[PThompson509]

I built mine because there were no production EVs at the time. Plus, I wanted a cool car that noone else had. It's a total bonus that I can charge it from the sun (I have solar panels)! (Electricity comes from many sources, but gasoline only comes from oil.)

 

[dougingraham]

I have found the best way to explain it is to give people a ride and let them drive it if they want to.

I thought about it for several years before I took the plunge. My main reason was that I still liked my car but it was at the point where I was too embarrassed to continue to drive it and the cost to make it run on the Wankel again would have been at least $5000. I felt it was better to convert it if possible and end up with a car that was better in almost every way to the original.

The ways it is better:

More power! The original car would do a 9 second 0-60 at sea level. It was probably closer to 12 seconds at my elevation. When I get it right I can do about a 6 second 0-60 now. The fastest I ever was able to go was 116 mph. I don't believe it will quite do that now because the torque curve tapers off at just over 100 mph. It does easily get into felony territory however so how fast does it really need to go? Driving around town I was able to get about 16-18 mpg. At current gasoline prices this would be about 5 miles per dollar of gasoline. At the current price for electricity I get about 30 miles per dollar of electricity. This is approximately 100 MPGe. It basically costs me 1/6th as much to drive a more powerful and fun car. On top of that I can feel as green as I want to. No noise makes the car stereo upgrades a lot more valuable. No smells in the garage is always welcome. And I get a big grin every time I drive it. I get a bigger grin when I sail past a gas station. I get asked all the time how long does it take to recharge. And I honestly can say that the amount of time I spend charging it is about 20 seconds per day. It all happens when I am sleeping.

The way it is worse:

If I am really careful I can probably make 80 miles. My average daily drive is only 21 miles so I have four times the range I need. From a 110 vac outlet it will take me 14 hours to fully recharge. So it is in no way a vehicle I would try to take on a trip. This has never been an issue as I have another vehicle I take when I go on a road trip. But if I didn't I would just rent a car and probably save myself some money overall on insurance.

I get asked what it cost and when I tell them they act like it was a lot of money. And yet they buy a new car every 4 or 5 years and think nothing of spending a lot more than I did on my conversion.

 

[madderscience]

How else could I incorporate a worn out scion xB chassis, a junkyard 1984 celica diff, toyota tacoma axles, Ford F100 bearings and seals, late model scion suspension parts, mini cooper wheels, a prius throttle pedal, early 2000's 3 phase motor and inverter technology, a 250 amp 600vdc telecom circuit breaker, old computer UPS parts, one hundred secondhand lithium cells, industrial belt drive components, 30 feet of marine electrical conduit, some old ABS sewer pipe fittings, my shop garbage can, and an above ground swimming pool into one working machine?