I got a Corbin Sparrow! A very modded Corbin Sparrow

It's a 1,000A controller capable of 400v peak pack voltage. Right now it's limited by what a string of 44s 90Ah thundersags can deliver. It won't be battery limited after I replace it's saggy pack.

[youtube]8o5HoC2yj90[/youtube]

Very cool!!!

Tom

That's crazy

So you got the 001 unit ?

Might require more traction.. and i'm afraid to even think what happens if you hit the front brakes hard lol..

Is it active steering, meaning that you have to physically turn the wheel for direction change?

Love it.

Soon to be a very, very, modded Corbin Sparrow. 8)

Very cute. (sorry).

Awesome!!

A jellybean Sparrow! I used to have a blue jellybean, blue like a standard blue tarp you see everywhere. It was very fast even unmodified. Mine was something like number 158. I wish I still had it. With my electric bicycle experience now I wouldn't hesitate for a second to work on it. You can become a bit of a celebrity driving one of these. While buying a coffee at a coffee house the girl serving me yelled loudly "you're the guy in the little blue car"!

Hi,

Ed:
How well does a stock Sparrow handle?

Luke:
How well does the modified Sparrow handle?

Do you know how it compares to a stock Sparrow?

How difficult was it to do the modifications?

Thanks!

Top speed ?

litespeed said:

Very cool!!!

Tom

Click to expand...

Thanks!

Punx0r said:

That's crazy

Click to expand...

Not as crazy as it will be after I upgrade the pack and turn everything on the Zilla up to 11.

Ypedal said:

So you got the 001 unit ?

Might require more traction.. and i'm afraid to even think what happens if you hit the front brakes hard lol..

Click to expand...

Yes, #001. Corbins own engineering development vehicle from what I've been told.
When you slam on the brakes, it just stops quickly with no fuss. If you smash the pedal hard enough it just locks the wheels. To help minimize spinning while braking, it only has front brakes.

melodious said:

Is it active steering, meaning that you have to physically turn the wheel for direction change?

Click to expand...

The steering has nicely done custom all metal hiem-jointedf linkages to a nice rack and pinion steering setup that feels quite appropriately go-kart like.

wineboyrider said:

Love it.

Click to expand...

You and my wife both, I can't keep her out of it, and wouldn't want to either.

The fingers said:

Soon to be a very, very, modded Corbin Sparrow. 8)

Click to expand...

It's already the most modded in the world bar-none. Amazingly, all the hard work for making it a rocket was done for me, and by a guru legend of EV building. It's just a battery swap away from being stupid-silly-fast.

Alan B said:

Very cute. (sorry).

Click to expand...

You and my wife think alike.

edcastrovalley said:

A jellybean Sparrow! I used to have a blue jellybean, blue like a standard blue tarp you see everywhere. It was very fast even unmodified. Mine was something like number 158. I wish I still had it. With my electric bicycle experience now I wouldn't hesitate for a second to work on it. You can become a bit of a celebrity driving one of these. While buying a coffee at a coffee house the girl serving me yelled loudly "you're the guy in the little blue car"!

Click to expand...

I'm glad you enjoyed your Sparrow too!

MitchJi said:

Hi,

Luke:
How well does the modified Sparrow handle?

Do you know how it compares to a stock Sparrow?

How difficult was it to do the modifications?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

I've had no previous 3wheeler experience to compare. However, I think it handles very surprisingly well. Strong tendency to over-steer rather than under-steer if you push the traction limits in a corner, this is my preference in a vehicle. It will spin mid-corner if you don't catch the slide by counter-steering instantly. It gives you maybe a 0.5second window to catch your drift or enjoy being off-road. Once it has serious HP, it feels like the sort of vehicle that will take well towards being steered by the throttle.

I would have to call the modifications no less than extremely complex. This car essentially is a corbin fiberglass shell riding on a custom-built cro-moly racecar tube chassis.

\/ampa said:

Top speed ?

Click to expand...

On the saggy saggy pack made from nicely packaged yellow-bricks of broken dreams and disappointment, it tops out around 85mph... This is because the voltage sags from 160V too below 100V essentially anytime you pin the throttle. I'm going to put a pack in her that is ~232VDC charged, and under 1,000A load will still be just over 200VDC. This should substantially improve the top speed.

