jonescg's eCRX pre-build thread!

[jonescg]

Here we go, another pre-build thread...

I am now the proud owner of a 1989 Honda CRX. It would have to be the most aerodynamic, light-weight chassis going, and is just asking for a conversion.



It is still sitting in Adelaide, but I will be picking it up at the end of July. It will remain an ICE for a while yet, but hopefully by the end of 2013 it will be well on the way to becoming electric.

My basic aims - efficient commuting.

Top speed 130 km/h. No need to go faster when you have 4 wheels. Two wheels on the other hand...
0-60 km/h about 3 seconds
0-100 km'h about 8 seconds

I hope to achieve this with a XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Edit - going with an Evo AFM140-4 at 700 V DC.
Not sure I should bother with a transmission, just a single 4:1 reduction to the main differential (it's a front wheel drive).

Range - I am aiming to squeeze as many EIG cells into this as it will handle without jeopardising the boot (trunk) space. I should be able to fit a third of them under the bonnet and the rest under the parcel rack. Ideally I will have close to 200 km range, but at least 150 km. This is at least 25 kWh, but if I can get more in there I will.

And its going to be a sleeper. No need to draw too much attention to my thrifty wheels

Don't expect lots of updates, but comments and criticism most welcome.

[svt/r&d]

1984-87 weight less thinking about converting my 87

[dnmun]

i have an '86 CRX with a bad vacuum leak i cannot find. it would be a good candidate too. 1800lbs.

[def215]

dnmun,

i like the caption for the pic. i wouldnt have the heart to part it out either. id love to get my hands on one of those 1g crx's, but i know ill never find one around here in good condition let alone find one.

[neptronix]

Wow, nice clean car. Should be an easy conversion.
I want to do something like this, but do a plug-in hybrid style setup. Bit cheaper.. hehe.

[Arlo1]

Awesome, I got one for my conversion and then the girlfriend saw how awesome it is on gas as an ICE so she payed 1/2 and I painted it pink and got it on the road for now. I have big plans for it Not sure what motors but I want to mimic Rimac! I am hoping one motor per wheel mounted inbound with single stage of reduction! Maybe a motor like the big Astro or colossus. Just have to see how colossus works out once I get the controller finished!
I just about bought another one for 900 obo. But I'm going to find one for below 500 otherwise wait till I'm 100% debt free!
Very cool great car for a sporty conversion!

[jonescg]

I want to use the YASA-400 or Evo equivalent because I can take the motor out and drop it into the race bike for the weekend. Then I can't tow it anywhere cause the car has no engine Nah, it should fit very nicely on the LHS, with a stack of batteries on the RHS to counterbalance it. The Gen 1 CRX's were like go-carts. A least this one comes with all the mod-cons, and has a lot more room for everything.

Like I said, it will be an ICEer for a long while yet. I have an electric race bike to build, remember?

[Arlo1]

We just picked up another one for 500$ lol. It drives and runs better then the one we already had.

[jonescg]

That pink is an awful colour...

I'm surprised there were more than one CRX on the Island (or did you pick it up on the lower Mainland)

I had to search country wide for mine, and eventually found the closest one was in Adelaide, barely 3000 km away.

I've been contemplating whether I need a gearbox or not. I reckon some kind of mechanical advantage for steep hills would be a good thing.

[Arlo1]

That pink is an awful colour...

I'm surprised there were more than one CRX on the Island (or did you pick it up on the lower Mainland)

I had to search country wide for mine, and eventually found the closest one was in Adelaide, barely 3000 km away.

I've been contemplating whether I need a gearbox or not. I reckon some kind of mechanical advantage for steep hills would be a good thing.

There is actualy a few out here but most people want to much for them. The pink is for the GF and one day I might make it a drag car or some sort of electric race car so something that grabs atention will help!

I am not sure what Im doing yeh But I want a motor per wheel so proly wont have a tranny either. Typicaly if you can find a big enough motor you can get away with out a tanny.

[dnmun]

whatta deal arlo, you makin chris cry in his beer!

[grindz145]

I am not a car guy, but damnit the CRX was one of the best cars ever made. fun and super efficient, the things literallly get better fuel econ than my everyday motorcycle (which is sad). Perfect electric candidate.

[Punx0r]

Interesting thread!

Regarding the drive, surely a custom adapter plate on the standard gearbox is the simplest solution? Driveshafts already in place (and at the right angles), choice of gears if desired to keep the motor in the sweet spot. Clutch to disconnect the motor in the rare even it goes haywire.

