[ausev] RAV4 EV - Planning Advice

[Erik Bigelow]

Hi Rob,

One thing to keep in mind about the Metric Mind motors is the splined
shaft most have, it's not a deal breaker by any means, but just
another piece of the puzzle.

The experience might not be an even compare, but to judge what kind of
power you want you're welcome to take a ride or drive my Cabriolet,
it's 128V with a 600 amp controller, although I'm rarely above 300
battery amps. With battery sag, that's about 30 kW for a ~3200 lb car.

I saw on your blog being worried about having the tools to pull the
engine, AustinEV's got ya covered. A socket set will take most of the
parts out of the engine bay, and Chris has generously made an engine
lift available for the group. I'd budget about a week or two to clear
out the engine bay, pull driveshafts and anything else you can. After
I had all that done, pulling the engine was about an hour and a half
if I remember.

Another good thing to have on hand is a good service manual. Many
recommend a dealer service manual since they go into great detail how
to take things apart, I got by with an aftermarket manual, but there
were times when the dealer one would have been nice.

Ooh, and unless you like siphoning gas (dealing with gas is one of my
least favorite pastimes,  even before EVs!) run the car down as low as
you can stand. You can short the fuel pump relay to pump the last bit
out of the tank before you pull it.

Erik

On 12/11/06, rah at h-consulting.com <rah at h-consulting.com> wrote:
> All,
>
> I posted a little while ago about converting a Z3, but that did not
> work out.  Instead, I got a 96 RAV4.  I think it will be a better
> platform for a first conversion project.  The car is in good shape and
> is all manual (not even power locks).  I've got the registration set.
>
> I'm interested in your opinions and need advice!  I'm trying to plan
> out the motor/power system for the RAV4 because I know that can be a
> long lead item.  I've been looking around and really like the AC
> systems at Metric Mind.  Unfortunately, they are very pricey.  My goal
> is to hook the power system to an on-board PC.  My day job is working
> with software and I really want to program against the controller.
>
> I'm planning to pull the engine Mid January.  I'll post when I have a
> firm date.  Does anyone know someone who wants a 4 banger ICE w/ 150k
> miles?  I'm planning to Craig's list it.
>
> I'm blogging everything at http://zehicle.com including my specs and
> range targets.
>
> Rob
>
> PS: I'll add the RAV to the AustinEV site once my camera is working and
> I can take a photo.
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