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Old 10-10-2008, 04:23 AM   #13 (permalink)
Blue Bomber Man
EcoModding Apprentice
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Upstate NY
Posts: 190

GreenMile - '00 Mazda Protege ES
90 day: 34.45 mpg (US)
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ncc74656m,

I have actually spent the last 4 weeks researching exactly what you are talking about and have been able to learn much. A few weeks ago I posted a thread about building a car from scratch, that it would be all electric, and have a 100 mile range.

Im still working on the conceptual stages of the project as I have yet to obtain my copy of solidworks or a new computer to aid in the actual design.

But here is some useful information:

This is a link to a Phd's Research on vehicle loads and specs.
PAMVEC: Parametric Modelling of Road Vehicle Energy Consumption

His spread sheet allows you to enter in vehicle weight, rolling resistance, CdA (value for combined Coefficient of drag and frontal Area), range, performance, and other variables.

Entered in numbers from my current car and it basically nailed my epa rating for gas mileage. It also provides data for various drivetrains such as: gas, diesel, electric, parallel hybrid and series hybrid.

My current specs/goals are:
<1200 Lbs
120 mile range
0-60 14 seconds
onboard energy usage of 250 watts for vehicle functions (not propulsion)
Cd ~ .13 Frontal area 20 sq feet
RRC of .065

For the electric version it recommends about an 11kw hour battery back
Current price for the lithium polymer ion version is around 10k

Fortunately I will not be building this for around 1-2 years, so I HOPE the prices come down on those.

Estimated MPGe (equivalent comparing kw hour prices to gasoline) is around 380 mpg.

The gas version of the same car would be around 100 mpg, which seems reasonable, diesel would be higher.


His spreadsheet takes into account passengers weight, vehicle driving cycles, different drivetrain efficiencies, and even regenerative breaking.

My current guestimate price for batteries, motors (found these SWEET wheel hub motors with everything built in, not sure if they will sell directly though), BMS (battery management system) is around 20-25k

The nice thing about an electric car is that it would be extremely low maintenance. Only real maintenance is battery replacement (old batteries should certainly be sellable).

Also, I am completely sold that all electric is the future for the industry, especially as battery or capacitor tech evolves. The only exception would be with onboard generators, similair to what chevy and others are doing.
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