1997 97 Silver ti Sport Trim: Rolling Chassis

[ARti]

Converted 318ti to all electric. ODO ~209k. Silver with Black Leather/Grey Fabric Insert seating.
Drivetrain complete from flywheel back (Flywheel, Clutch, ZF 5-speed, dif etc.)
Nothing Internal Combustion left in car: No block, no exhaust, no fuel tanks, pump, lines, etc.
No Radiator, No AC Compressor (all in-dash components still in place)
4cyl wiring harness severely amputated

Original Powersteering rack in place, pressure supplied from 2004 Toyota MR2 PS Pump (electric)
Original Brake booster in place, vacuum provided by 12V vacuum pump

Body solid, light rust on leading edge of hood. Only body alteration in conversion was cutting out spare tire well and replacing with steel battery box (pics available).

My intent is to sell rolling body with all electric components and pumps removed.
Vehicle is also for sale as is, with functional EV components. Asking $4000 for complete EV. Less for rolling chassis without EV components. Lets Talk!

[Earl]

Any pictures of the setup under the hood? Judging from the battery box install, it looks like you did a clean install.

[ARti]

Thanks! Here's a couple of pics from the front end.
The Lower level shows the motor itself, mounted to the existing motor mounts. You can also see the vacuum pump (for brake boost) in the top right, and the power-steering pump in the bottom left (Toyota MR2 pump).
The second shot shows the controller board and switchgear.

It's been a great project, still handles like a BMW, but I need the space and insurance dollars for twin 15 year olds that are starting to drive.

[Earl]

How much peppier than the m42 is it? Seems very well sorted

[ARti]

The torque is great. At full current (500A), the motor generates around 100 FtLbs which is very similar to the four cylinder at peak torque I think. The nice thing is that it's full torque at all speeds (up to 5000 rpm). I usually just start out in 2nd gear...saves me the shift.

The killer though, is the weight of the batteries. I'm using AGM (sealed lead batteries). 12 x 84lbs. So, even with all the great torque, it's not terribly fast off the line. With lithium, a person could get more storage, longer battery life at about half the weight. That'd make a big difference.

Even with the weight though, it's still fun. We've got plenty of hills and curves in the Ozarks to enjoy. The fastest I've had it was 75. That was 5th gear, and there was still torque available. The max speed would be whatever 5k x 5th gear gets you.

I mainly used it for running errands, and it put a big dent in the cost of running my alternative: F150 5.4L v8.

[M-technik-3]

Next question how long is charging? and on average how many miles would you feel safe commuting with it?

[ARti]

With my current setup (AGM lead acid batteries), my comfortable range was 20-25 miles. My recharge time, with my 1500W on board charger, was 4-5 hours at 220VAC or 8-10 hours at 110VAC. The charge time is related to the wattage of the charger though. I did a conversion on my dad's Ford Ranger. it has a 3000W charger and cuts the time in almost half. With this sort of homebrew, entry level setup, there's probably a minimum charge time of 4 hours. The smart chargers have a particular pattern of voltage and current that they're running through. It's not like I could back up to the coal plant and say "fill'er up" and be done.

There's more info on choices I made at my build blog: http://mpkwh.blogspot.com

More pictures too!

[M-technik-3]

How do lead batteries stand up to continuous recharges from nearly flat to full? Sorry for what might seem dumb questions to you but I have only experience with silly Prius's.

Electric is the future when battery technology gets there cars are going to change, but I still think Hydrogen Fuel cell is the way to go.

[ARti]

Yeah, Depth of Discharge vs. Charge Cycle life is an issue. In general, it's best to only deplete lead acids to 50% or at most 80%. There's a tremendous drop off in the number of charge cycles if you regularly go too deep. I ran it "dry" one time just to see what the max max range is, and got a little over 36miles. That's why I describe the "comfortable range" as max 20.

Lithium is a lot more forgiving both in depth of discharge and overall charge cycle count (~85% DoD and 2000+ cycles).

One consolation prize on running "dry": It's a chemical reaction in there, so if you just sit on the side for a 10-15 minutes you get another 4-5 miles. The symptom is a loss of torque. So it's pretty easy to recognize when it's time to go home. The accelerator just gets a little spongy.

Curiously, I've never been stranded. When I first started driving it, I kept a tow strap in the car. Never needed it. I've limped home a couple of times, and parked on the side and read eMail while giving it some time to recuperate a little. But I've never had to hitch a ride or a tow!

[M-technik-3]

Cool Hope it sells