost of all this can be pretty steep, are there any resources you'd recommended for used stuff or is craiglist going to be my best friend?

 

[remy_martian]

While you may like the idea of 200 miles of range, it's costly. How much range do you actually need?

 

[War-Daddi]

I mean honestly 70 -100 miles is perfect, I was thinking more on the line of road trips but yeah man, those batteries cost a used car! Is there any worry on heat management on the batteries or motor or is the inverter the only thing I'll need to worry about?

 

[remy_martian]

Depends on the climate where you live, assuming you can gently charge overnight.

 

[War-Daddi]

I'm in the south so it does get toasty, that why I ask, if it's too much I have my pick of cooling options, figured I'd ask.