Random thought

"Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street." (demon-xanth)
03/17/2019 at 12:04 • Filed to: None

If you had a battery pack this size...

...and an electric motor this size...

...you would make an EV conversion kit that fits in almost anything!

DISCUSSION (24)

Wacko > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street.
03/17/2019 at 12:14

5-6 speed manual electric car

Stick it in a rear wheel drive wagon and new oppo car

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street.
03/17/2019 at 12:15

You could but I'm not sure how feasible it is. Batteries need cooling. Something shaped to fit in an engine bay doesn't have a great surface area to volume ratio. You'd have to water cool them.

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
03/17/2019 at 12:18

Guess what SBCs are usually connected to? Radiators. You could literally use existing cooling equipment.

Spanfeller is a twat > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street.
03/17/2019 at 12:19

Put the batteries where the fuel tank and exhaust pipe normally reside (sort of in like a T like in the mk1 chevy bolt). Put the motor where the diff normally sits

Stuffing the front with heavy batteries would end badly.

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > Spanfeller is a twat
03/17/2019 at 12:24

The thing is, fuel tanks are all kinds of different and awkward sizes, were as a SBC is a defacto standard size and mounting. a lithium battery pack vs an iron engine block would not be vastly different in weight, so it would be a known issue that could be handled with off the shelf parts.

WilliamsSW > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street.
03/17/2019 at 12:32

I love this idea - maybe use the transmission space for more batteries though, and put the motors at the back to replace the tank/ improve weight distribution?

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > WilliamsSW
03/17/2019 at 12:34

My thought is that it would be something an average gearhead could do in a weekend or two vs a major build. If you could LS swap your Nova, you'd be able to EV swap it.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street.
03/17/2019 at 12:38

I get that, but we're talking about added complexity and thus cost. People do bespoke electric conversions all the time, a universal drop-in only makes sense if it's significantly cheaper than a custom job.

chaozbandit > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street.
03/17/2019 at 12:39

So.... this?

Spanfeller is a twat > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street.
03/17/2019 at 12:40

I mean, batteries plus cooling plus converter plus a shit ton of other extras... batteries are notoriously heavy... stacking all of them on the front axle can’t be that good.

An LS3 weighs around 410 pounds according to the internet. A 85kWh Tesla battery pack weighs around 1,200 pounds.

So maybe instead of the LS3 and all the drive gear you could have a 35 kWh battery and a 350-400hp motor without messing with the weight distribution or running out of charge every five miles.

Maybe fuel tanks can be weirdly shaped, but unless you have a WJ Grand Cherokee they tend to be between the axles where adding more weight wouldn’t mess with the weight distribution as much as a stack of batteries sitting on the axle.

Plus, you can build up a batterie out of small-ish cells that would be able to fit in odd shapes. The limit here is your machining skills and the cooling.

WilliamsSW > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street.
03/17/2019 at 12:46

I actually think this is a great idea and maybe you should see if you can patent any part of it. Would be even cooler of it kinda looked like an SBC/ BBC/ FE/ Hemi.

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
03/17/2019 at 12:47

Th at is the idea. If you could sell a $5-10k mass produced package where the 'custom' parts for your application are all off the shelf or readily made by local shops (eg: custom length driveshaft) the bar of entry drops to a much larger crowd.

HammerheadFistpunch > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street.
03/17/2019 at 12:50

i like it. make it liquid cooled and easily connectable to modular charge management and power system controllers so you can expand as needed and it would be great

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > Spanfeller is a twat
03/17/2019 at 12:51

An SBC is 585. You would likely end up with a 150 mile range car vs a 270. But still something you could cruise around in. As tech improves, the pack could be swapped and upgraded.

Spanfeller is a twat > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street.
03/17/2019 at 12:54

Oh you mean a really old Chevy V8...

Urambo Tauro > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street.
03/17/2019 at 13:03

There are better ways to package heavy batteries, but yeah focusing on engine and transmission replacements is the closest you’re gonna get to a drop-in solution. Range probably wouldn’t be all that great , though. How many kWh do you suppose w ould fit in the space of a SBC? Or a Honda four-banger, for that matter ...?

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street.
03/17/2019 at 13:08

The motors could replace the diff and you could add more batteries in the back to balance it out. There’s no reason to keep the wasteful driveshaft or place a motor where the transmission was . Replacing the engine with a battery pack is a good idea, though.

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
03/17/2019 at 13:34

Axles are very application specific. My idea would be to make it as standard and application agnostic as possible to increase the audience which would be able to take advantage of economies of scale as well as decrease the barrier of entry. Think less "making the optimal EV conversion" and more "making the most accessible EV conversation kit". The same kit would work in Novas, Impalas, Chevy 2s, Blazers, CJ5s, and with off the shelf hardware, Miatas and countless other vehicles.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street.
03/17/2019 at 14:24

But it’s really no harder to make adapter axles than adapter hangers. You’re already going to need to adapt to the vehicle to some extent. Why get worse weight distribution and that much less optimal a result.

There’s a shop somewhere in CA (I believe) that already takes wrecked Teslas and transplants the drivetrain into older/classic cars.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street.
03/17/2019 at 15:14

For sure, I fully expect EV kits for classics in the coming years. People make their own but kits would be pretty easy.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > WilliamsSW
03/17/2019 at 15:16

If it was a vehicle with a boot you could could a flat pack back there to help distribution.

sn4cktimes > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
03/17/2019 at 16:41

You’re thinking of EV West

They use a whole host of battery stuff to do conversions with. If you hunt around they have a couple neat videos.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > sn4cktimes
03/17/2019 at 16:58

I am pretty sure that’s the one. :)

sn4cktimes > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
03/19/2019 at 00:34

I went down a deep rabbit hole there. As an apprentice Millwright who deals with quite a few electric motors and controllers, converting my Rampage to all electric looks more and more appealing.