Hi,

Just found this. The price of "just under $30,000" is insane . Anyone who would pay that much should have their drivers license revoked for insufficient mental capacity.
http://www.evfinder.com/threewhlrs.htm

Breaking News 6/18/2008: Myers is releasing a Li Battery option that can give the NMG a range of up to 70 miles

Myers Motors bought out the remaining parts for the Corbin Sparrow 3 wheel single passenger electric vehicle. Myers have done a lot of work to eliminate many of the design problems that plagued the Corbin Sparrow and have now started limited production using the remaining Sparrow bodies and this vehicle will be designated the NmG.

Top speed of 75 mph comes from an electric motor that will deliver peak output of 40hp.

The original NmG was powered by 13 Optima Yellow Top batteries giving a real world range of about 25 miles. They have recently switched over to a Lithium battery pack that packs 15KWHrs of energy. The latest feedback I am getting about the new pack is that it gives a good solid 50 miles of range. Myers Motors quote a battery life of around 100,000 miles on the lithium pack which should make it more economical than using the Optimas.

Myers introduced an improved Zivan Charger that can charge the vehicle from a 110V outlet in about 6 hours.

A new controller is being used for the NmG which should prove more reliable than the one used in the Sparrow

The suspension and brakes have been totally reworked to improve vehicle stability.

The NmG is priced starting at just under $30,000 and comes with a 1 year or 12,000 Mile warranty.

Click to expand...

Too cool Luke! I would like to find a decent Sparrow myself. I just REALLY wish it was a tandem 2-seater. I REALLY look forward to seeing what you do with one of these though! 8)

MitchJi said:

Hi,

Ed:
How well does a stock Sparrow handle?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

It actually handled quiet well for a three wheeler. The suspension was stiff but it cornered well. Almost like it was bolted to a roller coaster track (because of the battery weight).

MitchJi said:

Hi,
Just found this. The price of "just under $30,000" is insane . Anyone who would pay that much should have their drivers license revoked for insufficient mental capacity.
http://www.evfinder.com/threewhlrs.htm

Click to expand...

The 2000 Jellybean versions went for $12,000 new! I bought mine used in 2001.

Awesome! Sounds like it's going to be better suited to having wings than wheels once you fit the new battery

Luke glad you got one, and also very glad the front track has been widened and improved steering accuracy installed. You now have two eCars, what a deal!! Both very unique.

I'm totally envious. Looks like a really fun ride, small, light and efficient.

bigmoose said:

Luke glad you got one, and also very glad the front track has been widened and improved steering accuracy installed. You now have two eCars, what a deal!! Both very unique.

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3 non-2-wheeled EV's now Dave.

2001 Rav4 EV that I upgraded the battery to have 30kWh of additional pack. The vehicle would barely get to 75mph down hill when I got it, now it cruises everywhere comfortably on it's 85mph speed governor, even up hills. Haven't gone for a full range test in her yet, but easily did 100miles of highway in my first partial test. I want to Lebowski controller swap this vehicle to get big power as well. It has a huge circulated oil cooled PMAC motor in it now that always stays cool to touch, even blasting up long hills on the highway at it's governed 85mph).

Palatov DP1e with 30kWh of battery (hopefully soon to get a motor controller from Arlo to get it's power up from ~100hp to 400hp).


And the reason for updating this thread! The Sparrow is now DeathSparrow. I replaced it's yellow bricks of sadness with 15kWh of Lithium with punch. Now it can light the tire up effortlessly anywhere from 0-75mph, and it ripped hard to >100mph until the motor launched a ton of molten materials from it that looked like a firework exploding in my rear view. The next time it happened was at a lower speed, about 85mph, and equally if not more impressive with the fireworks display... Yet somehow it still seems to run and make full power. She needs a motor that plays well with all the power the Zilla 1kA can deliver. Motor fitment now is extremely tight, almost touching chassis and swingarm both already with the ADC 8" it has now.

Suggestions? I've got zero experience playing the large brushed motor game.

Nice score, LFP!

-JD

Any sites to suggest for setting up a series brushed motor to handle a few hundred kW's? There must exist a method to make these things handle big power without puking copper, or vehicles like white zombie and killacycle wouldn't exist.

That looks like a shitload of fun.

Without seeing pics of the commutator/brushes, I couldn't say whether what you saw was just brush arc, or actual commutator explosion--but if the motor still works it's probably not the latter.


My best recommendation for brushed info at high power is over on DIY Electric Car in general, or asking Major here on ES (or over there on DIYEC). I dunno if Plasmaboy still posts over there or on EVDL, but he'd be able to tell you at least who to go to for modding the motors.

I've forgotten the name of the guy/company that makes (made?) motors like the twin in WZ, but it might be Jim something. Jim Husted? Been too long since I was over there.