[rwaudio]

After buying a couple of Porsche 944's I became a member of rennlist.com since it's a great source for help in all things mechanical and electrical to do with a Porsche (I hadn't exactly made it public that I was converting a Porsche to electric). This evening I came across a thread where someone had linked to my garage page on here where I have info about the car and my performance goals. Most of the comments were pure negative saying an electric Porsche was the stupidest thing in the world, that an electric porsche could never do 0-60 in 5 seconds and that I'd be lucky an electric Porsche could do 0-60... once. There were a few supporters, and the odd one that simply thought it was cool but the general tone of the thread was negative (not the initial poster, his comment was skeptical but interested). Since I've been a member there for a few months I commented that it was my 944 and the goals are real etc, there hasn't been another negative comment, only a few supporters with kind comments.

I'm just curious what other people run into on other forums mainly the type of forum that is dedicated to a certain brand or model of car? Do you run into the guys who think you are doing brand "x" some kind of injustice by converting their gas guzzling flagship into an eco friendly "electric" car?

 

[electrabishi]

After buying a couple of Porsche 944's I became a member of rennlist.com since it's a great source for help in all things mechanical and electrical to do with a Porsche (I hadn't exactly made it public that I was converting a Porsche to electric). This evening I came across a thread where someone had linked to my garage page on here where I have info about the car and my performance goals. Most of the comments were pure negative saying an electric Porsche was the stupidest thing in the world, that an electric porsche could never do 0-60 in 5 seconds and that I'd be lucky an electric Porsche could do 0-60... once. There were a few supporters, and the odd one that simply thought it was cool but the general tone of the thread was negative (not the initial poster, his comment was skeptical but interested). Since I've been a member there for a few months I commented that it was my 944 and the goals are real etc, there hasn't been another negative comment, only a few supporters with kind comments.

I'm just curious what other people run into on other forums mainly the type of forum that is dedicated to a certain brand or model of car? Do you run into the guys who think you are doing brand "x" some kind of injustice by converting their gas guzzling flagship into an eco friendly "electric" car?

I got a few haters on the FordPinto.com forum, from one or two with really fast Pinto's (ones that would put any Porsche owner to shame) but the vast majority thought it was cool doing an electric Pinto. I got lots of support throughout the project and kept them all posted of the build status. I mean anything that takes the exploding gas tank out thereby making it safer seems to be cool in many Pinto owners eyes. Also too a Pinto was the heart of many family households back in that day. On other than the Pinto forum I would always get statements like "oh cool, I had a Pinto in college", or "a Pinto was my first car", or "my family had a Pinto and I grew up in the back seat". But I think there too many realized the safety improvement by taking out the exploding gas tank and putting in the batteries. But for the most part, if you have a 12 second or faster electric that can do 0-60 mph in under 4 seconds.... there's not a whole lot most haters can now is there?

Mike

 

[sjc]

I've posted a few things over on PelicanParts.com (a great Porsche resource site) about my in-process 911 conversion---mostly asking questions about part fits or buying used parts.

So far, I've heard nothing negative. Maybe because I made it clear I wasn't sacrificing a running Porsche (my car came as a glider). Not much positive, either, mostly just factual responses.

 

[etischer]

Ive had a great response from the VW crowd. I got about 100 pats on the back, and Passat of the Month =)

http://www.passatworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=291386

Kinda funny, they have a mod thread where people post their new rims, or boost gauge pics. I posted pics of my EV conversion, and nobody said a word for like a week.

 

[david85]

No negative comments from my end either. I mention it once in a while on loosely related topics on the two other main forums I spend most of my time on. FordTrucks.com and oilburners.net.

Both are for older ford diesel trucks (my main vehicle is an 86 F250 diesel). It's about as red neck as you can get so I fit in there fairly well, but they seem to be not entirely weirded out by my project. I get the odd question very rarely, but most are more interested in how I can get over 24 MPG out of a 24 year old 6000lb pickup.

When I sought out a saturn forum specifically to learn about the 96 that I bought for conversion, I didn't get any negative comments there either. Some members even came over here to see my build thread and still check in once in a while. So far they are all very supportive.

When I was still considering a toyota corolla, I registered on a yota forum and started asking questions explaining my goals. Again, not negative reviews or rude comments.

It seems to get a little tricky with more - shall we say........"cool" or muscle/classic cars?

