That's awesome! I LOVE my electric. One thing to consider though, and I don't know ALL the pros/cons but if you'll use 12V batteries and jack up the pack voltage, there are benefits to that. I do recall someone who used 12V batteries in a car like yours with tight space and got pretty good range from it.
Higher voltage = less amperage. Less amperage = smaller wire. It also means the pack will be able to provide more power since it is delivering less amperage. Read about Peukert effect which you likely already know about. Going from 6V to 12V you double the watts (power) delivered for a given current flow (amps). So from 8 to 12 you'll get 50% more power per amp. Formulas are below to calculate this.
You will benefit from two electrical formulas if you will understand them well. Watts = Volts X Amps. So you can see higher volts will deliver more watts for a given amp. 12V at 1A = 12W. [email protected]=6W. And all that means less Peukert loses.
The other formula is Volts = Amps X Resistance. So if you know the Voltage and Amps you can divide it to find the resistance. For voltage loses in wire, you can calculate it Vloss = Amps X wire length X ohms of resistance per foot.
Good luck and I reiterate, go with as high a voltage as you can while not exceeding the device requirements (controller, DC-DC etc). I think you'll be pleased with the results.
Another tip. Reduce weight wherever you can. I figured on my S10, each pound requires about .1watt to move. So every 10 lbs you can eliminate will reduce a watt per mile. Use Allow wheels and narrow tires, aluminum battery racks if you can, if you can learn to do carbon fiber, it's a lot like doing fiberglass but much stronger. Aluminum bolts will help in non critical fastening situations. Get a CF hood or other body parts. Use aluminum wire, it weighs a boatload less than copper but go a size larger than you would with copper. Got to go but I may add more later.
Higher voltage = less amperage. Less amperage = smaller wire. It also means the pack will be able to provide more power since it is delivering less amperage. Read about Peukert effect which you likely already know about. Going from 6V to 12V you double the watts (power) delivered for a given current flow (amps). So from 8 to 12 you'll get 50% more power per amp. Formulas are below to calculate this.
You will benefit from two electrical formulas if you will understand them well. Watts = Volts X Amps. So you can see higher volts will deliver more watts for a given amp. 12V at 1A = 12W. [email protected]=6W. And all that means less Peukert loses.
The other formula is Volts = Amps X Resistance. So if you know the Voltage and Amps you can divide it to find the resistance. For voltage loses in wire, you can calculate it Vloss = Amps X wire length X ohms of resistance per foot.
Good luck and I reiterate, go with as high a voltage as you can while not exceeding the device requirements (controller, DC-DC etc). I think you'll be pleased with the results.
Another tip. Reduce weight wherever you can. I figured on my S10, each pound requires about .1watt to move. So every 10 lbs you can eliminate will reduce a watt per mile. Use Allow wheels and narrow tires, aluminum battery racks if you can, if you can learn to do carbon fiber, it's a lot like doing fiberglass but much stronger. Aluminum bolts will help in non critical fastening situations. Get a CF hood or other body parts. Use aluminum wire, it weighs a boatload less than copper but go a size larger than you would with copper. Got to go but I may add more later.