[ausev] Daily Driver?

[Mike Seningen]

I may have actually found my donor vehicle.

I made some phone calls and low an behold found a '99 Boxster in Dallas 
that just blew an engine.

Everything sounds great -- except it has a tiptronic transmission.

Should I bag it and look for another?
Live and use the tiptronic?
Grab it anyway -- and plan to swap out/sell the tiptronic for a manual 
when the time to convert comes?

Still trying to figure out what a dead car is worth?

I may find myself getting involved in my EV project quicker than I thought.

thanks,

Mike

Brian Lasseter wrote:
> On Sun, Jul 6, 2008 at 11:37 AM, Mike Seningen <mseningen at austin.rr.com> wrote:
>   
>> Is anyone here using their PEV for daily driving?
>>     
>
> I use mine most every day.   (Some days I use a bike, since I'm only 2
> miles from work.)
>
>    Original Gas powered car:
> http://www.lasso-jenn.com/photos/2007-03-30%20%20Electric%20Car%20Work%20-%20And%20so%20it%20begins/?d=c&img=1
>    Converted all electric powered car:
> http://www.lasso-jenn.com/photos/2008-04-05%20%20Finishing%20up%20the%20electric%20car/?d=c&img=6
>
>
>   
>> I'm ~15 miles to and then 15 miles back -- up and down HWY 71.
>>
>> I've got a handful of practicality issues......
>>
>> these have me leaning towards a converted vehicle -- As my wife put it
>> -- are you going to drive a tin can (her term for an EV trike, or small car)
>>  up and down Hwy 71 -- I don't think so.
>>     
>
> Yeah, I probably wouldt entrust my life to an EV trike... but I needed
> a car since my wife can not drive.  So I needed 4 door car for the
> family.   (They do make the trikes specifically to get around US
> safety regulations for 4 wheeled cars.)
>
>
>   
>> Safety (71 is not for the faint of heart!)
>> Hills -- lots of them
>> Speed -- 65+ is the "common" speed limit for Hwy71 (despite it being
>> lowered to 55!)
>> I'm not a light foot -- and if I was -- I'd get run over on 71 anyways.
>>
>> Nice Car -- this is to be my everyday driver -- and I enjoy driving
>> roadsters and "sports" cars.
>>
>> Two car family max -- wife's edict.  No back-up plan for me.
>>
>> I don't have a way to plug in when I get to work -- unless the pack
>> was convenient enough to lug to my office.  -- so it has to be able to sit
>> for 8-12 hours and still make it home.
>>     
>
> All the above is doable.  I regularly drive mine 30 miles.  I suspect
> it can go 40-45 miles, but my I'm still breaking in my Xantrex battery
> meter (since I've only been driving the car for two months).  Once the
> battery meter is broken in, I'll be able to stress the pack a little
> more if need be.  In my two months, I've put 700 miles on the electric
> car though.
>
>
>   
>> A couple times a month I need to drive to work, then UT, then home --
>> total ~50miles
>> with a single charge.
>>     
>
> That is pushing it.   I'm surprised that UT wouldn't allow you to
> charge on campus.   IBM will let me charge, and I'm only 2 miles away
> from home.
>
>
>   
>> Also:
>> I'm ~18miles from the airport
>> Airport parking -- how long can a PEV sit without charging and still
>> make an 18mile return trip?
>>     
>
> I find my 12V small battery runs down if I drive the car, and then
> leave it for a few days.   However, I think that quirk is peculiar to
> my design of car, and it should be fixed by added a supplemental 12V
> battery charger to charge the small battery when I plug in my car.
> (I'll make that upgrade in the next month or so.)
>
>   
>> I've got 7 months to come up with a new vehicle (my current 350Z lease
>> expires Feb 1, 2009.
>>     
>
> It took myself, and many helpful friends, 14 months to make my car.
> I was very happy with the result though.  Like any endeavor, money
> spent and time spent can trade off in the equation of building an EV.
>
>
>   
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