Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post - Another newb project: peppp 's low budget Panda

peppp · 05-17-2011, 03:32 PM

Hello Ecomodders,

I think it's generally pretty lame to point to other forums, but since I think the target users are slightly different between ecomodder and diyelectriccar, I'll just shadow my future project here , in search for different opinions, if you don't mind

Let me know if this is a problem, please.

That being said....I'm posting a brief resume of my plans. I have a decent knowledge on how a ICE car functions, and done a lot of backyard mechanics when I was a teenager. I have poor knowledge of electricity and zero knowledge of electronics.

My goal is to convert a 1991 Fiat Panda 750, so I'll get some specs going :

Fiat Panda 1991 750CLX

Weight : 700 Kg (1543 lbs)
Drag Coefficient - Cd : 0.42
Cd x A (m2) : 0.71 (7.32 ft2)
Motor weight : no clue
Intended range: at least 22km in the winter ( 13.6 miles )
Intended daily speed use : traffic use(slow).. maybe 60 Km/h (37.2 miles/hour)
Budget : 4000 Euro ( 5,694 USD )

So far I've been looking at projects and trying to figure ways to cut the costs using the projects I see online as a comparison.

The only ideas i've come up so far to save money are :

1 - Try to find someone to build me the Open Revolt controller (but I still have no clue on how much it will cost)

2 - Use a vacuum pump from scrapyard instead of buying a new kit

3 - I'm trying to figure if theres a way to use separate chargers to charge the 12v lead acid batteries i'm planning on. It's not clear to me if its possible or not, because the batteries are connected in series... I've seen this in a Dodge Neon project, but I'm not clear if the Dodge's owner uses some switch between each battery to break the series circuit.

4 - Use a small (and cheaper) motor. The car without the ICE will weight about 650kg or so I reckon .. so I was thinking that the Kostov 9" or PMG-132 pancake one would do.

5 - In case #3 fails, trying to find a "open source" type of charger, that some friendly fellow converter could help me with

6 - I've seen a company selling DC/DC converters for 25-50 USD (http://www.current-logic.com/shop).. are those reliable ?

And thats it so far. I'm also looking for a way to calculate if the motors I posted can be used or not, can you guys give me a hand with that please?

Congratz on the awesome forum btw

05-17-2011, 03:32 PM	#1 (permalink)
peppp EcoModding Lurker Join Date: May 2011 Location: Portugal Posts: 14 Thanks: 7 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Another newb project: peppp 's low budget Panda Hello Ecomodders, I think it's generally pretty lame to point to other forums, but since I think the target users are slightly different between ecomodder and diyelectriccar, I'll just shadow my future project here , in search for different opinions, if you don't mind Let me know if this is a problem, please. That being said....I'm posting a brief resume of my plans. I have a decent knowledge on how a ICE car functions, and done a lot of backyard mechanics when I was a teenager. I have poor knowledge of electricity and zero knowledge of electronics. My goal is to convert a 1991 Fiat Panda 750, so I'll get some specs going : Fiat Panda 1991 750CLX Weight : 700 Kg (1543 lbs) Drag Coefficient - Cd : 0.42 Cd x A (m2) : 0.71 (7.32 ft2) Motor weight : no clue Intended range: at least 22km in the winter ( 13.6 miles ) Intended daily speed use : traffic use(slow).. maybe 60 Km/h (37.2 miles/hour) Budget : 4000 Euro ( 5,694 USD ) So far I've been looking at projects and trying to figure ways to cut the costs using the projects I see online as a comparison. The only ideas i've come up so far to save money are : 1 - Try to find someone to build me the Open Revolt controller (but I still have no clue on how much it will cost) 2 - Use a vacuum pump from scrapyard instead of buying a new kit 3 - I'm trying to figure if theres a way to use separate chargers to charge the 12v lead acid batteries i'm planning on. It's not clear to me if its possible or not, because the batteries are connected in series... I've seen this in a Dodge Neon project, but I'm not clear if the Dodge's owner uses some switch between each battery to break the series circuit. 4 - Use a small (and cheaper) motor. The car without the ICE will weight about 650kg or so I reckon .. so I was thinking that the Kostov 9" or PMG-132 pancake one would do. 5 - In case #3 fails, trying to find a "open source" type of charger, that some friendly fellow converter could help me with 6 - I've seen a company selling DC/DC converters for 25-50 USD (http://www.current-logic.com/shop).. are those reliable ? And thats it so far. I'm also looking for a way to calculate if the motors I posted can be used or not, can you guys give me a hand with that please? Congratz on the awesome forum btw Last edited by peppp; 05-17-2011 at 06:26 PM..