Quote:
Originally Posted by xpedro01
MINISPEED; From what I have seen of the insides of the leaf, it should be a long time before it wears out. It is built like a truck. Since they are being sold in 34 countries, to make one size fit all requires that they be very tough. The battery case ( which I will not be using) weighs 200 pounds and is pressurized.
I got my leaf by bidding on "SALVAGE NISSAN LEAF" on the internet. On my 4th attempt, I WON. Now I will just need to spend months playing in the garage. My biggest problem, I think, is the axle shafts, as the LEAF is 4 inches wider than the Honda. You may not have that problem with the Mini. Keep researching.
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For me "wear out" means the battery degrades to the point that I can't do my 90 mile round trip in the winter without stopping for a 20 min plus charge every day. I'm fine stopping for a charge on the days that it's freakish cold or very windy/snowy as they aren't that often but if I can't make the trip every day in the winter under 1hr 20min then I'll consider it worn out for my needs. I need 80% of the charge to make it with heat on and a safety net most cold days. In -19C I used 80% without heat at 90-95km/hr. I have 120v at work, but it's not officially approved. In the summer I can do round trip on 1 charge. If my wife and I have a third child then we may need something bigger then.
Then I'll factor in the cost of a replacement battery vs. a newer car, and factor in that I really want to transplant the leaf internals to the mini. Seeing your finished project will just make me want to do it even more. I haven't asked at the dealer myself but I have been told by other leaf owners that Nissan Canada doesn't have a battery replacement price like the $5500 US price. Nissan US says it's selling it at a loss and an original first year leaf owner I know here has his battery down to 86% in just under 4 years which is pretty much bang on the Nissan estimate of 80% by 5 years so I don't think they'll be doing replacement batteries at a loss here.
As far as width of the car I'd be willing to run flares and race minis have flares that go out as far as 10 or 12 inches on each side. I would want to do a minimum of 4 but if I need to it's nice to know that I can.
I doubt that the axle shafts will present a big problem, 4 inches, 2 per side, probably a lot less wheel travel on the insight than the leaf so shortening them probably won't be a big deal.
From the outside when I had my leaf and insight parked side by side last night it looked like height was the limiting factor. Of coarse the Nissan will have a 2plus pedestrian safety gap on the hood and I think the top cover can come off as some user have put a second charger there in it's place.
You could also put the drivetrain in the back of the insight!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Xist
You can fix that!  |
Oh yes the wheels have already been turning..... I would think that I'd chop the floor and go 100% flat from the rear subframe forward and a flat panel for the rear. Air flow needs through the front would be a lot less and I may be able to cover the full grill or have a small opening with room to vent it to a good place. Nice rear lip or partial kamm back. I would want to avoid a boat tail since I would still want it to look classic. If money wasn't an issue I'd get a pick up frame and add a nice tear drop custom top on the back.