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

[Smokey228]

The electric motor stops moving when not throttled doesnt it? So the pump stops working and you loose psteering everytime you back off...

I know when driving my mates vl, it would stall cause of a shotty afm and no mater how used to driving without psteering you were, it would still get ya by surprise when all of a sudden you had it and then it was gne... Almost met the gutter a couple times

Cheers,
Jase

[TERRA Operative]

Quick one.

That engine mount there, is there a brace under that small square of al bolted to the main piece? Might be worth putting a triangle of al underneath as a brace to stiffen it up, as a lot of weight will be on those four bolts when you hit a bump....

[VA61DETT]

Hey all,

The motor will be rigged to 'idle' at about 1000rpm so all the ACC's will work how they should.
This makes it easier for passing any licensing requirements, as it is stated that all the power stuff must work. (Brakes & P/S)
I will eventually like to go complete electronic for P/S, A/C. But for now I Just want to get it running with minimal hassle.

Regarding power requirements, Idling the electric motor uses 3 parts of f*ck all compared to acceleration & cruise, would be interesting to do some tests on how much power is actually required to drive the P/S, will have to see how that goes.

And yes, both the upper bracket & A/C pump have small bracing bits of ally. Should be tough enough

-A

[Viper]

Hey all,

The motor will be rigged to 'idle' at about 1000rpm so all the ACC's will work how they should.
This makes it easier for passing any licensing requirements, as it is stated that all the power stuff must work. (Brakes & P/S)
-A

For the brakes/booster, you will need a vac pump anyway yeah?

Seem a fair waste of ELEC. just to have the engine idleing.. but if it passes dodgy laws, then I'm all for it

[VA61DETT]

Yer It is a bit of a compromise, but just for the time being.

I will probably end up putting in a switch for the throttle, so when you are sitting at lights, without A/C on the engine will turn off completely.
The controller also checks that the throttle is 'off' before starting up.

-A

[MWP]

So if the motor will always running, youll be driving this like a standard manual car... ie, using the clutch to start moving, etc?

Seems a little odd, but i can see why you would do it this way to get it going asap.

[thechuckster]

fwiw ... I saw these threads mentioned on slashdot about MIT guys turning a Mercury Milan into an electric-only car:
team blog: http://mit-evt.blogspot.com/
news item: http://www.networkworld.com/news/200...may-rival.html

slashdot item: http://tech.slashdot.org/story/09/07...els?art_pos=11

is still in development so the news item is somewhat overely efusive.

Personally, I like this slashdotter's comment about how to define an EV that 'outperforms' a conventional vehicle:
1) Hit fewer pedestrians and cyclists
2) Be drivable while drunk
3) Not result in massive traffic jams
4) Not require huge ugly parking lots and parking garages.
5) Be cheap enough so that normal people, instead of rich douchebags, can afford it
6) Require fewer tax subsidies.
7) Allow the user to get some exercise instead of getting progressively fatter.

[Hiro]

So if the motor will always running, youll be driving this like a standard manual car... ie, using the clutch to start moving, etc?

Seems a little odd, but i can see why you would do it this way to get it going asap.

Maybe it needs a centrifugal clutch, chainsaw style

[wagonist]

I knew a guy back in Brissie who built an electric Subaru Sherpa about 15 years ago.
One thing he discovered that when travelling up a hill & the electric motor started to struggle, was to change up a gear.
I believe the theory was that electric motors produce the most torque jsut off idle & then it drops off after that, therefore, the lower the motor rpm, the greater the torque.

Good to see it progressing.

A thought for the future fine tuning.
Installing an electric clutch like an A/C compressor onto the power steer pump pulley so it doesn't draw engine load when the steering isn't turned.
Has anyone mentioned hydraulics to run the A/C & P/S? Though this still requires the motor to be turning to drive the hydraulic pump.

[TERRA Operative]

DC electric motors have a pretty much linear torque curve. More power in = more RPM = more torque.

[VA61DETT]

Some Interesting stuff there on the MIT car,
Not likely to see 300V 1000A lines direct to your home anytime soon ;p

The DC motor torque will have a 'peak efficiency' area, running under extended load (low RPM + High Amps) will cause heating of the windings/associated bits & effectively increase the motor resistance which will reduce the amount of power that can be delivered.
Not to mention putting excess pressure on the batteries, controller etc...

-A

[PsyCo]

I can't believe I've only just found this thread.
What a great read!
+ Rep for the effort involved!

[Jason Broadhurst]

Wouldn't a single efficient motor driving the AC and PS be better than individual motors which are often cheap and nasty compared?

The motor is on bearings, it would use very little power to spin it with no load. If its peak efficiency for the load required is higher, you can idle the motor at 1500 with 0 throttle and have the clutch in for great results.

[VA61DETT]

-Jason

That's the plan for now
Will see how it goes load / energy wise.

-A

[The Witzl]

this thing is cool.
I rate it.

Are you interested at all in getting an article in Silicon Chip magazine? I can help you make that happen thru work.