If I were to take a 1969 mustang mach 1 and convert that to electric, I'm sure I might get some flack for that. An original corvette stingray, or 1956 bellair. Not that I could afford something like that anyway, but just saying, some cars are an object of worship more than others and considered more sacred.

Of course there is also the possibility that some simply shoot from the hip and reject novel ideas out of hand. I haven't experienced any of that first hand, but it doesn't surprise me when it does happen.

 

[electromet]

I frequent metropolitan.freeforums.org, and the response has been positive. I've had inquiries about the conversion process from a couple of interested posters. It's a pretty laid-back group of enthusiasts.

 

[rwaudio]

No negative comments from my end either. I mention it once in a while on loosely related topics on the two other main forums I spend most of my time on. FordTrucks.com and oilburners.net.

Both are for older ford diesel trucks (my main vehicle is an 86 F250 diesel). It's about as red neck as you can get so I fit in there fairly well, but they seem to be not entirely weirded out by my project. I get the odd question very rarely, but most are more interested in how I can get over 24 MPG out of a 24 year old 6000lb pickup.

When I sought out a saturn forum specifically to learn about the 96 that I bought for conversion, I didn't get any negative comments there either. Some members even came over here to see my build thread and still check in once in a while. So far they are all very supportive.

When I was still considering a toyota corolla, I registered on a yota forum and started asking questions explaining my goals. Again, not negative reviews or rude comments.

It seems to get a little tricky with more - shall we say........"cool" or muscle/classic cars?

If I were to take a 1969 mustang mach 1 and convert that to electric, I'm sure I might get some flack for that. An original corvette stingray, or 1956 bellair. Not that I could afford something like that anyway, but just saying, some cars are an object of worship more than others and considered more sacred.

Of course there is also the possibility that some simply shoot from the hip and reject novel ideas out of hand. I haven't experienced any of that first hand, but it doesn't surprise me when it does happen.

I had the same type of response from people in the threads that I had created asking for help, when I asked questions all responses were positive and interested. However this thread was the type where someone came across my car and posts it up for everyone to see. It seems easier to make fun of something without the owner/builder present.

For your amusement this is the thread, I'm Robin W. on that forum.
http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/showthread.php?t=596806&referrerid=87052

 

[JRP3]

I got positive support for my AMPhibian conversion on 6x6world. Since the Fiero is one of the most often converted vehicles there weren't too many negatives on Pennocks Fiero forum either, though there wasn't much interest once I got beyond the planning stages. Probably because I took so long and wasn't exactly doing a high performance conversion

 

[Woodsmith]

I got mostly negative responses from the UK MR2 owners club. The few positive responses came from those local enough to potentially meet me in real life.
The rest of the positive interest came when I decided to abandon the project, then they started to say 'that's a shame, would have been good to see it.'.
TBH, I didn't share the mentality of spending more time polishing the car then driving it or videoing myself driving through tunnels or driving full throttle everywhere.

 

[RE Farmer]

I haven't been on an MG forum (though maybe I should check one out) b/c I've worked on Brit cars for decades. However, many people I talked I've to about my conversion have chastised me for "ruining" a classic car. At least it will be reliable.

 

[PatricioIN]

I joined teamzx2 when I started my conversion for general zx2 info. this is a forum with mostly testosterone laden nerds (I mean, seriously, these are guys who spend thousands to upgrade an Escort). So MANY of the comments were very negative, with the usual eye rolling talk about "payback period", short range, coal burning power plant pollution, etc.... But for every guy who knocked the conversion, there was another one (or two) right after him telling them to shut up since it was my money and my car. Overall, I'd guess it was 60% positive and 40% negative. But man, the haters are just that.. nasty, hateful people.

Honestly, like anything else on the net, I firmly believe the anonymity of the net allows those who'd never dare look at a person sideways in person to be just as big, bad and hateful as they've always wanted to be! It's safe and they can feel like a badass (when they're really just scared little kids inside.)

Here's a link to the thread in teamzx2: http://teamzx2.com/threads/7314-New-ZX2-owner-will-convert-it-to-electric!!

When a local TV station did a news story on my EV, and posted it online with the video, it generated over 45 pages of comments! A lot of them were nasty... so it goes in America today: http://www.theindychannel.com/news/19633781/detail.html

 

[PatricioIN]

lol.. on that note, I have to give a shout out the supporters! This thread made me go back and read some of those comments left and I found this:

"We need more people like Patrick Roth in this world. People who aren't lazy. People to get up and do something instead of sitting around complaining about whatever the complaint of the day is. He is making a difference. We all should in some way."

