There's a reason small gasoline cars get good fuel economy and why they make better electric cars.
Open Access Article Originally Published: March 25, 2008
Reprinted with author's permission from Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
My previous post about an up-coming electric car conversion class here in Seattle got a lot of interest. I have been asked several questions; the main one being "can I convert my car?"
Well, here is an answer and some basic information.
I'm no expert on converting gasoline cars to electric, but it's my understanding that if you are going to do a conversion, you are better off using a light-weight vehicle instead of a heavy one. Now, what do I mean by light or heavy vehicle?
Think of compact and subcompact models as light-weight vehicles. Used cars like the Geo Metro, Honda Civic CRX, and VW Rabbit (all of which are no longer produced) are compact vehicles that are great for converting to electric because they each weigh less than 2,000 pounds.
Heavier cars such as the Toyota Camry, all Subaru models, and any other mid-size sedan are not ideal for a conversion. The 2008 Honda Accord, for example, weighs about 3,200 pounds. Subaru models not only are not compact, but are heavier by design because they carry the extra parts necessary for the All-Wheel-Drive system they all feature. The AWD parts weigh about 300 pounds. That is largely why Subaru models have a fairly low gas mileage. I owned a 1996 Subaru Legacy that would get an average of 19 MPG. I also owned a 2001 Impreza, and the gas mileage was better but not by much. I also owned an Acura Integra, which weighed only about 2,600 pounds. The gas mileage I got with the Integra was about 28 MPG. The conclusion here is simple: lighter vehicles require less fuel to move, generally speaking, so they are better for converting to electric.
To find out how much your vehicle weighs, I recommend going to the MSN Autos web site.
If you are thinking of converting a car to electric, a knowlegeable person who has done a conversion can help you choose a good car to convert. If you come to a SEVA meeting you will meet lots of people who can answer questions, and you will even be able to see lots of cars that were converted and have been running on electricity! These cars don't have an engine - they have an electric motor and a battery pack. By the way, if you convert a car at the present moment you can enjoy the benefit of being able to sell the engine for a decent price, and use the money to help pay for the conversion.
For now, just keep in mind that a small car is your best choice for converting to electric. Why?
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10 comments so far...
25-Mar-2008
60920
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For those who want to see the complete well done video step by step go to the following links.
Take time to view all the sections and enjoy yourself. I watched all 18 and they were worth watching.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTZT3fw9Bsw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFU2EnZZ5vY&NR=1
Posted by: Keith Tomilson
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26-Mar-2008
60932
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Tesla uses the Lotus Elise, ACP used the scion xB. It's all about weight. Check yours too, it could add seconds to your time and years to your life. .
Posted by: jim stack
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06-Apr-2008
61066
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It would be much better to fabricate your own monocoqe chassis from Alulight aluminum foam panels and fasten them together using the same technique that the aircraft industries utilize.The Lotus chassis is created using this and blending it with epoxied extrusions.You can buy aluminum foam filled extrusions and aluminum sheet panels.It is so light that it will float in water but is stronger and has better crush resistance than steel.You can buy a lightweight fiberglass kit car or pickup body shell and build your own EV this way and keep the total weight under 1500 lbs.The monocoqe chassis design needs to have rocker boxes under the door sills.These can be tall with slightly shortened doors.Then you need a center beam down the center of the floor attaching the front and rear firewalls.You can attach the front and rear suspensions with a combination of aluminum foam extrusions and panels.This will give you the lightest and strongest combination.It is much less expensive than carbon/fiber as well and reapairable.All of the suspension parts like control arms can be sourced out from auto salvage yards from late model Porsches or Audis.There is a wide selection at very affordable prices.These are all made in aluminum and have the best engineering money can buy.You can buy a complete Porsche 996 rear end for around $1500.00 and it is easy to narrow or widen for your application.Some kit car companies can supply you with suspension kits but it is more expensive.
Posted by: John Hurt
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22-Jun-2008
62330
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I just go tthru researching th eprces of EV conversion kits, sans batteries, and was astounded at the exorbitant costs. How about $15,000 to buy the motor and controller to convert a crappy gas powered Beetle into a crappy electric powered Beetle, which now can't take you very far down the road? You provide the 200 hours to make the conversion and buy the batteries. Anyone who's thinking about a conversion better think again, if money is a motive. I'm convinced that EV conversions really mean that you are now converted to a much poorer
individual. It's hilarious that EV conversion shills talk about the low cost of electricity!!!
Posted by: kerry bradshaw
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27-Mar-2008
60952
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I believe smaller cars will do little to alleviate traffic congestion unless of course we are talking about narrow cars. Most of the road space occupied by a vehicle in traffic is the following distances required for stopping safety and this distance doesn't change with respect to the vehicle size but the vehicle speed. So a smaller car will provide a tiny incremental improvement in traffic volume unless it is a narrow vehicle that can lane share side by side with another narrow vehicle. Obviously for narrow vehicles to have an effect would require fairly wide spread adoption so that there was a reasonable chance of being able to lane share.
Posted by: John Tolmie
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29-Mar-2008
60982
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Why does the article say "light", rather than "light relative to the weight it can carry"? Are there NO larger vehicles that are light relative to the amount that they can carry, and would be suitable for conversion?
Posted by: Paul Westberg
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30-Mar-2008
60988
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Lighter is better,however People are always saying " untill the battery tech. gets better". I don't think that is the real problem. The problem is the motors. They are amp suckers. Untill someone can figure out how to produce a electric motor that can produce the needed energy to move our cars without the high amp draw, there always going to be short runners, not good for long trips. And also they will never gain popularity with the general public.
Posted by: Lindsey Bryant
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30-Mar-2008
60994
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What about lightweight pickup trucks are those to heavy to convert? I found a website where a man had pulled his truckbed off and created a frame to store the batteries on and put the bed back on. That is what I want to do but is a pick up truck too heavy? I have 1998 Toyota Tacoma auto transmission.
Posted by: Davey Jones Locker
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11-Apr-2008
61152
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This link has the Lotus chassis info and images.
http://www.sandsmuseum.com/cars/elise/thecar/chassis/
Posted by: John Hurt
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06-May-2008
61529
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Try this sight for Audi aluminum chassis
http://stadium.weblogsinc.com/autoblog/hirezpics/W8_cutaway_large26.JPG
Posted by: John Hurt
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