[Draig005]

Hello guys i am new to this forum and a newbie in EV
I wanted to convert my jeep to electric with good enough range so i am looking for guidance on what to opt for, i was thinking of going for a 40kw Pmac motor and rear wheel drive(not going off-road) but i am really confused and in a tight budget and i am trying to build it during my time off of college can you please suggest me some good options i can go for and the battery capacity required for the same
Thank you

 

[gregski]

what kind of Jeep? we need to know as there is a big difference in terms of space for a battery pack on a Wrangler vs a Cherokee for example

 

[Draig005]

Ohh its mahindra thar, it looks similar to wrangler but it has a smaller engine 85 hp nearly 1.2-1.4ton weight i think , proportion wise it might be near similar to jeep wrangler,

 

[gregski]

mahindra thar

GOOGLING ha ha, ok you really need to learn how to provide more detail, I am not trying to be rude, so upload a pic when ever you can. again I am not trying to be a jerk but it appears those jeeps came as two door or four door, that makes a huge difference again for room for batteries, and keep in mind YES every car can be converted to electric it is just a matter of how hard and expensive or how easy and affordable of a project do you want, know what I mean.

 

[Draig005]

This is some photos for reference ,i will try searching for dimensions in their company website

 

[Draig005]

I found these dimensions online
Dimensions & Capacity
Length (mm)
3760
Width (mm)
1640
Height (mm)
1904
Seating Capacity
7
Ground Clearance Unladen (mm)
187
Wheel Base (mm)
2430
Front Tread (mm)
1314
Rear Tread (mm)
1295

 

[gregski]

AWESOME, good job, that totally helps, good looking rig, and on the plus side I think that it is what we would consider "light" as in not heavy. On the negative side it has the aero dynamics of a brick, ha ha, but that's ok we are not going for a land speed record here. According to the wiki I will assume it is a manual transmission so that's good, but it is also four wheel drive which is bad. I know you want to make it just rear wheel dive I just don't know if you can keep the same transmission or if you will need a 2WD transmission. I assume you want to have a transmission and not do a direct drive (Motor+Drive Shaft+ Differential only) I think that motor is DC (direct current) correct? if direct current than that's easier to do than an AC motor which requires an Inverter/Converter blah blah blah

this could work,
G

 

[Draig005]

The one i am working with is 2wd, so i was trying to work around if i should keep the transmission or not,

 

[gregski]

here is an example of a direct drive setup using a Nissan Leaf motor, I am not saying you should do it this way, it is just an option an idea for you, this guy changed the rear gear ration to like 7:1 to make it work more better, I am sharing this with you all because I just love how creative people are and how there are more than 7 ways to skin a cat (forgive me george, ha ha)

george thecat

1967 Ford Econoline electric conversion with Nissan Leaf parts #2

 

[Draig005]

Thanks for the info i will be looking into it really appreciate it

 

[gregski]

what do you mean by

good enough range

again be as specific as you can, how many miles is your goal?

 

[Draig005]

200km atleast

 

[gregski]

The one i am working with is 2wd, so i was trying to work around if i should keep the transmission or not,

ah, awesome, keep it! good way to get reverse without having to spin the motor in the opposite direction, know what I mean? not to mention you will appreciate the gearing and you still get to shift gears a little bit to put the motor in its happy place in terms of RPMs you will find what RPMs it likes to spin at and what transmission gear is best for that

 

[gregski]

200km atleast

Wow, ok that is about 125 miles, which is a lot, very ambitious. First let me say I am not an expert just trying to help. So let's use the first generation Nissan Leaf 2011-12 battery pack as an exmple, that big ol' heavy thing is 24 kWh and offers 73 mile range (117 km) and that's in a much more aero dynamic car with regenerative breaking, so lets assume it would do half of what you need in your Jeep. looks like you may need one of these trailers to carry the other one, ha ha jk

 

[gregski]

I see two primary challenges for you:

1. Connecting the motor to the manual transmission

2. Fitting a large enough battery pack

lets attack these one at a time

 

[gregski]

i was thinking of going for a 40kw Pmac motor and rear wheel drive

I would let an existing adapter plate dictate my motor choice, in other words see who makes an adapter plate for that transmission if anyone here's one from Electric Motor Sport

Jeep 2.5L / 4.0L / 4.2L Motor Adapter w/ Hub & Hardware for 9" Motors

it will look something like this

 

[brian_]

ah, awesome, keep it! good way to get reverse without having to spin the motor in the opposite direction, know what I mean?

But the plan from the first post has been to use an AC motor, so reverse is just a signal to the controller - "having to spin the motor in the opposite direction" is not a problem at all, and doesn't need a solution.

 

[brian_]

... see who makes an adapter plate for that transmission if anyone here's one from Electric Motor Sport

Jeep 2.5L / 4.0L / 4.2L Motor Adapter w/ Hub & Hardware for 9" Motors
View attachment 123659
it will look something like this

Those adapters at ElectricMotorsport probably come from CanEV, judging from the style and colour. You can just look at the CanEV website, and have access to all of the supporting documents without having create an account and log in (as ElectricMotorsport makes you do, as if those documents are some valuable property of theirs).

 

[brian_]

The Thar (and Roxor in North America) is basically a mildly updated version of a copy of a 1947 Jeep CJ... in case anyone familiar with Jeeps wants a basis for comparison. Wranglers of the last few decades have been increasing in size with every generation, and have become much larger than this.

If keeping the original transmission...
There won't be an adapter intended for replacing this engine, but there may be one which works because it fits the transmission. If the transmission make and model is known, or at least what other engines common in North America might fit it, it would be easier to find a matching adapter from a North American supplier. I have no idea what adapters are available in other parts of the world, but I would guess that they are often custom-made.

 

[gregski]

But the plan from the first post has been to use an AC motor, so reverse is just a signal to the controller - "having to spin the motor in the opposite direction" is not a problem at all, and doesn't need a solution.

so how is that going to work, say he needs to back out of a parking spot, he's parked so the trans is in Neutral, are you saying put it in 1st gear then reach over to the dash and press some button or flip some switch that commands the motor to spin in the opposite direction, I am not trying to be a smart @ss I am just playing this out in my head, if so then he might as well just put it in Reverse to begin with, is all I am saying, let me know if I am missing something