Hey, at least some people are positive!!

 

[IamIan]

My experience has been forums that favor the DIYer , and the technical minded members, have always seemed to be supportive and helpful or any EV conversion or mod.

On the other hand... those forums who generally do not engage in DIY , or technical discussion have been against it.

Of course there will always be those people who just seemed to feel defensive , or threatened... and bash others in response.

 

[toddshotrods]

I was surprised to receive a very positive response for the Inhaler on a traditional (specifically Pro Touring style) hot rod forum. These guys are red white & blue-blooded American muscle car enthusiasts, many of which spend a LOT of money building their cars. The bigger and badder and louder the engine, the better, so I was expecting to get beat down with a camshaft and thrown out back for the crows to finish off. They actually like it!

Of course, it doesn't hurt that I came in the door stating that I was seeking 500hp/1000lb-ft in a 1200lb package! I really made it clear that my goal is to build a hot rod, not a green machine, and they seemed to understand and appreciate that fact. It'll be interesting to see how they respond when I get serious with the electric powertrain.

 

[david85]

Ian got me thinking now (he has that affect on me)


Of all you folks that got negative reviews, what was the crowd generally like? Were they mostly about putting "bolt on" mods like body kits, "aftermarket" mufflers and plug in tuners, or did they get into really in depth rebuilding of the cars in question? (as in transmission or engine overhaul)

I'm thinking the age group might also play a role. Guys in their late teens to to mid 20s can be pretty arrogant sometimes.....especially the ones in their twenties.

 

[JRoque]

Hi. I joined the VW forum at vwvortex.com. I did mention I was converting to electric but didn't get much of a reaction. I later came across a thread of others commenting about the recent Europe distance record for an electric car and most everyone was very enthusiastic about it. I guess it's true that us VW owners are good spirited hippies deep down inside.

JR

 

[IamIan]

Ian got me thinking now (he has that affect on me)

ditto

Of all you folks that got negative reviews, what was the crowd generally like? Were they mostly about putting "bolt on" mods like body kits, "aftermarket" mufflers and plug in tuners, or did they get into really in depth rebuilding of the cars in question? (as in transmission or engine overhaul)

I'm thinking the age group might also play a role. Guys in their late teens to to mid 20s can be pretty arrogant sometimes.....especially the ones in their twenties.

Maybe it has just been my experience ... but ... I have never meet a person toward the upper ends of in depth technical knowledge and detail who has ever been negative / of hurtful of BEV conversions and mods discussions.

Of course they may have some constructive suggestions and might disagree with some things ... but the 'feel' of the interaction has always been more positive and helpful , than demeaning and negative.

Of course this does not include those people who just know enough to think they know everything ... it has been my experience those types , seem to be negative and bashing of everyone who isn't kissing their *&%^!.

 

[Woodsmith]

Of all you folks that got negative reviews, what was the crowd generally like? Were they mostly about putting "bolt on" mods like body kits, "aftermarket" mufflers and plug in tuners, or did they get into really in depth rebuilding of the cars in question? (as in transmission or engine overhaul)

Seems like it.
The negatives seem to be from those who were 'body kit and powder puff' modders. Those who were rebuilding engines and installing V6 and V8 conversions seemed more interested and were keen on the idea of huge torque.

However, most seemed to be concerned about the 'milk float' performance and lack of exhaust noise.

 

[toddshotrods]

...However, most seemed to be concerned about the 'milk float' performance and lack of exhaust noise.

...and limited range.

While I didn't receive any negative comments on my project, I did get one question about how much range it would have. I was still planning my "small" A123 pack then and the subject just died when I said 40-50 miles. I suspect they didn't like that at all, but they are pretty mature and didn't go negative on a project they seem to like over it. I did post that the prospective pack I am toying with now would pretty much double that, but still no response.

Even at 10-15mpg, these guys can fill their tanks repeatedly and they do really drive their really expensive hot rods, so that was to be expected. I think my saving grace was I pointed out from the beginning that the Inhaler is a street-legal race car, not a street car that can race, so as long as it's fast I'll get a pass on that one.

 

[JRP3]

I'm thinking the age group might also play a role. Guys in their late teens to to mid 20s can be pretty arrogant sometimes.....especially the ones in their twenties.

I think arrogance spans all age groups. Generally I've found younger people to be more responsive, and people who fear change, usually older, less so.
Example (Turn your speakers down if you're in public)