Posts by dlaroche1
1 - 15 of 36 Posts
👍Lots of batteries to hold her down I’m sure.
Sticking with vw parts. Just literally replacing everything. Urethane bushings, big front and rear sway bars etc. also added front and rear truss bars. the McPherson strut set up seems to work really well on these.That's a lot of rubber, and it looks like a solid car to work with.
By "up to date", do you mean "completely replaced with something unrelated to the Beetle", or just "new shocks and bushings", or something in between? I see CV joints (a good start), but while detail is hard to see what is there looks like original Super Beetle semi-trailing arms (and struts in the front).
What are your thoughts on a Tesla type pack in the floor? The seats are up on 4” pedestals as it is. Cut out the tunnel and box everything in.
Two in my lap. Four in the wife’s lap and six on the roof. Any other questions? 🤣
Wow the negativity is strong in this group. I said from the beginning I’m building a toy not an electric 1000 mile range yugo with a top speed of 35 to carry the kids to kindergarten. I’m done with that phase. Thought y’all would appreciate something different. I definitely walk to different beat. guess I’m on my own here.
Thank you this Brian. As stated this is going to be a toy. I’m just looking for maximum performance and I’ll adjust the range to suit. I can’t go crazy and spend $25k on batteries but I’m not afraid to buy what I need to make it what I want it to be. Obviously I won’t be able to put the torque from this Tesla sport ldu to the ground right off the line and I’m not trying. Nothing would make me happier than to need new rear tires after a long weekend. 😀 I’m really here because I just don’t know what direction to go. I like the idea of liquid cooling but that comes with a cost mostly added weight that being said I also want to be able to make the 20 mile drive into town mostly open road 55mph, have some fun and come home. I certainly could charge in town if needed. ThanksAmong non-competition automotive applications, the place where high power output relative to battery size (or energy capacity) is needed is in hybrids: they need to put out enough power to drive the vehicle, despite being small.
When the energy capacity required is really small (a classic hybrid that can only move a few blocks on the battery alone) nickel metal-hydride (NiMH) is still viable - Toyota still uses it quite successfully.
When more energy is required, for plug-in hybrids (and the logic would apply to short-range EVs), lithium-ion is used, but in specific electrode chemistries for power density (at the expense of energy density) and with sufficient cooling that it survives. That is a reason for the popularity of Chevrolet Volt batteries in relatively high-performance DIY conversions: in addition to being plentiful, and having been around for a while, a 16 kWh Volt battery can put out 120 kW for at least 10 seconds at a time even by GM's conservative ratings. The LG Chem modules built for the Chrysler Pacifica have been popular as well: plug-in hybrid power capability, and while the Pacifica Hybrid is rare compared to the Volt, the modules (new) were sold by various suppliers. There are other plug-in hybrids, although none are as common as the Volt and none of their modules are as available as the Pacifica modules were.
When the supply of Pacifica modules was cut off, EV West apparently went looking for something else they can buy and found the JH3 modules. They have apparently found them suitable at high C-rates; my concern is that this is not endorsed by LG Chem and this isn't even the ideal choice from among the ESS product line for high discharge rate. Maybe they'll work at repeated sustained high discharge rate, but I'll bet EV West won't warranty them for that.
The other solution is simply to use a big battery. Any cell technology is limited in its discharge rate relative to its capacity, so if you double the battery size you get double the power capability, even though you don't need the energy and don't want the weight or bulk. It's not a coincidence that when two Tesla models have the same motors, if one has higher rated power it also has a bigger battery. You might hope for a Model 3 Performance with the less expensive and lighter standard-size battery, but they know that won't work so they won't sell it to you (and they have more mercenary reasons as well, of course
There have also been companies offering high-power cells for drag racing applications. Maybe they are still operating; they're certainly not relevant to reasonable street-driven EVs.
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