Hi,
I'm planning on converting my own EV, but I need a little help
Basically, rather than doing the usual motor replacement, I'll be using in-wheel motors (2 of them), simply because I won't need a gearbox, transmission etc, so less loss, and less weight (in my wallet too ^^), plus I can use the freed space for the batteries, rather than waste trunk space.
So far I've found (the only?) three wheel motors manufacturers...
PML : they make a very powerful motor, and have made their own conversion to showcase it. It's actually a hybrid (with a go-cart engine used as a generator). It's a 4-wheel drive mini, does 0-100kph in 4.5s, has a top speed of 240kph, and over 640bhp. Problem is, the motors haven't entered production yet, so they cost £9k apiece, plus £4k for a 2-wheel controller...Let's say it's a little over budget
TM4 also make "just" one motor, and have no real pictures or applications, so I suppose they haven't entered production either...But the big advantage of these is the mechanical brakes (which are the minimum requirement if I hop to make the car street-legal)
the last one I found is e-traction. Their "TheWheel" looks very promising, and they've already made quite a few EVs (not hybrids) with them, plus they're based in Europe, so that means less shipping fees if I get those
Anywho, does anyone know anything about these (or just wheelmotors in general)?
And what kind of batteries would be best? I won't have an infinite budget, but I still need something efficient . I was thinking of Li-Ion, or maybe even that new ultracapacitor battery that's supposedly going to be 10 times as efficient as lead-acid, at half the cost. It should be out sometime before the end of the year I think (though I can't find much detailed info) EDIT - I can rule out lithium batteries. I just read that they can explode if crashed...I was going to put them under the hood, so it's probably better to go with another type of battery
Any suggestions?
btw, I'll probably be converting something rather big (as in Dodge Caravan -big), because I want to be able to transport alot of people (and have space for skis)
Thanks in advance,
Craig
I'm planning on converting my own EV, but I need a little help
Basically, rather than doing the usual motor replacement, I'll be using in-wheel motors (2 of them), simply because I won't need a gearbox, transmission etc, so less loss, and less weight (in my wallet too ^^), plus I can use the freed space for the batteries, rather than waste trunk space.
So far I've found (the only?) three wheel motors manufacturers...
PML : they make a very powerful motor, and have made their own conversion to showcase it. It's actually a hybrid (with a go-cart engine used as a generator). It's a 4-wheel drive mini, does 0-100kph in 4.5s, has a top speed of 240kph, and over 640bhp. Problem is, the motors haven't entered production yet, so they cost £9k apiece, plus £4k for a 2-wheel controller...Let's say it's a little over budget
TM4 also make "just" one motor, and have no real pictures or applications, so I suppose they haven't entered production either...But the big advantage of these is the mechanical brakes (which are the minimum requirement if I hop to make the car street-legal)
the last one I found is e-traction. Their "TheWheel" looks very promising, and they've already made quite a few EVs (not hybrids) with them, plus they're based in Europe, so that means less shipping fees if I get those
Anywho, does anyone know anything about these (or just wheelmotors in general)?
And what kind of batteries would be best? I won't have an infinite budget, but I still need something efficient . I was thinking of Li-Ion, or maybe even that new ultracapacitor battery that's supposedly going to be 10 times as efficient as lead-acid, at half the cost. It should be out sometime before the end of the year I think (though I can't find much detailed info) EDIT - I can rule out lithium batteries. I just read that they can explode if crashed...I was going to put them under the hood, so it's probably better to go with another type of battery
btw, I'll probably be converting something rather big (as in Dodge Caravan -big), because I want to be able to transport alot of people (and have space for skis)
Thanks in advance,
Craig