Feasability of going from gas to only electric

[Isaac Zackary]

Zencar EVSE got back with me. I'll be able to charge off of 120V or 240V and be able to chose between 12A, 16A, 24A or 32A.

Once I get it I'm planning on modifying the EVSE with a 250V 50A twist-lock end so that I can make several removable ends with several different kinds of plugs, including, but not limited to a 120V 15A, a 120V 20A, a 30A and a 240V 30A/40A/50A (by removing the neutral pin) plugs. I'm also going to rig up something to make 240V out of two 120V circuits.

I also have a large 120V isolator. I bet I could use that to make 240V out of two same leg 120V circuits. For an example, at a campground with a 30A and a 20A 120V outlets I could make a 20A 240V circuit.

[oil pan 4]

For 120v you will want L5-30 and TT-30 if you are thinking about getting power from RV.
Then a 14-30 with the neutral pin removed will give you both 14-30 and 14-50, "welding machine full kva" access with one plug in.
I have new and used 14-30 cord sets. I used to sell adaptor cords all the time on ebay. Let me know if you need one, they are $25 plus sales tax at Lowes last time I looked.

[jray3]

[QUOTE=teknomage2012;546767]Your efforts would be better spent improving the leaf aerodynamics than building a pusher trailer, wedge the nose with a shaped foam grill block, and install a hitch kit and make a tail cone that plugs in to the hitch reciever, install disc wheel covers and rear wheel well spats to add a Lot of range.

Sorry teknomage, improving the aero of a LEAF is an order of magnitude less impact than building a pusher trailer. The object is not to extend range from 85 to 100 miles per charge, it is to extend range from 85 to more like 500 per fillup. Myself and several others have used pushers for very long road trips. It's worthwhile because though it can eliminate the need for a 'road trip vehicle' in your fleet, the pusher will only be in use for a tiny fraction of the average driver's trips. With this in mind, it doesn't matter so much if your pusher only returns 20 mpg or so, if it displaces the need for a whole 'nother vehicle.

Disclaimer- I don't currently apply this policy, preferring to have the correct tool for each job!

[Isaac Zackary]

Originally Posted by jray3

Sorry teknomage, improving the aero of a LEAF is an order of magnitude less impact than building a pusher trailer. The object is not to extend range from 85 to 100 miles per charge, it is to extend range from 85 to more like 500 per fillup. Myself and several others have used pushers for very long road trips. It's worthwhile because though it can eliminate the need for a 'road trip vehicle' in your fleet, the pusher will only be in use for a tiny fraction of the average driver's trips. With this in mind, it doesn't matter so much if your pusher only returns 20 mpg or so, if it displaces the need for a whole 'nother vehicle.

Disclaimer- I don't currently apply this policy, preferring to have the correct tool for each job!

Now let's not get opinionated about what's better or not. I like both ideas. There's merit in both. If the Leaf had better aerodynamics I could make my once-a-week trip to Montrose without having to drive under the speed limit or bring a tow-along solution. But a pusher trailer could allow me to do the same without having to wait three hours to charge up before going home.

• Aeromods
  • No oil changes or other ICE maintenance.
  • Improve efficiency
  • Don't wear out.
  • Are the cheapest option when starting from scratch.
  • Don't fall into any grey areas, nor do they open up any doubts about emission legalities.
• Pusher Trailers
  • Completely eliminate range anxiety.
  • Allow you the flexibility to use two "fuels" whichever you prefer.
  • Depending on the trailer design, can add more hauling capacity to your vehicle, and not just space, but weight.

Of course there is also the idea of an aerodynamic pusher trailer...

With a pusher trailer I could go to Alaska!

But then not have an excuse anymore to not visit the in-laws...

[teknomage2012]

Problem is you need to stop to charge, unless you get a dc\dc converter and inject 400vdc on the fly

[Isaac Zackary]

Aeromods:

Pusher Trailer
Generator trailer

[Isaac Zackary]

Armchair engineering again.

I just got back today from my last long trip in the Leaf for this year. It's getting a bit cold and snowy and going 160 miles in the Leaf with 65 miles and a 2000ft climb between chargers is a bit sketchy.

Anyhow, I about have the Leaf paid off. After that I'll have a bit more money to work with. And hopefully my VW Bug will be running soon so I can contemplate on extending the range of the Leaf, perhaps chopping the Golf into a pusher trailer for now.

One thing I'm finding out is the low price of lithium ion cells if you look in the right places. There have been genuine 18650 cells for sale on eBay for close to $1,000 for 6kW. There have been even better deals on old laptop batteries. It seems a bit risky, but it does seem possible to build an extra battery that could boost range. Cells could continue to be added until it becomes a 100kW battery trailer. It would be nice to be able to do 300 miles in the Leaf all electric. Also I could put solar panels on the trailer and use it as a powerwall. If I could figure out how to get the Leaf to draw from only the trailer I could go to the next town and leave the trailer at a charging station and do my thing and come back and keep going.

