Design to add electric to ICE car

veloman

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Austin TX
Are there any realistic ways to add electric propulsion to an automatic ICE car?
Drag a 5th wheel? Hook up to drive shaft?

Or is it 100x cheaper and better to just start with a hybrid?
 
i bet using a plugin pack with a hybrid would be the best and cheapest way to have a highway capable vehicle. then you can still charge on the road if you can or use the gas motor when you go beyond your range.
 
http://www.wired.com/2012/08/hybrid-conversion/

http://www.proteanelectric.com/en/

But it all sounds more like talk at this point.

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Open-Source-Plug-in-Hybrid-Pickup-Truck/

in-wheel-motor.jpg
 
It's probably a lot easier to start with a hybrid, but I betcha there are at least some attempts over at DIY Electric Car forums to poke thru, or on EVAlbum, to see how anything that's already been tried turned out. I think there are also some here on ES, but I don't think they went past the thought stages.


I recall a discussion somewhere about replacing the serpentine belt system on a regular car with a heavy-duty chain and sprocket system, and then putting the electric motor in there along with the other stuff in the drive path of the chain. Then it could be used as a generator to charge batteries with whle the ICE is running, and could be used to drive the crankshaft of the ICE (and thus the transmission) as a motor. But that method means it also drives the ICE itself, pistons/etc., so you'd need something that keeps it from working hte fuel system and wasting fuel like that (and it'll still waste electric power). I think the original intent for the thread I saw about it was simply to add more HP to the existing engine, for hills and quicker acceleration.

A better but similar setup would be to input the electric into a coupler between the transmission input and ICE output, but that would also require a lot of mechanical changes in the car itself to move the ICE forward enough for that, and for placment of the motor, etc. And you're still left with no accesories, if htey are powered by the belt on the ICE. So fi you need A/C, power steering, etc., you'd need to get electric versions of those if you don't have them already.

Hub motors would be a simpler system to engineer from that standpoint, but they add unsprung weight to each wheel they're in.

A push-trailer is another possibility, cuz you could put all the electrics in it (motor, generator for range, batteries, etc) if you wanted, and simply put it on any car/truck. But I doubt it would drive the way you expect it to when being pushed by the trailer, instead of pulling it, and you'd probably need a hitch designed for the purpose instead of hte regular ball hitch (depending on how well a normal ball hitch could hold against pushing instead of pulling). That's already been done a few times; I've seen documentation and videos on the web here and there.
 
I actually considered using the rear swingarm of a Vectrix hooked up to a towbar (with the stock suspension providing the downward push to keep traction + suspension). These will take 10Kw constantly with no issues.

On a small car, this would actually provide some assistance, along with regenerative braking.

I don't think I'm the first to do it either, someone has already successfully used one (I was searching around) - I think it was the Vectrix 5th wheel project or something.
 
the guy who did the honda insight forum or maybe it was the 100mpg website had added a small hub motor on a small wheel that would drop down from the rear spare tire wheel well and would propel the car in traffic at low speeds so it was useful for stop and go rush hour type traffic. he used a pneumatic cylinder to push the am holding the hub motor down to the pavement, and had worked out a scheme to use the pressure of the spare tire as a pressure reservoir to hold the pneumatic cylinder down and then could release the air pressure to retract the hub motor as the speed picked up and he went back over to the ICE/series hybrid that honda uses on the insight.

i thought about adding a motor to the tail shaft of the transmission on a CRX to add EV mode to the ICE. the honda trannie has a spot on the end of the tranny where the 5th gear lives and the tailshaft is right there so i thought of machining a new cover from the old one and attaching the motor to the tail shaft so that it could be engaged with the 5th speed shifter. too much work, not worth the effort imo. the clutch would have to be disengaged to use it with the ICE turned off. so there would need to be a way to hold the clutch down all the time.
 
Would it be too involved to mod an ICE car to have start/stop technology? Being able to shut off the engine would be critical to achieve the gas savings for city driving.
 
This is for sale locally. Seems like a fair price. but I'm really not interested in a full size ev automobile. I wish my wife's car was a hybrid that I could hack to add some battery to, but it's a lowly 30mpg ICE. We just did a trip to the Gulf coast. I have a lot of battery that I would like to put to use, when we use the car, so that's the reason for this thread. 4.5kwh of Leaf cells that I can unplug from my moto build. Still wouldn't want to hammer them at 10c to get the car up to speed or on the highway, so it would be an assist, or for lower speed cruising. IDK, I think I should just stick to the two wheelers. I don't have money to get into ev cars!

If anyone in Austin is looking....
http://austin.craigslist.org/cto/4615468247.html
Range-40 miles
Recharge via 220 in 4 hrs.
20 batteries 2 years old
Original standard transmission
About $6k in conversion parts
Will pass inspection/registration
No a/c
Blower for fan does work
Tilt bed with hydraulic lift supports, hinged at rear bumper
Top speed I have driven it 55 mph
New tires
Radio with detachable face
Needs a new windshield for inspection
Full manual and parts list.
 
veloman said:
This is for sale locally.... If anyone in Austin is looking....
http://austin.craigslist.org/cto/4615468247.html
Range-40 miles
Recharge via 220 in 4 hrs.
20 batteries 2 years old
Original standard transmission
About $6k in conversion parts
Will pass inspection/registration
No a/c
Blower for fan does work
Tilt bed with hydraulic lift supports, hinged at rear bumper
Top speed I have driven it 55 mph
New tires
Radio with detachable face
Needs a new windshield for inspection
Full manual and parts list.
00b0b_5H3nGnLnV9a_600x450.jpg

Damned nice sounding vehicle - is this your build veloman? My nephew lives & works in Austin. PM me your address and I'll have him swing buy and take it for a test drive. Would be perfect for an Austin drive, UT orange and all. Get a solar topped garage and never have to pump Texas oil into the sky again!

On another note, have looked at your build thread, any advise on that "perfect eBike frame?" :?: For my MXUS build (see below), having purchased it all, except for the basic component - the full suspension MTB - that I'm shopping for now on craigslist and eBay?
 
Not my truck. I just emailed the guy about it. Likely has SLA, but I could be wrong.

After spending most the week in a car on a trip, I used one of my ebikes tonight to get food. I feel back in love with my lightweight two wheelers.... So much fun, so efficient, fast enough. 40mph easy, pulling 800w -1% grade. 2kw limited.
 
veloman said:
After spending most the week in a car on a trip, I used one of my ebikes tonight to get food. I feel back in love with my lightweight two wheelers.... So much fun, so efficient, fast enough. 40mph easy, pulling 800w -1% grade. 2kw limited.
Yea, get that. Austin! One of favorite places, being a UT grad and all. Grew up on the outskirts of Houston. Up in the Northeast now and not looking forward to another winter like we had last year. May be back down there for a visit Feb-Mar.
 
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