FWIW, the final drive is probably around 4:1 (maybe a little less), so assuming fourth gear is approx 1:1 (usually the closest of the five) you should have your desired reduction. If the FD is actually more like 3.8:1, third gear will probably be closer to giving you 4:1 overall.

[Punx0r]

I've just seen the spec for that Yasa motor Absolutely incredible.

I could find a distributor with a price, but someone from the company (Nick Farrant) has posted on some message boards in 2010 saying they were expecting to acheive $1000 for the motor and $500 for the controller when proper production got under way. That seems *very* cheap...

[Arlo1]

I've just seen the spec for that Yasa motor Absolutely incredible.

I could find a distributor with a price, but someone from the company (Nick Farrant) has posted on some message boards in 2010 saying they were expecting to acheive $1000 for the motor and $500 for the controller when proper production got under way. That seems *very* cheap...

????? yeh I doubt it will be that cheep I would expect 5000-8000 for controller and motor together!

[jonescg]

Troy; yeah I fell in love with them the moment someone suggested it. The CdA won me over, and dammit they look pretty sweet too. I don't think this one will be getting 19 km/l like the Blackbird does, but still, it's pretty good.

Punx0r; the YASA motor is amazing on paper, but I am yet to see what they can do in reality. I got a quote from them last night - If you added a zero to those figures you would be much closer to the mark. If I wanted 500 of them it would be 5000 GBP. But for now a one-off is going to set me back 9000 GBP Might yet be an Evo running from a Wavesculptor 200.

[Punx0r]

Yeah, those prices sound more realistic (and disappointing)

[jonescg]

Just an on-the-road update of the CRX - I am writing this post from Kalgoorlie, 2000 km from it's home in Adelaide. We've bene on the road since Thursday morning. The fuel economy is pretty ordinary, but reliability is a genuine 10 out of 10! Will post pics soon. Definitely a great deal, this car!

[Arlo1]

Hmmmm??? http://shenghua-cn.en.alibaba.com/produ ... 0km_h.html

[grindz145]

I should mention that I actually converted a CRX as part of my senior project. It was on a puny budget, all lead batteries, not terribly exciting, but it was a great car anyway.

[Arlo1]

I should mention that I actually converted a CRX as part of my senior project. It was on a puny budget, all lead batteries, not terribly exciting, but it was a great car anyway.

Build thread/info???

[grindz145]

This was back in 2006, I had an ebike then, but I was unaware of endless-sphere.

I believe it was a solectria drive train.

Here's the solar panel charger I built for it....
https://picasaweb.google.com/100164840055019443310/MotorbikeStuffOldPhonePictures#5250302637540042754

Oh and here's the "gas" filler tank. Wish I took more pictures...

https://picasaweb.google.com/100164840055019443310/OldCameraPicsPotsdamNYC#5250431329100914034


Woohoo I just found a shot of the engine bay

https://picasaweb.google.com/100164840055019443310/OldCameraPicsPotsdamNYC#5250431337082927202

[Rodney64]

Went over to Chris' today yes the CRX looks good.

[jonescg]

So after visiting my family in SE Queensland, my wife and I flew to Adelaide to pick up the beast. That day we drove up to Cudlee Creek in the Adelaide hills for lunch with some biker friends. Chain of Ponds and Gorge road are two very nice roads to test a little sports coupe out

Many thanks to Tim from the Adelaide AEVA for picking up the car and storing it for me. He earned himself some WA red

So early the next morning we set off up Main North road in the dark, dreary weather. After about an hour of driving there was a break in the weather and we got to watch the sun rise... In front of us. That's not right...

I had failed to take the Port Wakefield road, and had been driving north-east along the Sturt Highway It took about another hour to find our way back through the Clare valley and onto the main road north. In doing so, a passing 4WD kicked up a stone which smashed the RHS headlight Lights still worked at least.

We stopped at Kimba where a giant galah landed on the car:


I continued to drive the lonely Eyre highway... Katherine couldn't share the driving - she never learned how to drive a manual


Lots of straight roads and desert views for the best part of three days:


And one very straight road:


But we made it home. Sturt is also an anagram of trust. Which kind of sums up everything about this car - trust in the seller, trust in Tim to handle my cash and pick it up, and of course, trust it would make it home OK. And trusty it sure is.

There is a lot of room behind the seats for batteries, as well as a bit up the front in the engine bay. The fuel tank on these cars were tiny - barely 40 litres. And it doesn't really earn you much extra space once you pull it out. Will take some thought, but for now I need to get it over the pits in WA so I can put a tow bar on it for hauling motorcycles

[SplinterOz]

Nice indeed. Looking forward to seeing the conversion process.