EV: CRX vs Porsche 914 - best range
 

Hello everyone,

I'm looking at getting a lightweight coupe for an EV conversion. I've looked at getting a del sol, mr2, fiero, metro, etc... but I pretty much narrowed it down to either a Honda CRX or Porsche 914.

Thing is, I have a few problems. A) I don't know enough about cars to completely scrap the car and complete an EV conversion. B) I drive 20-60 miles a day, and sometimes (rarely) up to 80. Mostly freeway.

So, I have been researching prices to have a shop complete the EV conversion for me. I have a few questions. First... which car would work better for a high-range EV conversion? They are both light (approx 2000lbs), but I'm worried about how many batteries either car can hold, and weight distribution. Second... how much do you think a shop could charge for doing this? Is it worth it to learn it all myself?

Here's the thing... I own a great condition Acura RSX 2002 that I could sell for around 6,000... and I have more money to spend converting my future car to EV... so I might just pay someone to do it if I find the right place.

Thanks in advanced :)

Matt

I don't think many homebuilt EVs can do 80 miles.

Do you know anything about professionally converted EV's?

You could have a shop attach a motor to your transmission, and maybe add battery boxes. You would need a $10,000-$15,000 LiFePO2 pack, but the rest of the stuff could be relatively cheap.

Get a small diesel car or a first generation Honda Insight, you are trying to use the wrong tool for the job.
Electric cars are great for stop and go traffic, in town driving and shot trips where the engine would never warm up, not for cross state trips.
For an 80 mile range you would need to convert something like a Ford Ranger or Chevy S-10, otherwise you would be adding 2,000 pounds of battery weight to a 2,000 pound car and you don't have the space and the car can not handle the weight.

Welcome to ecomodder.

Both have been converted to EV before.
Have a look at some other conversions - you can search the database for Honda's or CRXs or even the 914.
Some list prices and range.

EV Photo Album: Our Electric Cars on the Web

That range is a bit of a problem.
Driven normally, even cars made by big car manufacturers struggle to get to 80 miles.
If you aren't hypermiling already, learn the tricks first ;)

You should.
The range you want, is going to require a lot of Ah and thus batteries, taking up a lot of space, weighing a lot.
Most conversions go with lead-acid batteries for cost reasons.
Certainly there are better batteries out there, but they don't come cheap.

Dave Cloud's Dolphin has the range, but on nearly 2000 lbs of batteries, and highly modified to be streamlined. His budget was $3000.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...hin-13142.html

Dave gave some insight in message 102 of that thread :
http://ecomodder.com/forum/181811-post102.html

So yes, it can be done on a budget, with a lot of work and dedication.

Some DIY-conversions cost above 10 K.
That's before someone tries to make a profit on them.

Yup.
If you have to pay for labour, it's going to cost you.


Forum user Ben Nelson has a DVD on making your own electric conversion.