SquidBonez
1 W
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2019
- Messages
- 54
Hello all, I'm new to these forums, and while snooping around I have a question that I felt would be an interesting discussion.
What will EV modifying be like? Obviously not many people modify EVs at the moment (I'm not talking about conversions taking an ICE car and turning it electric), as there are very few electric cars that are cheap, powerful, plentiful, and worth modifying. You have cheap in the form of the Leaf, but few people want to modify them for obvious reasons. Teslas are certainly powerful but aren't anywhere near as plentiful and are very expensive. Therefore, the aftermarket sector for electric cars is currently limited to cosmetic/suspension/gearing mods. That being said, in a hypothetical situation where there WAS aftermarket support, how would you go about modifying an electric car? As electric vehicles take over pretty much every market segment - everything from commuter cars, super cars, dirt bikes (Alta Redshift), and high performance side-by-sides (Nikola NZT) - there will eventually be those who wish to modify electric vehicles for better performance, and thus, an aftermarket will form to cater to them. This will probably become commonplace as more used electric vehicles enter the market. In comparison to an ICE vehicle, EVs are very simple. There isn't as much to modify in general. There are certain mods that will be exactly the same as they are today; weight reduction, suspension, wheels, gear ratio changes, etc. But what about the powertrain itself? Here's a few possibilities:
- REFLASHING:
Similar to ECU tuning today, software modification could allow for better performance as many EVs come de-tuned from factory. The Nissan Leaf Nismo is an example of this. The only difference between the standard Leaf and the Nismo is a body kit, wheels, and a software reprogram.
- HIGHER VOLTAGE CABLES
As you begin working with more power, the rest of the drivetrain will need to be up to par. Higher voltage cables could be a "Stage 1" mod in the future, similar to installing new valves/valve springs as you build an engine.
- AFTERMARKET CONTROLLERS/COMPUTERS
The EV equivalent of a standalone ECU (like a MoTeC). These would allow you full control over tuning the car yourself rather than needing to reprogram the stock computer. An example of this today is the EV West Tesla Motor kit which comes with an aftermarket controller that allows for fine-tuning. 057 Technology also has an aftermarket controller for sale and has been used in many projects already.
- RE-WOUND MOTORS
The copper wires in an electric motor can be replaced and rewound to allow for more power, RPMs, efficiency, etc. This is something that is already done on all sorts of industrial motors today. Motor-rewind kits will likely enter the aftermarket and be an intermediate-level mod, similar to aftermarket camshafts.
- BATTERY MODULE SWAPS
People have been using Tesla Motors and hooking them up to Chevy Volt or Kia Soul packs to build some pretty crazy machines (for those who don't know, the Volt/Soul packs have a greater discharge than the standard Tesla packs). Aftermarket companies could possibly sell high performance modules to give your vehicle better performance. You could also wire modules in a series rather than in parallel for much more power at the expense of range, but this assumes that the rest of the drivetrain can sustain the extra voltage.
- MOTOR SWAPS/MORE MOTORS
Completely swapping the stock motor for a more powerful motor is nothing new in ICE vehicles, but an advanced mod pertaining to EVs could be adding more motors. This will likely be difficult and expensive, but so are AWD swaps on traditional vehicles.
What do you guys think? I am by no means an expert, so I want some informed opinions! :thumb:
What will EV modifying be like? Obviously not many people modify EVs at the moment (I'm not talking about conversions taking an ICE car and turning it electric), as there are very few electric cars that are cheap, powerful, plentiful, and worth modifying. You have cheap in the form of the Leaf, but few people want to modify them for obvious reasons. Teslas are certainly powerful but aren't anywhere near as plentiful and are very expensive. Therefore, the aftermarket sector for electric cars is currently limited to cosmetic/suspension/gearing mods. That being said, in a hypothetical situation where there WAS aftermarket support, how would you go about modifying an electric car? As electric vehicles take over pretty much every market segment - everything from commuter cars, super cars, dirt bikes (Alta Redshift), and high performance side-by-sides (Nikola NZT) - there will eventually be those who wish to modify electric vehicles for better performance, and thus, an aftermarket will form to cater to them. This will probably become commonplace as more used electric vehicles enter the market. In comparison to an ICE vehicle, EVs are very simple. There isn't as much to modify in general. There are certain mods that will be exactly the same as they are today; weight reduction, suspension, wheels, gear ratio changes, etc. But what about the powertrain itself? Here's a few possibilities:
- REFLASHING:
Similar to ECU tuning today, software modification could allow for better performance as many EVs come de-tuned from factory. The Nissan Leaf Nismo is an example of this. The only difference between the standard Leaf and the Nismo is a body kit, wheels, and a software reprogram.
- HIGHER VOLTAGE CABLES
As you begin working with more power, the rest of the drivetrain will need to be up to par. Higher voltage cables could be a "Stage 1" mod in the future, similar to installing new valves/valve springs as you build an engine.
- AFTERMARKET CONTROLLERS/COMPUTERS
The EV equivalent of a standalone ECU (like a MoTeC). These would allow you full control over tuning the car yourself rather than needing to reprogram the stock computer. An example of this today is the EV West Tesla Motor kit which comes with an aftermarket controller that allows for fine-tuning. 057 Technology also has an aftermarket controller for sale and has been used in many projects already.
- RE-WOUND MOTORS
The copper wires in an electric motor can be replaced and rewound to allow for more power, RPMs, efficiency, etc. This is something that is already done on all sorts of industrial motors today. Motor-rewind kits will likely enter the aftermarket and be an intermediate-level mod, similar to aftermarket camshafts.
- BATTERY MODULE SWAPS
People have been using Tesla Motors and hooking them up to Chevy Volt or Kia Soul packs to build some pretty crazy machines (for those who don't know, the Volt/Soul packs have a greater discharge than the standard Tesla packs). Aftermarket companies could possibly sell high performance modules to give your vehicle better performance. You could also wire modules in a series rather than in parallel for much more power at the expense of range, but this assumes that the rest of the drivetrain can sustain the extra voltage.
- MOTOR SWAPS/MORE MOTORS
Completely swapping the stock motor for a more powerful motor is nothing new in ICE vehicles, but an advanced mod pertaining to EVs could be adding more motors. This will likely be difficult and expensive, but so are AWD swaps on traditional vehicles.
What do you guys think? I am by no means an expert, so I want some informed opinions! :thumb: