[gunitd]

Hello to all and thanks for allowing me to fufill my wants to try and make a positive impact on earth that we all share...here is what i wanna know.....I want to make an electric car with the following specs

Goes about 200 miles
top speed of 100 miles an hour (maybe)


not many want's but here is what i am trying to do. I will buy a flood damaged car (not too bad but enough to get the shell) and then convert it. i need help and advice i really want to do this

 

[evmetro]

With a super light weight chassis and $20,000+ worth of lithium, we can probably get you there. If you surf DIY conversions that people have done on this site and Evalbum, you may notice that nobody is building 200 mile range vehicles. This does not mean that it can not be done, but it sure gets expensive to pay off mother nature.

 

[dougingraham]

I want to make an electric car with the following specs

Goes about 200 miles
top speed of 100 miles an hour (maybe)

The 100 miles per hour as a goal is not too difficult. Make sure you start with a car that could do this safely with the internal combustion engine.

The 200 mile range is a more difficult task. Range goes down as you add weight. So you can't just keep adding more batteries to increase the range. The usable range for Lead Acid is about 15 miles. This is not the day one range but the distance you can go when they are about half done. If you double the weight of the batteries you don't double the distance you can travel. The sweet spot for LiFePo4 is about 60 miles on a conversion. You can push this up to about 100 miles without imparting too much weight penalty. When doubling to 200 miles you tend to run into both weight and space issues. This is where Tesla has an advantage in that they planned the car around the battery. A conversion does not have this. You will spend a lot of money on batteries to get to 200 miles. Even if it scaled directly with dollars spent you will be looking at something over $30000 for just the batteries. I thought about pulling a range extending trailer to get to 350 miles total. Turns out this is about $60k in just batteries to get there not counting what is already in the car. So not at all practical.

 

[PThompson509]

I suspect the pack will need to be around 50 to 60kwh, as my pack is 22kwh and I have a solid freeway range of 70 miles. This will need to be researched a bit more, but that is my guesstimate.

Doable, but expensive (with current technology).

Cheers!

 

[gunitd]

i am so happy that you guys are really answering my question and what it is i am trying to accomplish. 200 miles does seem pretty far when in reality i only travel about 50 miles a day so something to the affect of 75 or even a hundred would be pretty good actually. my plan is to get like a luxury electric car i was going to purchase a salvage luxury car from the following

Jaguar XJ (new model)
Hyundai Eqqus
Cadillac CTS
Jaguar XF
VW CC


those care are great just the way they are and yet i wanna make them electric

any help and advice will be fine

 

[rtz]

Well it's real simple. The battery box is the majority of the work and project. The motor/inverter/charger are just bolt in for the most part.

Get a car. Get your batteries. Build your boxes. Your almost done.

 

[gunitd]

could i place batteries in the hood area and trunk of the car......i wanna get the best range as possible....speed isn't the most important thing as style is (so that i can get peoples attention of electic cars) and range

 

[rtz]

Those will be good locations; easiest, and the most space. Browse here to see examples and ideas:

http://evalbum.com/

These may be the best batteries out at the moment?

http://store.evtv.me/products.php?cat=10

Maybe a better price can be had dealing directly with the factory; though one then has to deal with shipping. Group buy or order a container load and then liquidate the excess stock at cost to get a better unit price(not sure how shipping would factor in though..)

http://en.calb.cn/

These are priced good and free shipping till the end of the month! I would still like to see them go for less then $1/Ah though.

http://www.balqon.com/

 

[gunitd]

well i am just starting this revolution so i am literally in my infancy but i don't feel the need to buy a 80000 car when i can do the same thing for far less...for 80000 i can build me about three cars to apply to my needs

Car
Suv
Roadster

so i will need all blessings and advice you can give me and also what car would u like for me to do from the choices here

Jaguar XJ
Jaguar XF
VW CC
Hyundai Genesis
Cadillac CTS
Mercedes Benz CLS
BMW 645

 

[rtz]

Out of that list; decide if you are going to run a transmission or not. If so; pick a car that you can deal with the transmission. Will it be a manual transmission(easiest)? Or will you run the auto with the torque converter and "idle" the motor for transmission fluid pressure? Or will you run no converter and add an auxiliary pump instead?

