Electric Car Conversion 14

[MiketheEngineer]

With the price of gasoline approaching $4.00 / gallon I am seriously considering converting and old car (VW maybe) into a an electric vehicle to drive back & forth to work, store, pharmacy, etc - maximum of about 50 miles per day.
I am a decent mechanic and know enough about electricity not to kill myself - so this seems a reasonable project.

Has anybody tried this and/or what insights do you have.. Yes - I have found a TON of Net info - but not sure who is telling the truth. One book says you can do it for $300 - that I seriously doubt. But the neighborhood of $3,000 to $4,000 seems doable??

Thanks for any insights or paths to pursue...

 

[GregLocock]

Two additional 1200Wh batteries would take the all electric range up by 12 miles, roughly. The Prius' gas efficiency is relatively unaffected by battery capacity.

So you've turned a 50 mpg car into a 60 mpg car for the first 50 miles, by adding batteries. Well done, but old news.

Cheers

Greg Locock


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[patprimmer]

It seems kind of bizarre to me to add more batteries that add more weight and take up more space and only store energy temporarily as a means to increase efficiency.

Regards
Pat
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[TurboXS]

Try to find an electric vehicle club such as;

http://sydney.aeva.asn.au/

which is Sydney Australia based. Their website helps but go to a few of their meetings and you'll meet people who have done it and can tell you how to and how much. The guys I met at this particular club were very helpful and willing to share.

This club also has Field Days so you can go for a ride in their cars and if they thought you were serious I think they would let you have a drive as well.

 

[MiketheEngineer]

Thanks for the invite and a visit to Australia is on my bucket list - but I live in the US.