SCEV

Just a heads up to anyone that wants to follow along, I've started the conversion of my 951 from gas to electric. Check out my blog, link is in the signature below...

carlege

You could have got a roller for 2500

SCEV

But then I wouldn't have gotten do drive the car around for a couple months before starting the conversion

I did try and find a decent body 944 Turbo with either a bad or no engine...couldn't find one.

odurandina

ahhh, then you have

1. rad set of tools....

2. subscription to Popular Mechanics

3. decent divorce lawyer.

manticore33

Are you going to set up a pusher trailer to extend your range like the other 944 EV I've seen? Also, how will the batteries effect the weight distribution of the car?

SCEV

A push trailer, really? Where did you see that? There is no need for anything like that, the 944 can hold plenty of batteries to get decent range (~75-100 miles)...especially with the newer LiFePo4 chemistry. I'm planning to keep as close to 50/50 weight distribution as possible, but haven't really planned out the battery layout yet.

racerxrick

let's play name SCEV's car!

944E (944 Energizer!)

V2Rocket

No, no, by removing the 944 engine he won't need to get divorced!


Cool project, saw one years ago, be cool to watch one be made.

Any chance you could fit the electric motor directly to the transmission, or is it too big for that spot? That would free up the whole engine bay for batteries...

SCEV

Motor is roughly 12" in diameter...I dont think it would fit without modification, but it's worth looking (though I've already bought the coupler/adaptor for fitting it engine bay).

Dougs951

Good luck and keep us updated!

racerxrick

oh...sorry, already 951EV

V2Rocket

Is the motor going to be used for braking? Could you run a pulley off the driveshaft (between motor/transmission) to an alternator, wired to activate when you let off the gas pedal/hit the brakes?

SCEV

Wasn't planning on this, from what I've been reading on various forums you don't really gain enough for the effort. Also most alternators are 12V...my battery pack will be close to 250V. Here is a copy/paste from a post on DIYElectricCar.com...

Can an alternator or generator be attached to the drive train to implement Regen?
Theoretically a generator (or alternator) that is connected to the drive train when the brake pedal is pressed would be a simple way to implement regenerative braking. In practice it could be quite difficult to mount a generator of sufficient size (approximately the size of the motor for similar braking power to your acceleration) or enough 12V alternators to charge the individual batteries in the pack in an already crowded engine compartment. Also the additional complexity of a clutch system to remove unnecessary drag when not in use and controlling the current spike into the batteries further complicates things. All of this for a 10% gain in range is often not deemed to be worth the money, time and additional weight it would take to implement it. That said it would be an interesting experiment and challenge, and serve as a good example if someone was willing to try such a set-up.

jason952

Interesting, don't see the point tho...lots of dollars burned here

manticore33

http://www.jstraubel.com/EVpusher/EVpusher2.htm

That is what I was talking about. A very clever idea. Imagine if you could rent these "trailers" for travel between cities and then drop them off, run on batteries, and then rent another one to push yourself back home.