[bennelson]

I added two more batteries to the car today.

To do it, I had to put the old bed frame rack back in, spanning the trunk spare tire space.

At 96 volts, the car is a bit peppier. I can hit 55 mph, although it sure seems like a waste of amps to get to and maintain that speed.

I took the wife out to dinner tonight, and noticed the extra voltage was nice for a particular stretch of higher speed road.

Also, the throttle seems to act a little different at 96v than it did at 72. Maybe there is something to what you guys were saying about code.

I know NOTHING about electronics, but Tom (of the 300V AC Dodge Neon Project) knows all that stuff. He mentioned to me today that he could take a look at the controller and that we could "tweak it up".

Also, Tom was able to get a different set of batteries for his Neon - a full matched set. Which means his old batteries MIGHT be available for my car. Why I am interested is that they are group 24 batteries. Mine are group 31. The difference in LENGTH of batteries might allow more group 24s to fit in my car than group 31. For example - 4 group 24s can fit in the radiator space, but 2 group 31s can barely be squeezed in there.

I have also seen a Geo Metro with a rear seat box with 7 group 24s in it. My seat box only holds 5 batteries right now.

Hmmm.... Sounds like I COULD do 12 group 24s for 144V AND keep my trunk! Even 120V would be pretty slick.

More than anything, I want to improve my range. Seems like the best way to do it is to increase system voltage. Better top speed is just a handy side-effect!

PS: I also noticed that the Open Source Controller DOES cause a little interference on my radio. I only get one FM station, because my radio antennae has been "aero-modded" off. Okay, okay, it was broken off when I bought the car, and the one station I get is the only one I really listen to anyways.

Anywho - it's not bad, it's just a little static, most noticeable when pulling away from a stop. Any ideas on minimizing the noise in my radio reception?