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Big day today. First wheel spin and run of the Tesla drive unit in the E31.
https://youtu.be/YUNk_PIdp8E
https://youtu.be/YUNk_PIdp8E
Tesla Powered BMW E31 8 Series
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Congratulations, that is amazing! Love how quiet and smooth the drivetrain is
It is tidy, but the fit is only easy into rear-wheel drive vehicle with a trailing or semi-trailing arm rear suspension; the motor will interfere with the control arms or subframe of almost any multi-link or double-A-arm suspension not designed specifically to accommodate this drive unit. That design is obsolete now, but was standard practice for rear-engined vehicles (especially VW) and for a few decades of rear-drive front-engine cars with IRS... such as BMW, Mercedes, Datsun, Toyota, etc.
It seems inevitable that someone will do a Datsun 510 - because everything get tried with a 510 by someone - but good 510 bodies are rare (they are all over four decades old now) and they are in demand for use with the original drivetrain configuration.
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European Ford Granada has almost the same rear suspension design, i'm still thinking about converting mine... But i'm good at mechanics and fabrication, less talented in elecronics
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Disagree completely
The advantage of that design is that you only need mounting points for the cross beam
It would be a doddle fitting that in the back of almost any front or rear wheel drive car
All you need is lots of cutting discs and the correct attitude
That looks really nice. It also looks a lot like the back end of my Supra. Too bad my wife would be really angry if I went out and bought a Tesla drive unit and all the inverter bits after having spent so much on the wrecked Leaf. Guess I have to keep on the road I've laid out for myself.
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If all you need to cut out is some crossmember that's not bad (although more work than with semi-trailing arm setups like this older BMW), but when the cutting disks take off control arm mounts it's not quite a "doddle".
In a Model S the motor sits between suspension mounting points, but remember that this is a wide car; those points are closer together in a smaller car.
I don't think Kevin or others have found putting a Tesla drive unit in to VW van to be trivial, either; they're getting there, but had to cut vehicle structure to get it in... and that's one of the easy semi-trailing arm designs (although they're converting to an aftermarket double-A-arm design as well).
I'm putting a tesla drive unit in the back of a 1969 Jaguar XJ6. Im aware it will be complicated to fit and i need to add an upper control arm.
I think there are plenty of people facing this problem so soon enough solutions will abound, for now, a bit of positivity and can do attitude will have to do.
If i can get a good system for this, i think anyone can.
I think there are plenty of people facing this problem so soon enough solutions will abound, for now, a bit of positivity and can do attitude will have to do.
If i can get a good system for this, i think anyone can.
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On the prototype VW Bus we cut one chassis cross member. However, we have realised that this is unnecessary and the next version will bolt on without any cuts.
The VW Beetle requires no cuts and as a non-car person I'd say it's trivial to fit a Tesla drivetrain... indeed, it was much easier than removing the old ICE components
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That will be interesting!
If you have inboard brakes, this seems like the time to convert to outboard.
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First roll of the Tesla Powered Panzer (TPP) :
https://youtu.be/G3wpNJGIny0
https://youtu.be/G3wpNJGIny0
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Do you know the width of the motor? Did you measure prior to installation?
I am wondering if it might fit in the back of a Porsche 996 widebody. There is a lot of room between the subframes, and LOTS of room behind them. Even if it had to be mounted a little way back, and a little more angle on the CV joints.
The more recent rear-engine Porsches (since the 993, the first without semi-trailing arms) might be an unusually easy fit for a Tesla drive unit, among cars with multi-link rear suspensions, because they are already designed to clear a wide engine immediately behind the final drive housing.
Obviously, there's no crossmember right behind the axle line, but clearing the rear control arm inboard mounting points and their aluminum subframe is likely still a challenge.
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