David's 2001 Civic EV (80-100 mile range; 65+ MPH; 8 second 0-60)

[drmiller100]

do you really need a clutch?
could you just shift by cutting all power to the electric motor, then shifting gears?

[TheSGC]

Im going with the MiniBMS and keeping the clutch is a must around here
Clutchless shifting needs 4-5 seconds and that is too slow for the traffic. And keeping the clutch adds a safety feature and clutchless coupling requires exact machining and cant handle awsome torque.

[drmiller100]

seems like the weight of the rotating mass of the electric motor would be pretty small, and you could just use the syncros to change the speed fo the motor when it is not under power.

for sure you would NOT want a flywheel.

[MetroMPG]

I can vouch for David's reluctance to go clutchless again.

The ForkenSwift is also clutchless, and while it's entirely possible to shift up & down without one and use rev-matching to help, the gearchange can't be done anywhere near as fast as with a clutch. Not really suitable when traffic requires faster shifts.

(Though I did wonder, David: why are you shifting? I just leave the ForkenSwift in 3rd gear most of the time. I only shift down for starting or climbing on hills at low speed to avoid pulling high amps).

If I were building the ForkenSwift again, I'd opt to keep the clutch.

[TheSGC]

I am keeping the clutch and flywheel for simplicity.

I am shifting be cause i live in a hilly area and the gear ratios favor shifting.

[TheSGC]

OK, so now that I am back from vacation I get back things going again.

Right now I am trying to get my axles back into the transmission, then I will bolt down the last two motor mounts. Once that all gets today, I will do a test on 12 volts to make sure everything is spinning correctly and the clutch is aligned.


Then comes my next project: hooking up the A/C and P/S. Has anyone used a treadmill motor to do this? I have a 130 volt 2.5 HP treadmill motor that I think will do the job to run those two. Solectria used a 1 HP PM motor to run the stock GEO Metro A/C compressor, so I'm hoping this 2.5 HP can run the A/C and P/S.

[Daox]

I'm pretty sure the PS alone can use a few horsepower (up to ~5). Some quick googling on the MR2's electric pump hydraulic steering system would probably find the answer for you. Perhaps its for such a sort duration that the 2.5hp motor can take it...

[fb_bf]

I just thought I'd check in here and saw this thread. I also have a 4 speed with a clutch and I think it is a must have for a car if you want it to behave like a real car. This project will be great when it is done, and the goals sound very realistic. Without the clutch it wouldn't be a great project. I think too many people build electric cars just as a fun project. With today's components available you can have a real car, not just a project. I've now driven mine for 11 months and 3500 miles, and it's great. I simply plug it in when I get past 50 miles and the BMS and charger do the rest. I haven't looked at my battery voltages for months. You definitely have the right approach to building this car, and I'm sure it will be a very good runner when done.

[TheSGC]

I got one of the two axles into the transmission today. I didn't spend too much time on the EV like I had hoped today, but I did end up selling the ICE, muffler and alternator for $400 so that was good.

As for my axles, the passenger side was pretty easy to do with one person, but the driver's side definitely needs two people to work it. Hopefully tomorrow I can get in that axle in with some help, there is just so many things going on right now that time is hard to come by!

[Daox]

Progress is still progress and its good to see this moving forward even if its small steps. I've been trying to find time to work on my BMS system, and I know what its like. It seems I can never just sit down and get a good chunk of work done.