EV doner selection for hilly commute

V

vt-05

10 mW
Joined
Aug 28, 2013
Messages
20
Location
Ashbourne SA
Hi,

I am about to move house and am investigating converting a car to electric. The commute will be 50.5km each way with the option to charge from 240v at work (8hrs).

The commute climbs 723m and takes approximately 45mins equating to an average speed of 67kmh with some stretches at 100kmh - fast country roads.

I am looking for the holy grail; light, cheap, low cda/frontal area and most importantly simple. I initial pondered an old bug, mx5 or datsun. Keen to hear if there is a better donor.

Lastly if your in the Adelaide hills area and have converted a car before feel free to PM me.

thanks tom.
 
thanks for that.

forgot to mention a nice to have would be no power steering or brakes - english sports car then is guess.
 
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Datsun? A car by that name would be over 40 years old, right? If they had the Mazda MX3 in Australia it's much the same as the MX5 with a hard top and cheaper. One thing you might be happy with.

Don't know if there was a Holden or something that was the equivalent of the Chevy Cavalier of the mid 90's to maybe 2006, that might be nice. I think it's been a long time since a major manufacturer had no power sterring or brakes in the U.S., maybe there's Indian cars today without, such as the Tata.

How soon are you moving? Dat soon?

tata-motors-sales-up-8-at-44276-units-in-june.jpg
 
mx3 - yeah that would seem to make a decent donor and quite cheap too. 0.32 drag coefficient and 6.2 cda (ft^2).

i found this list;
http://ecomodder.com/wiki/index.php/Vehicle_Coefficient_of_Drag_List

the audi a2 looks like a good candidate.
 
vt-05 said:
Keen to hear if there is a better donor.
Click to expand...

Here's three that immediately come to mind which will provide excellent results and won't cost too heavily to find a donor in usable shape nor involve complicated electronic subsystems with regard to all of the car's accessory loads:

-Toyota MR2 (1st generation); Cd of 0.31, frontal area 18 sq ft, 2280-2500 lbs
-Honda CRX; Cd of 0.29 to 0.31 depending on model, frontal area 18-19 sq ft, 1820-1950 lbs
-Triumph Spitfire; Cd of 0.39(Mk I-III) or 0.42(MkIV), frontal area of 14.9 sq ft(Mk I-III) or 15.2 sq ft(Mk IV), 1650-1900 lbs

If you don't mind the work, you can't find much available to best the following:
-Honda Insight (1st generation); Cd of 0.25, frontal area 20.5 sq ft, 1850-1960 lbs

Geo Storms and Geo Metros are reasonably light and aerodynamic as well, if there is an equivalent in your country.

1st gen Mazda Miatas are a bit high on drag(CdA ~7 sq ft) but are around 2200-2400 lbs. Toyota MR2 Spyders aren't much over 2000 lbs, but their drag is also comparable to a Miata's.

Opel Calibras and 1st generation Mitsubishi Eclipse are a little heavy(2500+ lbs), but great with regard to aerodynamic drag.

If you can find a Suzuki Cappucino in your country, those are extremely light.

Subaru Brumbys are light and very lossy with regard to drag. A Subaru Justy would do well too.

Others worth investigating if you don't mind having to restore them or if you can justify the expense: Fiat 850 Spider, Opel GT, MG Midget, Beck 550 replica, Saab Sonnet (1st generation), Triumph GT6, Porsche 914, Lotus Europa, VW Karmann Ghia

You could build a kit car. A Fisher Fury with a LeMans front end would do especially well in a hilly area, given that builds set up with a Ford Escort motor tend to weigh in under 1000 lbs.

If you need something more modern and mundane and don't mind the weight penalties or all of the work involved in getting their electronics/computers to work: 2000s Kia Rios, later Mazda Miatas, 2nd Gen Toyota Prius, Toyota Echo, but now you're getting well over 2,500 lbs weight and/or CdA's of 7 sq ft and up and power steering/windows/other crap.

Dauntless said:
If they had the Mazda MX3 in Australia it's much the same as the MX5 with a hard top and cheaper.
Click to expand...

Totally different platforms. The MX3 is front wheel drive, while the Miata is rear. The MX3 is more closely related to a 323 or Protege. Still a good choice for conversion though.
 
vt-05 said:
Hi,

I am about to move house and am investigating converting a car to electric. The commute will be 50.5km each way with the option to charge from 240v at work (8hrs).