Now it seems your car decision is up to which one you can deal with the transmission.

 

[gunitd]

I am glad to have you guys that answer this very quickly. I am sorry in advance if my lack of education frustrates anyone. my intention with this project is to make it as seamless as possible. so if it's easier to keep the transmission then i will keep it. I wanted to get the best of both worlds get a good car for cheap and then electrify it while saving the enviorment. but if i am keeping the transmission, i will have to look at those things again so please keep the notes and knowledge coming

 

[gunitd]

which way is easier.....the thing is i am a novice on this but i am a fast learner. i will do it for all people who can believe. I would assume that keeping the transmission there will be easier and less work to take down. now i will only need to remove the engine. so what do u think i can do now since i will keep it.. the plan is to make the car totally look like it originally did but just without the car problems.

 

[rtz]

Easiest is with a manual transmission. Second easiest is to use the torque converter and get a motor/inverter setup that will allow you to "idle" the motor so the transmission will function correctly on take off.

If you decide on a DC setup; this controller will let it idle:

http://www.evnetics.com/evnetics-products/soliton-detailed-specifications/

AC can idle with this:

http://www.evwest.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=1&products_id=103

This company builds good adapter plates:

http://www.canev.com/adapters.php

Another option:

http://rebirthauto.com/product-category/drive-systems/motor-adapters/

 

[gunitd]

Easiest is with a manual transmission. Second easiest is to use the torque converter and get a motor/inverter setup that will allow you to "idle" the motor so the transmission will function correctly on take off.






that's what i am going to do. i am gonna follow you guys advice step for step so that i can achieve it...i am really leaning towards the jaguar xf or vw cc. will all the electronics will still work once this is hooked up.

 

[evmetro]

Be sure to plan the entire build before you buy anything. Since it is your first build, you could post the entire plan here so we can pick it apart and recommend changes. For your choice of vehicle, you should look at weight and drag more than anything else if you are shooting for 200 miles of range.

 

[gunitd]

Alright I been searching high and low to actually home in and make a good decision, I have two lists....One that is called (what i really want) and one that i will settle for. again i will need all the help i can get, i wanna really drive it home and make it work for all people. i want it to be the blueprint. sorry about going off topic but it feels so good to be surrounded by people that wanna help u and such. so again here is what i need from your guys that i know u can share.....I also think i changed my mind on the driving range...here is what i would like below

close to 100 MPH

150 miles on the charge.

 

[onegreenev]

Both are doable but the later is more expensive. For range you need batteries, lots of them. For power and speed you need amperage and voltage. The more you have the better. Also it depends upon why you need 100mph. Do you need it to go 100mph real fast or to do 100mph but you will actually never really use it?

 

[gunitd]

It would be one of those can do it but hope to never use it type 100mph you know just to be able to get on the highway with no studder

 

[PThompson509]

For the 150 mile range - what speed? For example, with my 914, I can drive 70 miles at freeway speed (70 mph). If I'm driving city speeds, the range goes over 100 miles.

BTW, 100 mph is a good value to have for getting on freeways and getting around trucks/buses. The Jaguar would have no trouble with that.

 

[onegreenev]

For example, with my 914, I can drive 70 miles at freeway speed (70 mph).

What sized pack? What motor/controller setup? I am planning my 73 914 conversion and plan to use the new HPEVS AC-75 motor with the 144 volt controller. I am looking at 180ah cells for this build.

Your distance seems rather good for 70mph. I say that because my Leaf can't do 70mph for very long. No chance To get 70 miles at those speeds.