[ausev] Fwd: EV

[Claire Sorenson]

I understand his frustration with the many approaches to converting an ICE
to an EV.  When I first started looking into this, I didn't know where to
start.  I think it might make his process easier if he visited people with
fullly functioning EV's.  It really helped me to drive a couple of cars to
get a better idea of what I wanted.  I think he might see that we are doing
more than "tinkering with batteries and ill-suited motors," and that the
cars are actually being used for daily comutes and around-town activities.
Although I have never done a conversion, I would be willing to at least
offer for him to look at my car and take a drive if he likes.


CS Unlimited
Claire Sorenson
Ph: 512-689-5911
Fax: 512-282-9942
 

-----Original Message-----
From: ausev-bounces at austinev.org [mailto:ausev-bounces at austinev.org] On
Behalf Of Gil Dawson
Sent: Saturday, June 16, 2007 7:08 PM
To: ausev at austinev.org; ev1-club at cco.caltech.edu
Subject: [ausev] Fwd: EV

Below is a message from my partner's brother who lives in Austin with a
challenge for us EV enthusiasts.  He has a Porche been sitting in his
parents' garage for years, and apparently he's done some homework.  Before I
write him back, I thought I'd ask you guys for 
some suggestions.   Any comments will be appreciated.

--Gil


At 2:45 P -0500 6/14/07, Beau Eccles wrote:

Okay, it's time for me to admit that I've spent an inordinate amount of time
lately thinking about EV conversion of an ICE vehicle.  At first blush the
conversion of the Porsche 914 seemed like a great way to go, but then the
unfortunate aspects of the donor vehicle push me away.
Sure, the mid engine design of the car makes room in the front and back of
the car for putting in batteries, but the car is unibody steel and is so
much heavier than any other two seat vehicle that has been on the market in
decades that an insane amount of energy is bled into pushing it around.
Furthermore, the conversion kit for the 914 is through a company that is
reported to be taking two years to deliver its orders.

The ever-shifting battery landscape and dearth of dedicated EV engines is
also disturbing.  Conversion blogs show aggravated converters going from
lead acid to NiMH to LiH, and still not being happy with the results.  There
also appears to be no standard for what type of motor is the best in power
usage/torque/and low to high-end performance mix - nor any centralized place
that describes the landscape of available motors.
One guy will use the motor for landing gear extension on a jumbo jet to
convert a VW Jetta, the next a cooling fan for an 18 wheeler.

As for the weight/drag properties of the donor vehicle, if you actually want
the thing to see highway speeds then the conventional car design doesn't
appear to be the way to go.  There was a very cool motorcycle-based, tandem
seated  "autocycle" built for a few years in the late 80s that had a 900
pound weight that might be a good candidate for EV conversion, but I don't
understand why there doesn't appear to be any standardized EV powerplant (W
batteries + X converter + Y controller
+ z motor = 50hp) - just a few hundred folks tinkering with batteries
and ill-suited motors.  I'm disturbed by the persistence of NEVs being the
only EVs available and I don't want a golf cart.

What gives?
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