The commute climbs 723m and takes approximately 45mins equating to an average speed of 67kmh with some stretches at 100kmh - fast country roads.

I am looking for the holy grail; light, cheap, low cda/frontal area and most importantly simple. I initial pondered an old bug, mx5 or datsun. Keen to hear if there is a better donor. ...
Click to expand...

unless you are a very competent mechanic, and very smart with EV electronics..with plenty of time and spare bucket of cash... you might spare yourself a lot of grief and time by just finding a unwanted Mitsubishi iMeV .!
 
The Toecutter said:
Dauntless said:
If they had the Mazda MX3 in Australia it's much the same as the MX5 with a hard top and cheaper.
Click to expand...

Totally different platforms. The MX3 is front wheel drive, while the Miata is rear. The MX3 is more closely related to a 323 or Protege. Still a good choice for conversion though.
Click to expand...

In the ways that matter they are very much alike. There's even some part interchangeability, Mazda parts are about the cheapest both OEM and in knockoffs. But this one is cheaper, plus the hard top on an older car is an advantage.
 
imiev is about $17500 with 30k on the clock - i reckon i can push my cash harder.

I built a kitcar a few years back but have very limited electronics experience. plus i will soon have a 6 car shed to play in.

Considered the brumby - nice as the weight could be well placed. actualy a ute makes a lot of sense. simple battery mounting under the tray.
 
vt-05 said:
Considered the brumby - nice as the weight could be well placed. actualy a ute makes a lot of sense. simple battery mounting under the tray.
Click to expand...

Understand that its aerodynamics are terrible. At 100 kmh on flat ground, you're probably looking at around 250-300 Wh/km. Size your pack accordingly, and use some type of lithium battery. You'll love the light weight going uphill or for accelerations though. The AWD is awesome.

Here in the U.S. they are called the Subaru Brat.

I've mused of an idea with regard to converting one. It would be the ultimate trolling vehicle to bait all sorts of exotics with while being adept at committing all sorts of jackassery on the roads. As far as appearance, I would put a set of truck nuts and a confederate flag banner on the tailgate, with "Suck My Ass" painted on the side and "MY B****" as the license plate(minus the censorship of the intended word meaning "female dog"). Then I would shove a Tesla AWD drivetrain and a Lone Star pack in it(There now exists a P100D with 760 horsepower). As something that would have up to 760 horsepower while weighing in at under 2,500 lbs with AWD and the traction that it can allow, it would be powerful enough to back up the sense of obnoxiousness that it exudes to anything willing to pick an argument with it using their accelerator, maybe even a Porsche 918 Spyder or some custom tubbed-out 9-second hotrod. Now, getting such a system to work reliably and gathering the funds to put it together, would not be easy, but the reward of succeeding would be nothing short of awesome...
 
I've come across a few, but none of them comprehensive or up to date:

EV Calculator:

http://www.evconvert.com/tools/evcalc/

EV Range Calc:

http://www.johnsavesenergy.com/EVRangeCalc.html#.WKeuUjHLdj8

Uve Rick's EV Calculator:

http://www.evdl.org/uve/ev.html

Brian Sutton's spreadsheet:

http://www.skewray.com/file_download/2/alfa.xls

EV Performance Analysis:

http://www.amphibike.org/index.cgi?page=pages/3_wheels/mr2/analysis


I had much better luck making my own, but it's on a hard drive 1200 miles from me, otherwise I'd give it to you.
 
We did have the MX3 in Australia. It was just under a different name. Try looking for Eunos, I am not sure of the model name though. That would make a good project. Also you might try looking for a Ford Laser Lynx (much like the Honda CRX)
 
galderdi said:
We did have the MX3 in Australia. It was just under a different name. Try looking for Eunos, I am not sure of the model name though. That would make a good project. Also you might try looking for a Ford Laser Lynx (much like the Honda CRX)
Click to expand...
I believe the MX3 was also called the "Astina" in Oz.
The Eunos name seems to have been used on several different mazda models, sedans, sports, even some of the MX 5s carry that tag ?
Another lightweight candidate might be one of the Smart cars, the Sportster must be a featherweight ?
 
I personally would be opting for a mini moke/ moke californian. A little more pricey and the aero is like a brick, but OMG it would be fun if converted right.
 
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