rustymon

We are going with CALB LiFePO4 Batteries - 100Ah cells and we think we can squeeze 90 of them in the car. 40 in the frunk, 18 in the space vacated by the fuel tank, and the remainder in the rear along with the motor. We don't have exact placements yet as fitting all other parts in will help determine final layout.

alpine003

Which motor did you end up getting? Can't tell from the pic.

CALB 100aH 7.5 x90 = ~675lbs worth of batteries. Have you weighed the total of the motor/harnesses/exhaust/etc. to see what the net gain would be?

dosie

REDY KW

rustymon

It's a NetGain Warp 9. It may seem counter-intuitive that we didn't go with a larger motor, but all of our calculations pointed to this motor... less mass should spin up faster and be a little more responsive to the throttle, it will be more efficient and adds less weight to the build yet doesn't really sacrifice much when you look at the power inputs. In fact, we're estimating close to 400 ft/lbs of torque! We'll be doing some modifications to the brushes, so the motor won't be exactly stock, so it will give us a little more on the top-end, but not too much. Being a "bigger is better" guy myself, I took some time to be convinced, as I was happy to pay more for an 11" motor, but after talking with several experts, it was confirmed that the 9" is the way to go for this build. We did consider mating 2 8" motors together, but all the added complexity and cost didn't seem to be worth it.

We're estimating about 300 lbs in additional weight. That said, if you figure a full gas tank weighs about 78lbs, and some lighter wheels will shave another 25-30lbs, so we're looking at about 200lbs difference from stock. Hmm... I guess I can tell my wife that it's like she and the kids are always with me, so I should be free to cruise around any time...

alpine003

Thanks for the update. It should be nice once it's done.

Been thinking of going with a 9" for my CRX project if it takes off next year(pending government rebate programs if it exists in 2014). I've calculated curb weight at around 2200lbs with batteries. Not bad, if anything for the handling aspect of it.

rustymon

Starting to get some content together that others can view... gave a timelapse camera to my mechanic and he's put a handful up on YouTube... http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC99Pg7eYYcYPiU4lUqD0BBw

Some of the videos aren't work, but most are.

You can see the little page he's started on his site about the project:
http://www.shiftev.com/index.php/for...son-in-process

The BIG news is that all pieces of the drive train have arrived and are going together. The motor is mounted to the stock transmission using the first adapter (for this transmission) produced from 6061-T6 Billet Aluminum (27lbs!) and using the twin radial bearing motor coupling system - About 15" across and
nearly 4" deep.

The clutch had to be beefed up to handle the expected torque (400ft/lbs) and we purchased a Stage I pressure plate and organic clutch from Kennedy Engineered Products.

The rear motor mount gets designed next week, then once that part is complete, the reconstruction begins!

rustymon

Some photos of the parts mentioned above:

996 cab

Any ideas on 0-60 ? Or expected 1/4 mile time?

groovzilla

i'm guessing the conversion "only" will run about $30K

will be interesting to see it when its done and here about the performance & drivability.

rustymon

Groovezilla - you are correct, the conversion will be about $30K, including labor. The batteries are approximately $12,000 of that total but we haven't ordered them yet... I hope they go on sale!

The goal of the build originally was to match stock performance, but then we added more batteries and decided to go with a 2000 Amp Zilla controller, so it will be faster than stock, just not sure how much faster yet. Trust me - I will find out when the car is complete! The car isn't being built for racing - if it were, I'd probably have picked a lighter car to begin with. It's supposed to be a no-compromise daily driver. We're doing all sorts of things, such as keeping the dash stock (converting all information from the battery/motor) to use the fuel gage and tach, instead of dropping in cheap looking digital readouts etc. We're also keeping A/C, power steering, etc. and are building in a vastly improved stereo system, as now I need something to listen to other than the engine! I'm purchasing a head-unit that is based on Android so we can wire in an OBDII reader to the Torque app to get precise data from our battery management system.

Now if I can just stop staring longingly at all the people with their convertible tops down now that the weather is nice again... I miss my car!

rustymon

You may find these estimates interesting. We've pulled approximately 760 lbs of engine, lead battery, and other related parts and fluids which won't be going back into the car. This considers losing the weight of a full tank of gas also.

We're adding approximately 960 lbs back in, consisting of these approximations:
675 Batteries, connectors, boxes
150 Motor
30 Structural work (to support boxes and other parts)
30 Motor-to-trans adapter system
30 Controller
25 Stereo components
15 Power Steering Pump
10 Power brake pump & reservoir
10 DC-DC
25 BMS, Fuses, Contactor, & other small componenets
That estimation puts the car at about 200lbs heavier than stock curb weight. The majority of this 200lb difference, will be added near the front axle, reducing the cars centripetal force and tendency to over steer in extreme cornering. More or less, as if the bonnet has cargo.

rustymon

Here's an update regarding the structural layout.

This CAD video shows a Zilla 2K controller & Hairball, 91 CALB LiFePO4 cells, a Lithiumate Pro BMS master, air conditioning compressor, two appropriately rated fuses, a Gigavac GX16BEB contactor; a small 12V auxiliary battery and proposed boxes, some lids, and mounting structure. The red structure is the Porsche uni-body tube inside the engine compartment. Several components not shown: Controller cooling fluid pump, radiator, reservoir & coolant lines; Forced air fan & tubing to motor; DC to DC; box insulation, Power Steering reservoir, wiring, etc.,.

rustymon

More and more is happening with the car and I haven't been great about chronicling things here... so here are some belated updates!

First, with much of the car apart, I decided it was best to do a new stereo install now rather than wait. Many thanks to Rod at Car Audio Innovations for helping with picking the best components for the job... we'll have a system similar to what many other rennlister's have done, with Focal speakers and an Audison amp. What will make the system a little different is my selection of a Parrot Asteroid Smart as the head unit. This Android based device will also allow us to use Torque, an app that will monitor/display all sorts of information from the battery management system and motor. Should be super sweet if we can get it all working...

Now, about getting it working... the initial steps have been made to get the stock gauges work with the battery management system (BMS), allowing us to keep as much of the car looking stock as possible. No crappy LCD mounts here! Want to see them in action? Check here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQSlDU3gDxE

The biggest job, however, has been battery fitment. The engine compartment design has been key to fitting the 90 cells on board effectively. It's coming down to a 1/8th inch tweak here and there to make it work. Many iterations have taken place on CAD, then measuring in reality to make sure it will fit elegantly. Some of the pics attached show those boxes coming together, and being fit-tested to confirm before moving on to next steps. The really cool pics, are the ones that show nothing at all... because the batteries are mounted just high enough to be out of sight from the outside views of the car. Most other conversions that I've seen show boxes hanging down below the bumper cover. These pics were taken with one box tacked together, and the other missing a back wall - so you see the blue mock-up cells.

Throttle

Very fun to follow, but I want you to finish the damn thing so we can get 0-60 times and battery life. ;-) What is your estimated date of completion?

rustymon

LOL - you think YOU are ready to see this finished? How do you think I feel???? I thought it would be a 2-3 month project and I've been without my P-car for 8 full months and counting... and the weather is just perfect now for top-down drives! I like to think we're 6 weeks away... but I find myself saying that every 6 weeks...