Electrical / drivetrain components for a scratch built car?

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Talkiet

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#215553 2-Jul-2017 17:30

Say I have a very light chassis (spaceframe, suspension, wheels, brakes, steering, seats) and I didn't want to follow through and put a 4AGE or MX5 engine in it, but instead wanted a very light, moderately powerful electric 7 that wasn't going to be road registered... What would I need? There is a heap of information about but much of it's old, and very little of it is NZ based...

@Ruki I'm kinda looking at you but any input welcome :-).

I think I need a motor, controller, throttle solution, charge controller (on or off car) and batteries. Then of course there's a decision about whether to drive directly or through a gearbox (and honestly through a gearbox is probably a good idea so will need a clutch and adaptor plate)

I had thought that getting a wrecked leaf might be a good way to get everything but I have read that you can't easily (if at all) gut the non-essentials out of the system (Don't want a full instrument cluster, lights, VDC, etc etc etc etc) and still have it work.

Thoughts?

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

RUKI

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#1810640 2-Jul-2017 23:41

Nowadays JDM EVs are relatively cheap. I guess, you can import Leaf directly for less than buying parts for EV conversion.

In all those adventures the main expensive part is Battery and Battery Charger. So, suggest you source that first cheap and then decide what to built around that battery. If you stuck - you just sell the battery...

I was looking recently into buying HV Li charger instead of making one - price tag is > 4-6K USD. Add transportation and taxes and it may well cost twice as much...

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Talkiet

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#1810642 2-Jul-2017 23:53

So even though I couldn't use the Leaf drivetrain and computers as is, it's still cheaper to buy one and rip out the motor etc?... Obviously I'd lose all the CANBUS comms and clever bits, but can the components (motor, charge controller, battery) all be used ... um, manually?

I doubt the motor controller could be used without it having all the original sensors etc...

The battery is interesting. This will be a project/race car only, so I don't care if the battery is tiny, in fact I'd prefer a small modular battery system that can be charged out of car and installed/removed reasonably quickly

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

RUKI

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#1810862 3-Jul-2017 13:06

Talkiet:

So even though I couldn't use the Leaf drivetrain and computers as is, it's still cheaper to buy one and rip out the motor etc?... Obviously I'd lose all the CANBUS comms and clever bits, but can the components (motor, charge controller, battery) all be used ... um, manually?

I doubt the motor controller could be used without it having all the original sensors etc...

The battery is interesting. This will be a project/race car only, so I don't care if the battery is tiny, in fact I'd prefer a small modular battery system that can be charged out of car and installed/removed reasonably quickly...

On-board charger can't be used standalone as it is highly integrated into CAN bus.

I looked inside it, here is the link to the video:

Nissan Leaf 3.6 KVA Charger Dismantling

If you can get Leaf - you will probably be getting it only for the batteries. The guy I know in USA does exactly that, takes the battery and the est goes into scrap...

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Coil

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#1810865 3-Jul-2017 13:23

Please build a 7 with a K24a. Pretty plz.

For the drivetrain i would suggest go with the largest case differential you can, electric motors have a LOT of torque that can be applied instantly.

Will this be through a traditional gearbox? Manual, Auto? 2 speed, single speed auto?

xpd

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#1810867 3-Jul-2017 13:26

Dunno if youve seen this....

http://kiwiev.com/the-original-kiwi-ev-conversion/

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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Talkiet

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#1810868 3-Jul-2017 13:29

Coil:

Please build a 7 with a K24a. Pretty plz.

For the drivetrain i would suggest go with the largest case differential you can, electric motors have a LOT of torque that can be applied instantly.

Will this be through a traditional gearbox? Manual, Auto? 2 speed, single speed auto?

That's been done, and I already have a 7 with a 4AGE (Blacktop, 157HP at the wheels)... I'm after an engineering and electronic challenge, not just a 7 :-)

For the possible electric version I am thinking of running it through a gearbox (something like an MX5 box) because it would make it a bit easier (at the cost of weight and a clutch)

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

Coil

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#1810944 3-Jul-2017 14:17

Talkiet:

Coil:

Please build a 7 with a K24a. Pretty plz.

For the drivetrain i would suggest go with the largest case differential you can, electric motors have a LOT of torque that can be applied instantly.

Will this be through a traditional gearbox? Manual, Auto? 2 speed, single speed auto?

That's been done, and I already have a 7 with a 4AGE (Blacktop, 157HP at the wheels)... I'm after an engineering and electronic challenge, not just a 7 :-)

For the possible electric version I am thinking of running it through a gearbox (something like an MX5 box) because it would make it a bit easier (at the cost of weight and a clutch)

Cheers - N

Go for a getrag 220/240/260. Wont regret it. Better ratios and stronger.

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Aredwood

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#1812303 4-Jul-2017 01:28

http://www.metricmind.com/ Here you go. Will probably be crazy expensive. But they have some stupidly powerful EV motors and matching gearboxes.