[freebeard]

What does the Superbeetle need (and deserve)?

[Isaac Zackary]

Originally Posted by freebeard

What does the Superbeetle need (and deserve)?

I got the throttle cable installed today!

Anyhow, the engine is in the Bug. So the next steps would be to get the rest of the hoses and wires hooked up and then start it, break in the new engine and get the thing tuned!

The alternator, fuel line and throttle are hooked up. Now to get the ignition sorted out. I have to hook up the fuel cut off valve, automatic choke, reverse lights, an electronic distributor and an emissions air pump I'm installing to aid ventilation of the crank case and EVAP canister, as well as the air hoses for all that. I have a bunch of mini 30 amp relays I want to use to along with fuses for all that.

I also have to block off the EGR port in the intake manifold. (Although I keep thinking of things to use that for, like some sort of cabin controlled air/fuel ratio adjustment or a place to put a mounted starting fluid system).

I also have several gages to wire in and install. These are a cylinder head temp gauge, oil temp gauge, oil pressure gauge and an air fuel ratio gauge. Most of the sensors are installed except the cylinder head temp sender since mine is for use on a spark plug but I've heard bad stories about doing it that way so intend on installing it somewhere else on the cylinder head.

After that, I know the front end is in poor shape and shakes and shimmies a lot down the road, especially after 40 mph. So that's on the list of things to fix.

After getting the thing running I want to use the air/fuel ratio gauge to finely adjust the air/fuel ratio. After reading a lot of info on it, it seems to be best to run quite lean, leaner than 16:1, at low throttle and then enrich to a 13:1 at full throttle. This should be easy to do with the air fuel ratio gauge and several pilot and main jets.

The distributor I got is a CB Magnaspark digital distributor. I can setup my own spark curves on it. After doing a lot of research I see it's going to take a bit of tuning. The distributor has a line running into it that can make it run at a set spark advance. I'm going to use this for idle. Basically if I am stepping on the brakes it will go to 7.5* advanced (the idle for the 34 PICT-4 carburetor). Once the brake lights go out I'll set the distributor to advance to where it gets the highest vacuum reading and RPM with no load. Then I'll go around with it floored and find where the advance number that's just a few degrees before any pinging. The part load settings will require several tests to determine what spark advance makes the best torque at XX manifold pressure and XX RPM without any pinging (the distributor will give a readout on my laptop). Once that is all done I will set the spark tables to match this since this will be theoretically the most efficient spark curves.

Another thing I'd like to do is also shorten the pushrods so I can remove the shims under the rocker arm shafts. I had to do this since 1, I was able to increase the compression ratio due to using a different close-to-stock cam grind by Web Cams which of course moved the heads closer to the case. And 2 because I'm doing all the Bob Hoover oiling mods and the swivel type rocker tips take up quite a bit of space even after I filled down the bottoms. Actually I have some elephant feet on there for now since I lost one of my ball-swivel types and had gotten the elephant feet for free along with new rocker arm shafts.

That's the main stuff I need to do. I also have to put in the head liner, do a little body work, not much, get the front heater hoses and fresh air box arranged and installed as well as a few odds and ends here and there like door handles, the window washer container, find a radio, etc. I also have a complete set of parts to install an auxiliary heater up front that is in very nice condition.

I also have two sets of rims and if I end up keeping this car I'd like to put on snow tires on one set.

So far about all I've done is rebuilt the engine with new VW dual port heads, rebuilt and very meticulously balanced rods and rotating assembly and a lot of ceramic coatings along with a few mods like the HVX mods and the V groove in the connecting rods for directing oil to the pistons for better cooling I also rebuilt the carburetor and found, cleaned and powder coated all the OE pieces of engine tin including the thermostat and flaps assembly. I also installed a larger type-4 oil cooler and an oil filter and added a thermostat that actually will divert all the oil either through the oil cooler on the engine or not at all. The pistons are hypereutectic and I set a 0.040" quench to help increase flame speed and efficiency and at the same time reduce the chances of detonation. The engine is a 1600 dual port with dual heat rises and a stock 36 PICT-4 carburetor with a working accelerator pump thermostat. It's topped off with a nicely painted 1972 oil bath air cleaner with a new Golf/Jetta air heat control thermostat.

[freebeard]

Thanks. I ran a CB Magnaspark (the low end model) on my Superbeetle for two years. At the end of two years, the inside was completely corroded and the Hall effect sensor had snapped in half. CB said "they all do that" (so beware). I forget the details, but it was something like $450 for the unit, $350 for a rebuild that failed and another $100+ for a 009 and Perlux Ignitor. So a close-to-$1000 experiment.

What are the HVX moods