How the heck do people keep weight down in these EVs?
We're a project group of 7 students studying machine engineering, at Gjøvik University College in Norway, and we're building a 1974 VW Beetle EV from scratch, using a 48V forklift motor with the forklift controllers and eight 12V deep-cycle marine batteries with 110Ah each. (We plan to have a separate small 12V battery to power the onboard lighting, windshield-wipers and such)
The batteries are of the Gel-type, meaning they don't leak and can be put at an angle. This was a requirement from our project supervisor, since they're supposed to be so much more environmentally friendly.
We're connecting them in two packs of 4 batteries each. So that each pack gives out 48V and has 110Ah, giving us 220Ah in total to run with.
However. These batteries weigh 32kg each, thus making the vehicle very heavy.
I know the American "car authorities" don't care much about how you customize your vehicle, but here in Norway the weight cannot exceed the original weight of the vehicle pr. axle, , due to brake dimensioning, suspension and so on.
Also, we'll be putting one pack of 4 batteries in the back, behind where the back seat would be, and one pack of 4 in the front to even the load. However, the battery-guy we're purchasing these batteries from, says that long wires will make us lose a lot of current, and that between the batteries, the wires need to be the same length, too, to avoid losses. What are you guys' views on these things?
We're a project group of 7 students studying machine engineering, at Gjøvik University College in Norway, and we're building a 1974 VW Beetle EV from scratch, using a 48V forklift motor with the forklift controllers and eight 12V deep-cycle marine batteries with 110Ah each. (We plan to have a separate small 12V battery to power the onboard lighting, windshield-wipers and such)
The batteries are of the Gel-type, meaning they don't leak and can be put at an angle. This was a requirement from our project supervisor, since they're supposed to be so much more environmentally friendly.
We're connecting them in two packs of 4 batteries each. So that each pack gives out 48V and has 110Ah, giving us 220Ah in total to run with.
However. These batteries weigh 32kg each, thus making the vehicle very heavy.
I know the American "car authorities" don't care much about how you customize your vehicle, but here in Norway the weight cannot exceed the original weight of the vehicle pr. axle, , due to brake dimensioning, suspension and so on.
Also, we'll be putting one pack of 4 batteries in the back, behind where the back seat would be, and one pack of 4 in the front to even the load. However, the battery-guy we're purchasing these batteries from, says that long wires will make us lose a lot of current, and that between the batteries, the wires need to be the same length, too, to avoid losses. What are you guys' views on these things?