David's 1996 Civic LX EV

[TheSGC]

Originally Posted by Intrigued

Ooooh, I like it! When you get it figured out, give us a hint, so that the slushbox guys can be cool too!

Do the OEM signals split for the speedomoter, or will you have to re-adjust the signal somehow to know how fast you're going???

The OEM signal does split. It actually goes to three places, one to the Speedometer, one to the Odometer and the last to the PCM. So all I have to do is fool the signal (5v Pulses) to the PCM. And all that is software on the PIC controller!

[TheSGC]

Originally Posted by Christ

Get a set of adjustable coilovers from eBay. The springs are generic cuts, rated just past the OEM rating for spring rates, and you can adjust them up so that even though they're shorter, they will be at standard ride height. They're also less than $60 and the fronts will fit the rears if they wear out.

So those will work? I didn't know if they would cause trouble with my struts, or even be able to cope with the weight.

[Christ]

Another thing comes to mind about the springs: Preload the stock springs

This will probably actually make your car ride slightly higher than OEM (if you add enough spacers) but the idea is to put (basically) a washer between the upper spring seat and the top of the spring, so that the weight of the vehicle preloads the spring rather than putting it to normal installed height.

Since the spring gains tension as it compresses (until just before it's stacked coil) having it slightly compressed at normal ride height will actually make for a slightly stiffer spring, and since the shocks bottom out before the springs reach stacked coil, you'll have the same amount of travel, meaning that you get a stiffer spring with an OEM ride height, and it only costs as much as the spacers cost to be milled. (I have a set of blue aluminum ones for 96-00 Civics, I"ll take a pic of them next time I go to the storage shed to show you what they are.)

Mine actually came in a cheap eBay set of coilovers, they're about 6mm thick (6mm of pre-tension on stock springs.) They're actually there so you can get rid of the squishy rubber mounts that go into the upper perches, but if you use them for pre-load discs, you put them in, then trim the rubber ring to fit them.

[TheSGC]

I was looking at these: eBay Motors: 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 CIVIC COIL OVERS (item 310114649758 end time Feb-08-09 15:07:32 PST)

Do you think they will work?

[Christ]

Those are exactly what I was talking about - if you don't plan on installing them all the way around, use the longer springs on the rears if you can make them fit (if the kit actually has longer springs for the front, many don't.)... they'll already be pre-loaded because the installed height will be different for them, which will make them even slightly stiffer.

I can even walk you through removing the OEM springs without a coil compressor It's really not hard, and it's not even dangerous... plus, you don't need a compressor to put coil overs on either, since you just turn the perches all the way down, put it all back together, then raise the perches after they're installed.

But, yes, those should work... and even if they're not exactly what you need, they'll get you through until you can afford something else, at which point you can sell them to some ricer who thinks it's OK to just slap coils on stock shocks and slam the car on them.

[Christ]

PS - if you can find them cheaper, they're all EXACTLY the same, just diff colors and etc... I used to use the same drop shipper they all use, for about a day, which is how I got my first set. I just ordered them direct, at about $24 a set. (That should tell you about their mark up, and many of them still charge shipping on top of that... which they DON'T have to pay.)

[Clev]

Originally Posted by Christ

You can also play with the transmission itself to create manual valve body, if you wanted to. Also, you can change the stall speed of the torque convertor, but that will affect your TC lockup as well. *You won't have it anymore*.

Is there a reason to have a torque converter anymore? The electric motor doesn't stall, and you could probably live without the torque multiplication (especially since your best torque is near 0 RPM.) I could imagine shifts being a bit harsher, but maybe you could zero out the throttle pot during the shift so the transmission isn't under load.

[Christ]

I'm not an AT guru here, but doesn't the torque convertor have something to do with pumping the transmission fluid? Or is that a "driven BY the TC" type of thing?

[TheSGC]

In this transmission the TC also happens to be the pressure regulator for the ATF pump, so no I can't remove it.

I actually wanted the extra torque multiplication because of the rather small motor I am using. Most people drop this motor in a vehicle that is half the weight of my Civic and get the same results as I am getting, which is really good for me.

The only thing I have found is that my motor gets hot if I drive below 25 MPH, because below that the internal fan doesn't do enough, and am I building a blower cooler to solve that problem.

I have about 50 EV miles on it so far, and finding ways to improve it each time I drive!

[MPaulHolmes]

A blower will make a huge difference! I have a 60 pound 6.7" motor. It's rated at 24v 103amp for 1 hour, and I'm running it at 72v. The car weighs around 2000-2200 pounds, and the motor would get really hot after about 5 miles of hard driving. Now, with the blower it only gets warm after similar driving. The difference is like night and day.