Hey Guys,

My name is Will and I live in Raleigh, NC. I just signed up on this board because I'm in the market for an RX-8 as the foundation for an electric vehicle conversion. It's going to be market research to see if there's a market for me to open an EV conversion shop here. I'm hoping that converting cool used cars will result in affordable and sporty electric cars that are a bit more socially acceptable than what's available now.

This will be my first Mazda. I'm currently an old school Toyota guy:



On the right is my 1985 Toyota Corolla GT-S. I rebuilt the engine using a Silvertop 20v bottom end with redtop high comp 16v pistons and a bluetop 16v bigport head breathing through 20v silvertop individual throttle bodies. It's run through a JDM AE92 MAP sensor setup and a Greddy E-manage Blue. The suspension has also been completely rebuilt with TRD short stroke adjustable shocks and 8kg/mm ground controls on the front and 6kg TRD single rate springs in the back. The 4 links, lateral rod and front tension rods have all been replaced with Techno Toy Tuning pillow ball pieces and there's Whiteline anti-roll bars and end links front and back. I cut my teeth on my project and I've had it going on almost 10 years now. The car on the left is a 1987 Toyota Cressida wagon that I was going to turn into a grand touring version of my Corolla with an ITB 2JZ. That was before I went back to school get my Mechanical Engineering degree. I've since given the wagon to my friend to make room for this EV conversion.

I realize I'm posting this in the general automotive thread. Before you jump on me for being a total n00bcake, the reason that I posted here is because I'm also promoting my automotive culture blog, www.fluxauto, where I'll be covering the entire EV conversion. I'm hoping that documenting my reasons for building an EV and the entire conversion process will encourage more people to consider doing them. I'm shooting to match the stock RX-8 hp with almost twice the torque with the motor/controller/battery that I'm wanting to use. Another one of my goals is to have the car sporty enough to do autocrosses and drift events. There's only a couple of articles up right now about the EV since I'm still shopping for an RX-8. Until the conversion really gets under way, I'll be posting about awesome car stuff and doing a daily news feed on Facebook and Twitter. Check it out, I think you'll like it.

I guess I'm kind of a strange FNG, but I look forward to hanging out on this forum.

-Will

 

Glad to have you Will! If your attention to detail is anything approaching the level as what you did on your build of the GT-S then this will be another incredible build! I look forward to you starting this.


PS: bring the GT-S out to an autox soon!

 

Thanks John! Are you still running with THSCC? I've been meaning to get out to an AutoX earlier, but I just got the new gas tank into the Corolla which required a redo of the fuel map. It seems to be happy now, so it's cone annihilation and random spin out time again. Just lemme know when the next one you're going to is.

 

Interesting. But it won't stink and sound like a pissed off weed whacker anymore

 

I run with them occasionally. I run more with NCR SCCA now, you should come out to the Aug. event in Havelock at Cherry Point MCAS, awesome site with great grip on smooth asphalt!

 

Nice to know your entering the rotary scene. Welcome to you and good luck.

 

Welcome to the board. It sounds like an interesting project. I am a huge fan of electric propulsion and definitely see it as the ultimate future. Whether it's battery, super caps, flywheel recovery, range extended, fuel cell, etc that is ultimately leaned on the most in the future is still the big question but I believe that wheel mounted hub motors are the ultimate future.

I'll admit that I'm not a big fan of battery banks. I don't like the added weight and hence decreased vehicle performance associated with them. I am intrigued with the idea of a conversion though. As a die hard rotary person I'd be sad to see the engine go away but even then I see it's near term future use as a range extender for a pure electric driven vehicle.

Are there any brushless motors available for automotive conversion yet? When rc cars changed from brushed to brushless the power and efficiency gain was nothing short of astronomical. I'd love to see something like them applied in the full scale world.

 

I'm planning on using the tried and true forklift motor based Netgain Warp 9 Brushed DC. Yes, it's only ~85% efficient, but it's inexpensive for how much power it makes. Running an equivalent ~250hp AC system would cost three to four times as much and possibly require a much higher voltage. The plan is to take one step back from start of the art high voltage AC stuff to make a practical and affordable EV. Getting the extra 10% efficiency out of the motor and regenerative braking isn't worth the extra 10-15 grand+ tacked on to the price tag in my mind.

I haven't really found any car scale brushless DC motors for conversions yet. They have some ~50hp brushless DC setups for motorcycle conversions. Other than that, the only brushless DC motors I can think of are the ones Honda uses with their IMA cars (Insight, CR-Z) and possibly anybody else that has a pancake motor sandwiched between the engine and transmission. None of those would be powerful enough to function as the sole traction motor in a car.

As for battery packs, it's not as bad as it used to be. Up until a few years ago, the only way to get decent range was to use deep cycle lead acid batteries for golf carts. There was a definite diminishing return for range because they were so heavy. We're talking about adding 1200+ pounds to the curb weight of a car. With lithium ion phosphate batteries, I think the additional weight is only going to be ~300 pounds after all the combustion engine stuff has been removed and swapped over. The lithium batteries also have cleaner discharge without any voltage sag meaning you don't lose performance as you work your way through the stored energy.

That being said, batteries are still what hold EV's back right now. They're the most expensive component of the car while also being the most important part for extending range. Of course range is the biggest concern for potential EV buyers so its hard to offer what people want without a significant increase in price. I'm hoping to eventually add a mobile recharging generator to the car, but that's putting the cart before the horse. I need to get the car buttoned up as an EV before I start putting resources towards a generator.

 

Just popping in to say this guy is the real deal and I am really excited to see this project progress.

 

This

 

Interesting concept... I look forward to seeing the end result.

Is this something you plan to do as a service to would be electric rx8 owners as a conversion for them, or something you want to produce and sell?

 

I want to open a shop that would be more of a conversion service. I'd really like to give classic cars a new lease on life with an electric drive train. That would involve people bringing me the cars that they love and letting me convert them.

The RX-8 is going to be used for market research and then probably sold as a turn key car. I didn't want to do a novelty classic car because I need something with universal appeal to gauge if there's enough of a market to open a shop. To that extent the RX-8 is really sporty, universally cool and has a futuristic touch to the styling. The finished product's price tag will be at the edge of new car territory, so it needs to really feel like something special. I think starting with an RX-8 gives me the best chance of accomplishing that. If I get the process down, then turn key EV RX-8's could be a business staple. We'll see.

 

Check this out: http://www.ad-pecjak.si/ECO/Bolt.htm

You should find a more appealing car in my opinion. This is a niche car and people love the dirty engine that runs on premix way more than the environment.
Something like an electric golf or camry would make sense though.

 

I'm looking to do something with more sporting appeal than the stereotypical electric vehicle conversion. Something along these lines but for a fun daily driver car:

http://youtu.be/n4-UDNy9kQI

I'm trying to bridge the gap between performance car guys and electric car guys. It's kind of funny because I'm already pissing off extremists in both camps. The performance car guys tell me that electric cars are all propaganda and that I shouldn't waste my time. I actually had an EV guy tell me that EV's don't need 250 hp and that I could get by using a 50hp motor because of the torque. The plan is to prove all of them wrong.

 

What's the weight of the engine and batteries combined?
We drive these cars, with all their design flaws and inefficiencies for a reason that isn't being green.

It's a nice project but I don't see it picking up in an rx8 chassis. Do a 'vette!