Third Conversion, ultra efficient (1993 Geo Metro EV)

[EVmetro]

Originally Posted by KFM

This is incredible. At every other picture my jaw just dropped at your attention to detail. This is extremely well thought out.

Why did you put both a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth OBDII scanner in the enclosure? Just in case?

Thanks for the good words. It seems like the Androids do a little better on Bluetooth, but Ipads require WIFI. Sometimes I like to use the Ipad, sometimes I like to run an Android (and of course an Android smartwatch), so I just broadcast both. I have a switch to switch my wireless on and off with the key, or to have it stay on all the time. If I leave it on all the time, there is a small drain on the batteries, but it is nice to be able to have a look at things from my living room while the car is in the garage. If I use the on and off via the key feature, I have it set up to keep broadcasting during the charge cycle, but then it shuts down after the charge is complete.

[EVmetro]

Originally Posted by mikeyjd

To say I'm a fan of your work would be an understatement! I'd love an EV. At some point I may undertake such a challenge. Meanwhile thanks for letting me see what a top notch, no holds bard, conversion looks like. We've had quite a few conversion undertakings here, and many have done solid work, but I would say you win the blue ribbon my friend.

Thanks. I am a bit of an oddball in the custom car builder crowd, since custom cars usually have lots of attention put into the big gasoline burner, and rarely into efficiency. I hope to see custom EV car shows one day, but for now, they are showing up in traditional car shows, and they do in fact get a lot of interest and questions.

[KFM]

That's awesome. That's kind of what I figured, but when I saw the Android tablet(? it's hard to tell whether something is considered a phone or a tablet these days) I figured that you primarily use it in place of a cluster. Did you set your port manually in your Torque profile? It connects a lot faster if you set the profile manually.

How far does the Wi-Fi signal transmit through the Wi-Fi adapter? Is it farther than the Bluetooth adapter? Also, what app do you use on the iPad to connect?

[EVmetro]

Originally Posted by P-hack

that is amazing work, what size charger did you wind up with? I get the evse loathing part, but there are a lot of j1772 EVSEs out there which can do at least 7kw, would be preferrable to 120 @1.5kw. Worth considering having something like one of these as well, and checking plugshare to check availability. Would not be hard to integrate, tuscon ev has one with a pigtail and a j1772 with an integrated cover: J1772 Adapter for $100 less ($150).

Still, amazingly thorough conversion there!

Thanks for the good words. I run a water cooled pfc 12 kW EMW charger in this build, so it can charge up pretty quickly. I may add a J plug inlet on here at some point, but I don't see many charging stations yet. I was a mobile tool dealer for a number of years in my area, so I know a whole lot of auto repair shops in town that have the 50 amp welder plug, and I have an assortment of adapters that allow me to use other 220 connections as well. The welder plug is nice for me, since I have a big breaker and 50 amp outlets at my shop for my welders. If the time ever comes to add a J plug inlet, I will leave the 50 amp inlet on the car so I could still have fast charging, and add the J inlet in another location. The J plug grid is being built with an almost obsolete 30 amp service, but if the locations become more plentiful, it would still make sense to have that connection as well. Most of my problem with the J plug network is not so much with the inferior 30 amp service or with the quality of the connection, but more in that new EVs are not being equipped with a traditional 110v inlet as well.

[EVmetro]

Originally Posted by KFM

That's awesome. That's kind of what I figured, but when I saw the Android tablet(? it's hard to tell whether something is considered a phone or a tablet these days) I figured that you primarily use it in place of a cluster. Did you set your port manually in your Torque profile? It connects a lot faster if you set the profile manually.

How far does the Wi-Fi signal transmit through the Wi-Fi adapter? Is it farther than the Bluetooth adapter? Also, what app do you use on the iPad to connect?

I set the feature in Torque that allows the tablet to go to sleep when the key is turned off, and to wake when the key is on. That is a pretty slick feature, and it gives the tablet more of a factory look. I also found the feature that allow you to bypass the main menu, so you don't have to keep touching the screen to get to the driving screen. You just turn on the key, and there is the driving screen. The only time I need to touch the screen is right when the tablet wakes up to get it out of the locked state.

[KFM]

That's sharp. I've always used Torque on a phone or tablet that's going with me when I get out of the car, so I never knew it had that feature. Still sounds like a useful feature for my phone, but I have to exit Torque for it to turn the Bluetooth back off, so I don't know if it'll do that automatically, too. I haven't used it in my Insight, yet, other than to scan codes, because I already have the FCD in the cluster, and Torque tends to kill my phone's battery.

[elhigh]

Still grooving on the quality of your work.

I absolutely marvel at your all-up curb weight. 2026 lbs! WOW. There was a time when that was the kind of weight you might hope for in a glider, before you started screwing in the motor, tranny and batteries - never mind the interior.

With such a featherweight chassis to start from, I wonder what kind of steady-state range improvement you could achieve with a removable kammback, or other aero improvements. I saw you've done some with a grille block but don't know about any other mods you may have done. If anybody around here could put together a trick-looking kamm, you're the guy.

Looking forward to more.

[P-hack]

Originally Posted by EVmetro

Most of my problem with the J plug network is not so much with the inferior 30 amp service or with the quality of the connection, but more in that new EVs are not being equipped with a traditional 110v inlet as well.

120 is everywhere here. I had the good fortune of visiting europe and was suprised to learn that 230v was standard. I actually prefer it from a practical standpoint now that I'm messing with it at home, 2x power over the same wires (and no goofy neutral wires and multiple voltages in house and double breakers just for 240). As much as europe gets wrong, I think they got that one right. Would be interesting to see comparitive safety stats.

I had a 120v adapter for the leaf, but converted it to 240 I would redo the whole house if all my appliances could handle it. Might do a couple rooms and see how it goes. though pretending a live leg wire is neutral is not exactly ideal...

[EVmetro]

Originally Posted by P-hack

I had the good fortune of visiting europe and was suprised to learn that 230v was standard. I actually prefer it from a practical standpoint now that I'm messing with it at home, 2x power over the same wires (and no goofy neutral wires and multiple voltages in house and double breakers just for 240). As much as europe gets wrong, I think they got that one right.

I would have to agree. I lived in Italy for many years, and everything was 230 there as well. My home only had a single breaker, and I think it was something like 5 amps or so, but at least it was not 5 amps of 110v. 110v/120v really sucks for charging, and I would never dream of equipping a car to charge with it if it was not on every wall of every house or business here. The vast 110v charging grid is really the only merit of having one of those inlets on my car.

[oldtamiyaphile]

Love the builds. I have a 50k mile from new Swift in my driveway with a slipping auto trans. I'm very much inspired.

[QUOTE=EVmetro;472308 I lived in Italy for many years, and everything was 230 there as well. My home only had a single breaker, and I think it was something like 5 amps or so, but at least it was not 5 amps of 110v.[/QUOTE]

We use 240v here, a small house is typically equipped with an 80A main fuse, and three breakers of 15A ea (five in the case of electric ovens and hot water). 230V*5A is 1150W, a kettle takes 2400W, but some of those old houses would have been designed for much lower power requirements than is typical today.