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

[Astro]

Originally Posted by TheSGC

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3: Get a Prius A/C unit and build a 3 phase inverter for it, so some other kind of electric A/C compressor.

There are quite a few electric only A/C compressors, maybe a different one would suit better.
I did a search in eBay for "Hybrid AC Compressor" and found quite a few that looked to be DC (well they only had two heavy duty pins in their connectors). Would require further research.
Maybe one of those could run direct from your pack voltage.
They aren't cheap tho (Some were around $200) but i am guessing the Prius A/C unit isn't cheap either.

[TheSGC]

I haven't done much with my EV due to vacations, but a few weeks ago I finally logged my commute to work. I found that my Zilla is running hot on the highway, so I am going to water cool it. I picked up a transmission cooler, 12v water pump and misc parts to start putting it together this week.

Right now I am in the middle of rebuilding the headliner. It was in bad shape when I bought the Civic, but recently is has been so bad that it was embarrassing to show off the EV. I'm going to get some pictures, but right now I have the headliner out of the car and I'm removing the old foam with a wire brush. I'm hoping to get the whole thing cleaned up tonight and possibly glue the new material tomorrow or Wednesday.

I also now have a pulley for the A/C to connect to the rear shaft of the main motor. I really only need the A/C when I'm on the highway, and shouldn't be too hard to mount once I get the time.

[TheSGC]

Wow it's been a while since I've posted anything. I've been driving the Civic EV for several years and this past month I was finally able to do some much needed upgrades and repairs.

The old hydraulic power steering rack was difficult to turn since it was not actually hooked up to the make the power steering work. Sometime last year it popped a seal and slowly leaked fluid into the cabin. I have since replaced that with an Electric Power Steering rack from a Civic Si. I haven't finished getting the wires for it in yet, but its so much easier to turn than the old one was.

I had also noticed that my estimated range had dropped from 70 miles to 50 miles. Turns out one of my brake calipers was sticking badly. Since the rotor and pads were wrecked I decided to upgrade the entire front end brake system with ventilated discs and carbon fiber pads for a much better braking performance. And since I had the EV up on jack stands to do all this, I decided to replace the front shocks, lower control arms, tie rods, balls joints and linkages.

I then got an alignment done and brand new tires. I had a cheap set on the EV and they were so bald I couldn't drive it in the rain without sliding around.

After all that I now have my 70 mile estimated range back and a much smoother and quieter ride.

Last year my Elcon charger died on me so instead of replacing it with another 2.2kw charger I went and got a new dual TSM2500, which I can program to up to 6 KW for much faster charging. This has been really helpful since there are now more people with EVs at work than we have charging spaces for so it's a constant game of musical EVs.

I also put a new 750w ceramic heater in this past winter and it keeps the EV comfy. I still haven't gotten around to the A/C since the pulley I had was the wrong width and too small for the belts.

[Daox]

Great to have an update! Thanks.