Considering an EV conversion Options

[mneal2_92788]

So I have been thinking... I have a car that works but one day I know it will not. And I think I’m going to start saving up for a full electric conversion. The car is right in range for weight, and by time I make the battery purchases the technology and affordability will be there. I have the shell and that’s a huge battle. I found a company that attaches the motor to the stock tranny, and you get everything you need. The have a kit for an mr2. It’s ambitious but I think it’s going to be a huge and fun project. And it will give me the power I think this car deserves. I’ll follow up after some further thought and research.

[bloodMoney]

I've always thought it would be cool to do.

Looking forward to see where you take it!

[TimeslideZ]

This will be quite interesting to see! I've never thought of full EV conversion; but I was totally thinking about some sort of hybrid system. Idea would to have EV converted hub motor's for the rear. Make it both hybrid and "AWD" lol.
Of course you'll have to worry about how the system work together though.

[slavie]

The biggest obstacle to an EV conversion are the batteries. They just don't have the capacity. How does Tesla have 200 or 300 mile range? It carries 800 or 1000 lbs worth of batteries on board. If you'll be fine with 40 or 50 miles of range, I'd say it's doable given current technologies available to an average Joe. If you want decent range, you'll need batteries stashed in every corner. And then, what are you going to do about heating and cooling those batteries so that they work in the winter and don't overheat from 2 minutes of spirited driving? That's a big problem for Tesla and other EV manufacturers.

Until better battery tech comes around, it's hardly worth the effort you need to put into an EV conversion. Some still do it for the fun of it, and it's totally cool if that's what you want to do, just have a clear understanding that the product you'll get in the end is not going to be that great. You will get the "wow" factor though, and maybe a quarter mile pass or two.

This post has been edited by slavie: Oct 20, 2020 - 8:27 PM

[asemblance]

Would also be interested to hear the results of your research! As I posted recently, I'm looking for a way to get my Celica under the ULEZ emissions threshold. And fully electric would obviously achieve that...

@slavie I could probably personally live with a range of 100miles if that was achievable. I'm sure that would be a feat to accomplish still though.

[pitcelica]

I know a company in Quebec Canada who have done this kind of conversion for a Honda S2K :

https://electrek.co/2018/10/15/tesla-powere...s-quarter-mile/

I know a lot of labor went into such a conversion. I know that they sell Tesla parts (motors, batteries, charging port, etc) so people like you can use these in their own conversion.

Here's the company website : https://ingenext.ca/pages/engineering-services

This post has been edited by pitcelica: Nov 1, 2020 - 2:53 PM

[mneal2_92788]

It’s going to be a long process because of the funding. But I’m looking for around 150 miles a charge, and just be able to use it as a daily driver. I love the economic sense of reusing a car and using electricity to be a cleaner source of energy. I’m not trying to race it by any means. Again I’m in a research and save point right now. But if I come up with anything or find new technologies to make it a safer or better project I will share anything I find.