No pistons, no fuel, no worries! Toyota Sera EV Conversion begins…

[VA61DETT]

Hi,

Progress is a little slow lately, been inconvenienced somewhat having my daily driver wrecked

Should have some more updates & pics shortly.

-A

[greywolf]

Damn, what happened to your daily ? What were you driving ?

[VA61DETT]

See the 5mge supra link in my sig.

Just bought a 97' Mazda 4wd ute now.
So got something to tow my Other Supra to the track

-A

[lexsmaz]

Very nice work & something certainly different ..

I might have missed something ? but is the only thing holding the adapter for the flywheel onto the electric motor the 1 grub screw onto the keyway ? I hope it holds, even so far as not allowing the flywheel to slide / float on the motor output shaft ..

Could you have drilled & tapped in some sheer bolts further around the outside circumference of the adapter which then had a bolt with a turned pin on the end which then went into a corresponding drilled hole on the circumference of motor output shaft .. ( or another couple of grub screws holding in a couple of locking / sheer pins in positions as mentioned above )

Are these Motors allowed or Designed to take side thrusts which will be exerted by the clutch when depressed ..

Rob ..

[VA61DETT]

Small update,

Been busy on the battery box mounts, have bent up numerous sharp bits of metal to weld / bolt in various places.
Will post more pic's soon!

-lexsmaz
The flywheel adapter / keyway is held in place by 2 1/4" grub screws, it is right up against a small step in the motor shaft. The motor bearings are quite hefty and from research I have not heard of trouble with the lateral force from having a clutch.

Will see how it goes!
-A

[VA61DETT]

Hi All,
Updates, updates!

Been very busy lately with battery box work, Have near-on completed all the chassis mounts and brackets required to retain the box, have also been playing with Google sketch-up too



Currently working on the airflow considerations for cooling, have cut out holes for fans (2 x 9” thermos) & made a bunch of slotted bars which will interlock with the base of the batteries.
These allow airflow around the base of the box, whole idea being to force airflow to go through the ribs of the cells when they are packed in.
Air will be pulled in through several small holes around the top / rear of the box and exhausted through large slots cut out of the rear seat wells.
There will be a large Perspex cover screwed down on top with rubber seals around the edges.

Heres a few pics, (mind the crappy looking gasless weld tacks, got my new CO2 reg now)

[thechuckster]

wouldn't it be better to vent the hot air out the top of the battery box?

[VA61DETT]

Ideally, yes.

Few reasons I decided to exhaust from bottom.
-Case of battery venting, fumes will be sucked out of cabin.
-Fans wont be sucking up crap from road, water, dust etc...
-Evacuation from bottom allows for better control over airflow, i.e sucking air through all the cells evenly by placing holes around lid in strategic locations.(well that's the plan anyway)

-A

[greywolf]

From a convection point of view it would be better, but I think all the points that
VA61DETT brought up overpowers that. Although venting from the bottom, directing airflow across the top then venting down a side and out the bottom might be a good compromise ?

[thechuckster]

from memory, the prius has cooling vents (from the battery section) that make their way out at about wheel arch height (e.g. the top of the battery storage area) - but i see your points.

The prius is also probably the first car to have an ECU that just controls battery cooling/ventilaton - whereas VA61DETT's solution reeks of simple and elegant.

[SuperDave]

-Fans wont be sucking up crap from road, water, dust etc...

Are you going to have some sort of deflector/shield/grate to ensure nothing can flick up into the fan, or even make it as far as damaging a battery pack?

Don't forget you can now add a roof scoop that does something

[benjamin]

Don't forget you can now add a roof scoop that does something

+1 Vote roof scoop battery cooling

[VA61DETT]

Heh,
Pitty there is more or less no roof on this car, all glass & doors

Progress has been slowed somewhat due to chronic gear box failures on my new Mazda UTE >.<
(yer yer shoulda bought a hilux)...

-Superdave
The fans will be shielded around the front & sides, there will be rear facing slots cut out of the seat wells, will do some maths to workout size / airflow etc... maybe.

-Thechuckster
KISS FTW!
Though I want to build a speed controller which reacts to average battery pack temperature, but that will be later down the track....

-A

[greywolf]

How new ? Covered by warranty/dicked around by the dealership for 8-24 weeks new ?

[VA61DETT]

Nar is a second hand jobby, 97' model.
No warranty

Just finished re-building the box this arvo, was soo rooted, internal bolt came out & went through a gear set...

-A