[netdealer2009]

Hello everyone, I am new here and I am so happy that I found this forum. Anyway, I saw the famous documentary "Who killed the electric car?" after months of looking for electric vehicles.

Well, I am thinking to convert my old jetta into electric but my skills are, let's say, well, ahm, I have no skills, haha.

I was hoping on havin a 80 miles per charge of range, it is almost twice of what I need per day but I think that way is better.

So, I found this site where are 4 ebooks reviews but I stil don't know if that is a good idea, I subscribed to the newsletter and I saw the main topics and it looks pretty cool but I don't know if their complete or it is too expensive.

Can someone help on this please? the site is electric-carconversions.blogspot.com, has anyone buy an ebook on this topic?

is it helpful?

Well, thank you guys, I hope to read some anwers.

I'll read more on this amazing forum, it's so cool that I am not the only one willing electric cars.

Kind regards.

 

[mhud]

You sound like me eight months ago!

I read "Build Your Own Electric Vehicle" by Seth Leitman and Bob Brant. I also read "Convert It" by Michael P Brown and Shari Prange. I recommend you read the first one cover to cover before buying any parts for your car.

I had just about no skill before starting, and now I have slightly above no skill. At least I have a working car, though. It's a little clunky still but it can get me to work. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTPVtoxQfEE

It sounds like your project will be harder than mine. I was able to use a pre-assembled drivetrain because I used a beetle, which is relatively common for EV conversions. I'm not sure if the Jetta uses the same classic drivetrain as the older VWs, my guess is that it doesn't.

Also my range requirements were not high -- just 10 miles between charges. Anything over 30 miles you will definitely not want to use lead acid. Lithium is about the same cost over the long run, or even cheaper, but the cost is up front.

You are smart to want to plan for a higher range than you'll use. Any batteries will last much longer if you don't discharge them past 80% empty. (That's called DoD, Depth-of-Discharge).

 

[DavidDymaxion]

On the video: I love the sense of speed, and how your bug easily stayed ahead of the white truck and the diesel truck.

On books: The recommended books are good. There is alot of great stuff on the internet, too, like here and the EVDL (Electric Vehicle Discussion List). Google on "electric car conversion" and there are many blogs that are great.

You sound like me eight months ago!

I read "Build Your Own Electric Vehicle" by Seth Leitman and Bob Brant. I also read "Convert It" by Michael P Brown and Shari Prange. I recommend you read the first one cover to cover before buying any parts for your car.

I had just about no skill before starting, and now I have slightly above no skill. At least I have a working car, though. It's a little clunky still but it can get me to work. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTPVtoxQfEE

It sounds like your project will be harder than mine. I was able to use a pre-assembled drivetrain because I used a beetle, which is relatively common for EV conversions. I'm not sure if the Jetta uses the same classic drivetrain as the older VWs, my guess is that it doesn't.

Also my range requirements were not high -- just 10 miles between charges. Anything over 30 miles you will definitely not want to use lead acid. Lithium is about the same cost over the long run, or even cheaper, but the cost is up front.

You are smart to want to plan for a higher range than you'll use. Any batteries will last much longer if you don't discharge them past 80% empty. (That's called DoD, Depth-of-Discharge).

 

[mhud]

On the video: I love the sense of speed, and how your bug easily stayed ahead of the white truck and the diesel truck.

Thanks! At low speeds, the torque is awesome. My favorite thing about driving an EV. I start in 2nd, then shift to 4th at about 30mph. The fastest I've gone since the conversion is 65mph, though. Acceleration slows to a crawl at 55 or so. I planned for a max of 75mph, so I've got some tweaking to do.

On books: The recommended books are good. There is alot of great stuff on the internet, too, like here and the EVDL (Electric Vehicle Discussion List). Google on "electric car conversion" and there are many blogs that are great.

I forgot to mention this site specifically. I read so much here, definitely a lot more time than I spent reading the books. What I liked about the books was the structure; you learn a little bit of everything.

On this site, you can go into very thorough detail. Read up on vendors, find others that have converted cars similar to yours. The community is very supportive with the exception of an occasional flame war.

 

[dtbaker]

I was hoping on havin a 80 miles per charge of range, it is almost twice of what I need per day but I think that way is better.

yes, buy at least one 'general' conversion book, and READ it... it will help sift the good info from bad on the forum. 'Convert It' or Gav's DVDs would be a great start. Great way to get a basical idea of components, basic schematics, etc.

Then.... poke around for a good well documented build. There are several, and if you can find one with your exact vehicle in the garage so much the better....

 

[Anaerin]

Yeah, I'm surprised it hadn't been mentioned earlier, but Gav's eBook and DVD look to be an awesome resource. Buy it now! http://www.evsecrets.com/

 

[PatricioIN]

there are also several well documented builds in this forum. You can look at mine for instance and it covers a lot of what you need to do to convert a vehicle. Gavin's shows much more actual work, whereas mine is more discriptive.. just by two cents.