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

[VA61DETT]

For sure,
When I have it going.
That would be awesome

-A

[The Witzl]

I'll send an email to the editor, Leo Simpson, to have a look at your thread here and see if he is interested.

Karl.

[VA61DETT]

Cheers Mate,

I finally have my welding gear sorted out, so should see some more progress this weekend.

-A

[VA61DETT]

Update
Thursday, 13 August 2009

Finally got my welding gas sorted out last weekend & weather was good enough to get the first coat of paint on the completed battery box.

Ooh so silver


Since the weather has been bad this week I though I should finish off the battery vents & block up the great big ‘tranny tunnel’ hole.

Cutting out more holes


The vents were made out of some light gauge galvanised steel off cuts, these were then glued & riveted to the chassis. The same stuff was used to make up a cover for the tunnel hole.

More different holes


Once the weather dries up somewhat I will give everything a coat of zinc ‘cold galv’ paint & install the battery box.

-A

[TERRA Operative]

Gonna put some mesh over the vents? Might help stop any nasties getting in.

[VA61DETT]

Yer, will see what's laying round the shed
Will also put some foam around the base of the box to fully seal up the airflow when in position.

-A

[Nitephyre]

Props, this is mad shit... can't wait to see how it turns out

[VA61DETT]

Update
5:47:58 PM
Monday, 24 August 2009

Woot Batteries are finally installed!!!

Cleaned up vents


High voltage connectors for ZILLA, Battery Charger & ACC’s


Final test fit of box

All batteries installed!


Now for the fun job of wiring up all the links & BMS modules!

-A

[TERRA Operative]

Needs moar battery....

[skiddz]

lnk all de ba2rez 2ge4

me was trying to save time

[manny]

First of all, top effort here - I've been subscribed and folllowing this thread for a while and I'm amazed with what you have achieved.

Now these last pics have me a little concerned about any occupants forward of that battery box in the event of any frontal collision. I presume you've got it covered but I thought I'd mention it anyway.

Do the math on the force that will be exerted by the total weight of that battery load at any given speed and then work out up to what speed those brackets will hold before letting go and crushing anything in front.
Also try and work out what force will be applied to the top centre of the largest panel in the battery box as all the batteries try and make their way out of it in an impact if the floor mounted brackets do hold.

Just looking at it, I'd be inclined to add some substantial horizontal bracing to the box across the front of it as well as adding some additional braces from the top of the box to the bodywork to prevent it twisting/tipping.

Keep up the great work and regular updates

[VA61DETT]

-Manny,

Already taken care of!
There are front & rear right angle brackets which go along the top edge of the box & bolt into the chassis.
All up there are about 30x 8mm bolts holding the box very secure
The car will most likely desentergrate around the box!

-A

[brett_celicacoupe]

looks fantastic mate.

i tried doing some calcs the other day, it becomes pretty clear how the usable distance depends onthe velocity you want to do.

its a cubic relationship; double your speed and youll use 8 times more power!

since the aerodyamic drag dominates the overall drag, its also clear that the lowest possible Cd is best

will you look at adding wind trays to the bottom of the car?

what sort of distance are you looking to travel with it and at what speed?

also, what charging time would you estimate on single phase GPO?

[VA61DETT]

-brett_celicacoupe

Yes speed vs required power is a biggy, then throw in an incline and watch the power usage go nuts!

I have done some rough calculations & rekon I should be good for about 150 - 200km level ground @ 60-70Km/h.
Its just too hard to work out all the variables.
Bacically I will be happy if I can get to work & back in one charge. (about 75K with long incline on the way home).

Will 'suck it n see'
Expect to see loads of power logs & results once the controller is hooked up, Ill try to gather / post as much info as possible when it runs!

-A

[VA61DETT]

^Charge time approx 8 hours on a 15A GPO (%80 DOD)