SwiftE

I'm getting fairly well along on conversion of a 2001 Suzuki Swift so thought I would start working on a conversion thread. First a summary of the goals:
1) 50 mile (83 km) range at 55 mph (92 km/h) and 70% DoD
2) Around $20k total conversion cost including donor
3) AC motor for electric braking
4) Zero to 60 mph (100 km/h) in < 12 seconds plus shifting time
5) Less than 1C current draw at 60 mph
6) Less than 3C current draw during max acceleration
7) Complete conversion in about 3 months

Goal (1) pretty much meant lithium cells or a "lead sled" pickup. I decided on lithium hoping they really do last 3000 cycles at 70% DoD, so cost/mile is not much different than sealed lead acid cells (didn't want to deal with floodies). Lithium and goal (2) meant a light vehicle to lessen the required battery capacity to meet goal (1). Goals 2, 3, and 4 are difficult to meet together but I think the motor/controller I selected will do it. The light vehicle permits meeting goals (5) and (6) without too large Ah cells, so there is some chance of fitting them in the small vehicle. Goal (7) meant no custom vehicle, buy a donor and convert it.

So I ended up with:
"Donor":2001 Suzuki Swift, 1895 lb (861 kg) curb weight, 2624 lb (1193 kg) GVW, 1.3 liter ICE 79 H.P. peak at 6000 rpm, peak torque 70 lb-ft at 3000 rpm. Interior and exterior in very good condition.

Motor/controller: HPGC AC50/Curtis 1238-7501, 90 lb-ft max torque out to 3000 rpm, 51 peak H.P. at 3200 rpm with 96V pack sagging to 85V, 15 H.P. continuous. I was told 17 H.P. continous by email from HPGC, so 15 is likely conservative.

Batteries: 36 SkyEnergy 180Ah cells purchased from evcomponents. The Curtis is nominally 96V max, but shutdown is at 130V. Fully charged cell voltage is 3.6V per SE spec, or 129.6V, but I plan to charge them to around 3.45V to leave some room for regen.

Charger: Manzanita PFC30, about 35A max at 240V.

DC/DC converter: No name from Cloud Electric, 30A

Estimated performance: These numbers are from a spreadsheet I created which is available at electricnevada.org under "evcalculator". Note the spreadsheet uses 96V dynomometer data for this motor. I modified it to estimate performance with the higher pack voltage, 115V nominal.

Range at 55 mph: 50 miles (83 km)
Zero to 60 mph in about 13 seconds plus shifting time, so maybe 16-17 seconds?
150A current draw at 60 mph (0.83C)
550A max current draw during acceleration (3.06C)
Max torque 90 lb-ft out to about 3500 rpm
Peak 60 H.P. approximately

Some photos:

Main battery box installed and painted (16 gauge steel), wheel well behind it:

Decking installed around main box. Box lid open with carpet pulled up:

Insulation and most of the cells installed in the main box along with two 400A fuses which divide the 36 cells into 3 groups. That is a battery heater where a group of 3 cells is missing. Cells are clamped in groups of 3, 5, and 6:

Lid closed and carpet (Home Depot 16$ for 6'x8') down. The line in the carpet is a photo artifact. The rear battery box sticking up out of the wheel well holds 8 cells (since been painted gray to match interior):

Front battery box (under hood) with 4 of 8 cells in place and battery heater visible on RHS. AC50 behind and below it, box for charging plug on the front of it:

Motor controller mounted on motor end mount bracket (1/4" steel) with 150 cfm axial fan (update: changed to 250 cfm), and aluminum shelf where the charger, electronics box, and DC/DC converter will mount:

Close up of motor on bracket showing about 5/16" space between controller and bracket for air flow from axial fan which blows through a 4.5" hole in the bracket:

All cells are now installed and I am finishing up wiring up the electronics box - main contactor, shunt, relays, potbox. Next up will be to pull the steering wheel and dash to install the heater core and TBS and Curtis gauges, then hook up the Voltblochers.