Has anyone built from scratch?

6351 Views 26 Replies 11 Participants Last post by Thumper, Feb 28, 2011

Lupinthief

Discussion Starter · Feb 27, 2011

Hi. I'm fairly new here and have been fascinated by the wisdom and information available here. I am, however, intrigued because there seem to be very few people building from scratch and those vehicles which are aren't usually for road use.

I reckon that if a car were build from scratch and some concessions were made to the necessities of weight, rolling resistance and aerodynamics, and one modified one's expectations of what the car could do (i.e. accept that there is limited boot space etc.) then the performance and range for a given elecrical setup could be significantly improved.

I've built a few vehicles and reckon (if using LiPos) that a 2-seater vehicle could come in well under 300kg without passengers, if not close to 200kg and have a CDA of under 0.2 if well designed.

Has anyone tried to build from scratch or have any advice on such a policy? There must be something I'm missing.

Thoughts and inspiration welcome

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nimblemotors

· #4 · Feb 27, 2011

building a car that proves a concept or wins a race means very little in the real world of 1-ton trucks, stop-n-go traffic, parking, freeways, 50mpg winds, rain, ice, snow, 16yr old drivers, 96 year old drivers, etc, etc. It isn't about whats POSSIBLE, it is about whats PRACTICAL and SAFE.

Lupinthief said:
Ok, well it started with Ford Greenpower, which was pretty basic. Then I got involved with solar cars at uni and built one which we got road legal (with certain restrictions) in the UK. Then we built this one to race in Australia (see below, white one). Seeing what we achieved and, moreover, what some of the more experienced teams were able to do with a 2kw continuous, 5kw max setup has convinced me that there is mileage in electric cars (although I remain unconvinced by solar). One team clocked 157kph and the winners in Australia averaged 100kph over 3000km on an average of about 1.6-1.8kw.

I take your points, these were expensive vehicles to build but I wouldn't be looking to do quite such a Hi-tech job and the whole solar aspect would be cut out. I'm quite happy to compromise on space, handling (to a degree) and safety (I already accept that if I crash I'm basically done for). Fortunately the UK makes it relatively easy to get home builds legal (my runabout is an ICE trike).

What I would be planning is a lightweight spaceframe chassis (probably alloy) with two hub motors driving rear wheels and a single front wheel. Looking for a total power of about 10-15kw if I can find motors with adequate starting torque. Encapsulate the whole thing in a balsa and GRP shell (because I can't afford Nomex or carbon and don't have the facilities for anything but a wet layup). The shape of the car is inspired by one built a few years ago by Bochum and was actually designed as a potential two seater (yellow, below)

Happy to answer any questions or offer any ehlp I can.

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nimblemotors

· #12 · Feb 28, 2011 (Edited)

that is hilarious, they do such a great job.

oh yeah, scratch built car, I suggest starting at the bottom, rather than the top of the automotive hobby,
build a go-cart before a F1 racecar, convert to an EV. start simple. My friend and I built three go carts before I was 16.
My first custom car I was 18 years old, swapped a complete Toyota drivetrain into a Anglia. This was after rebuilding my V8 engine twice
and a third time I put a stock motor in.. That Anglia was horrendous. Handled like crap,
I remember seeing the tires were low, filled them up to 30lbs, the car was scary as hellll, pulled over and let the air back out.

Ingot said:
Three-wheel systems are horrible; no offense, but they are. Not sure what everyone's fascination with them is, really.

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