converting my 1st gen to electric
11-20-08, 05:10 PM
#26
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Meh, being honest, solar needs to come a ways before it's going to be cost effective. If you're worried about the cost of $10,000 in Li-Ion batts, my advice would be to think about the cost of a PV panel ($600 for 200W-ish, on a good day) before you think about the charging. You're in NM, so you'll get good output return on one, but they really are more money than they're worth a lot of the time.
11-20-08, 05:19 PM
#27
So most likely you'd always drive around in 3rd as you said because you don't have a clutch right? So if you did that 1st-gear burn-out, you'd have to come to a complete stop to shift it into a higher gear, or drive around at a very low speed with mega torque?
Just making sure I understand this all correctly. I think if you loom up all those wires and get everything squared away it'll be awesome. If you could re-make the hatch/bin area to completely cover the batteries back there it would be very cool. And tidying up the bay would make it the most spartan engine bay'd 7 I've seen and that would rock.
I noticed you left the rad panels in place... If someone wanted more distance, they could probably take those out and put more batteries there, and maybe lose some cargo space and line the hatch with them... that would really weigh it down though, so you'd need heavy duty suspension and your handling would feel more like a boat than an rx7... So I'm anxious to see if it lives up to your hopes in terms of distance-on-a-charge and charge time.
Jon
Just making sure I understand this all correctly. I think if you loom up all those wires and get everything squared away it'll be awesome. If you could re-make the hatch/bin area to completely cover the batteries back there it would be very cool. And tidying up the bay would make it the most spartan engine bay'd 7 I've seen and that would rock.
I noticed you left the rad panels in place... If someone wanted more distance, they could probably take those out and put more batteries there, and maybe lose some cargo space and line the hatch with them... that would really weigh it down though, so you'd need heavy duty suspension and your handling would feel more like a boat than an rx7... So I'm anxious to see if it lives up to your hopes in terms of distance-on-a-charge and charge time.
Jon
Last edited by vipernicus42; 11-20-08 at 05:22 PM.
11-20-08, 05:34 PM
#28
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Looking at the pics in more depth now, that is clean work on the adapter plate and frame, very nice.
Why are you running most of the batts in the back? Heat? It would seem to me that you're want to get them more up front if you could.
Why are you running most of the batts in the back? Heat? It would seem to me that you're want to get them more up front if you could.
11-20-08, 08:57 PM
#29
You can shift on while driving but its a bit tricky you can also set it up to work with a clutch, but yes, i went clutchless. And the first gear burnout would be a quick just for fun thing It would be like a granny gear in a truck or something
About the battery placement, I wanted to keep a lot of the weight toward the middle of the car. I thought it might handle a little like a mid-engine car Just a hopeful experiment really. Plus those bin spaces came in handy, and with the weight in the middle it was less likely to sag to the front of the back due to massive battery weight
And about the battery space. Yes thare is truely tons of room for batteries. If someone wanted a long didtance electric, it would be a great car to convert. My goal however is short distance, fun, quick, city car. Hence the small battery pack.
And about the looming Dont worry I'm not nearly done with the beautification process I plan on finishing it very very nicely, making beauty boards to cover the batteries in the back, and maybe taking to local car shows. I know its not a first prize rare car, but the new paint job looks great, and I wanna show pwoplw that 1, you can convert a car electric youself, 2 its good for the environment, and 3 that an electric car does not have to be a slow boring thing. (although i guess the tesla did a good job of that already)
About the battery placement, I wanted to keep a lot of the weight toward the middle of the car. I thought it might handle a little like a mid-engine car Just a hopeful experiment really. Plus those bin spaces came in handy, and with the weight in the middle it was less likely to sag to the front of the back due to massive battery weight
And about the battery space. Yes thare is truely tons of room for batteries. If someone wanted a long didtance electric, it would be a great car to convert. My goal however is short distance, fun, quick, city car. Hence the small battery pack.
And about the looming Dont worry I'm not nearly done with the beautification process I plan on finishing it very very nicely, making beauty boards to cover the batteries in the back, and maybe taking to local car shows. I know its not a first prize rare car, but the new paint job looks great, and I wanna show pwoplw that 1, you can convert a car electric youself, 2 its good for the environment, and 3 that an electric car does not have to be a slow boring thing. (although i guess the tesla did a good job of that already)
11-21-08, 10:33 AM
#32
Engine, Not Motor
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Noooo! Clutchless! In my opinion that's a big mistake. I understand it's a lot easier to set up, but remember how much momentum that motor has. It's very hard on the syncros to bring the motor down to speed when you upshift, and you have to be very careful on downshift not to overspin the motor while trying to rev match. It can take several seconds between shifts, which makes for a very anemic ride.
11-21-08, 01:21 PM
#33
that is INSANE. good work. Did you use a 12a trans? I'd be worried about eating transmissions with all that torque, but at long as you keep your traction to a reasonable amount (i.e. no slicks, huge sticky street tires, etc), the trans should last for a while. I'm looking forward to seeing a video of this running around town.
11-21-08, 03:58 PM
#35
good point about shifting
And yes, the litle 12a tranny s the weak point in the whole thing. All that torque on the little guy scares me a bit. But Im hopeful I'm gonna be very careful starting out. And I guess it wouldn't be too tough to use a different tranny if probs arise
And yes, the litle 12a tranny s the weak point in the whole thing. All that torque on the little guy scares me a bit. But Im hopeful I'm gonna be very careful starting out. And I guess it wouldn't be too tough to use a different tranny if probs arise
11-23-08, 07:35 PM
#38
an automatic just sucks so much efficiency from the whole package that it very rarely works Ive heard tales of people pulling it off, but pretty much everyone ive talked to about it agrees the automatics dont work out for a diy conversion
11-24-08, 09:40 AM
#39
Engine, Not Motor
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Automatic is terrible. The motor would need to "idle" to keep the fluid pump going, or the transmission would have to be converted to use an external pump. The torque converter is a massive efficiency drain, converting way too much input energy into heat.
Really, what most DC EVs need is a simple two speed transmission. Too bad there aren't any good ones around...
Really, what most DC EVs need is a simple two speed transmission. Too bad there aren't any good ones around...
11-24-08, 01:24 PM
#41
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Would it be better to use an older 4 speed tranny? Did Mazda ever make a three speed? How hard would it be to set up the clutch? It seems like I have seen that dome somewhere not too long ago.
11-26-08, 01:32 PM
#42
oh yeah people do stuff like that often commonly converted cars have bolt on kits that let you use the clutch I think doing it with a clutch was a little over my head at this point though Although the next electric car that i do, which will be for my wife, il do it with a clutch
Only a couple of companies make kits to mate the motor tranny and clutch (and for custom assemblies they are backed up for months and months), or a really really good machine shop
Only a couple of companies make kits to mate the motor tranny and clutch (and for custom assemblies they are backed up for months and months), or a really really good machine shop
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