TheSamba.com :: View topic - Electic Car Conversion using a bay window

Tue May 20, 2008 2:56 pm

ok, I finnaly got a bit of info and pictures up at www.electricbus.blogspot.com I hope this will inspire someone to convert their car, and maybe get some more ofthese things out there so I can get some more members of my support group. More posts to come on the blog, feel free to give me advice or ideas I need it.

The bus seems like a natural conversion vehicle because it can carry the weight and there is plenty of room for batteries and passengers.

Enjoy!

Soren

Tue May 20, 2008 3:30 pm

sweet!! and you don't have to worry about the carb vs FI debate! :D

Tue May 20, 2008 3:35 pm

Sahweeet! Cool we are on our way. Nice thread.

Tue May 20, 2008 10:59 pm

That's freakin Awesome!! So what kind of range are you getting with it? and what's the charge time?

I'm wanting to do this when my engine decides to throw in the towel and hopefully batteries will be cheaper and lighter by then with longer range. Or hopefully EEstor will have their ultracapacitors cheap enough and proven enough to buy. How much total have you spent on just the electric components?

Awesome blog man. Thanx for sharing!

Josh

Wed May 21, 2008 5:38 am

Quote: hopefully EEstor will have their ultracapacitors cheap enough and proven enough to buy.

proven is no problem. light & cheap they are not, but durable they are. buy them once and forget it. only one thing- the claim that they are a replacement for batteries might be a stretch. capacitors are mostly useful for regeneratve braking, to absorb enough current quickly enough, since the batteries cannot. the 2010 BMW hybrid has over 120 pounds of ulracapacitors, yet still has batteries.

Wed May 21, 2008 8:35 am

Josh, the electrical components were $6000. Batteries were $1800. You can spend a bit more on batteries and get better ones, but like you I am hoping for new types in the near future. I also added a brake vacuum pump for 300 and a emergency DC braker for about $80.

right now I haven't driven more thna 20 on a charge, but that didn't seem to effect the battery pack voltage, so I know I can go a lot further. I am hoping for 50 miles, we will see.

The loudest thing about the car is the passenger side rear shock which squeeks like crazy. I am thinking it is acting like a deer whistle though, as it gets louder fewer people are walking out in front of me.

Soren

Wed May 21, 2008 8:47 am

6000 is a bit much, do you think kit #4 was overkill? have you given it full throttle yet? i would be concerned that the motor would overheat if it wasnt more powerful than your driving habits demand

Wed May 21, 2008 9:17 am

I am really not sure if it is overkill or not. I went with the big motor because I have hills in the area, and the bus is so much heavier than the bugs these kits normally go into.

I also had the luck to drive a stock electric Dodge Caravan, when I was trying to decide how to get myself into an electric vehicle. It was so sluggish and unresponsive that I was scared to pull out into traffic, or go up any hills. That experience might have caused me to go overboard with my set up. But I can tell you I can pull out into city traffic no problem in my set up.

As far as overheating I'm hoping the controller helps with this and the fact that the engine is just hanging in the breeze beneath the car.

Soren

Wed May 21, 2008 10:10 am

i had been reading that engineers were stuck with the development of hub motor due to cooling problems. doesnt make sense really. the tesla has no need for water cooled electric motors but then these guys say the hub motors need water cooling. i dont really believe them- they likely are "owned" by the oil industry.

Wed May 21, 2008 11:04 am

I want one!! Very cool conversion. That price is actually better than what I expected. I have dreamed of doing this but have been waiting to see some running examples. Does it stay in one gear? Is reverse just turning the motor backwards or is it really the reverse gear? What kind of tires are you running? You've probably thought of the need for the properly rated tires with reinforced sidewalls. 1000lbs of batteries is a lot of weight. I hope the technology improves soon so that load could be lightened. I look foward to hearing updates as you determine the range and sort out the brake booster problem.

Wed May 21, 2008 11:35 am

Nice Nice Nice. Seems to be such perfect timing. 50 mi. would almost get me to work and back. 65mi round trip.

Wed May 21, 2008 11:56 am

the gears work as normal, reverse is reverse, 1234 all work, although their is so much torque that 3rd is almost all I use. I don't have new tires or shocks yet.

Does anyone know of some good shocks I should get that would fit the bus? What about springs?

Soren

Wed May 21, 2008 11:57 am

Get your work to give you a place to plug in and you can get to work and back!