#2) Project Forkenswift electric car: 1st CONTROLLED powerup

[bdrman2004]

Hey great work. Where did you find the components?

[rickmillerjr77]

LOL you're using songs from gran turismo 4. I love that game!

[dany07bmx]

do you have been remained any controller?

 i wanna make an electric car but i din't have engouh money for the controller

i live in romania

[triangletrexx]

why do you use a transmission? wouldn't it be more resource-saving when using a bigger e-motor without transmission?

[urbex2007]

a CVT would be most efficient.

[ForkenSwiftDotCom]

Nope - EV's are typically direct drive, like this one. The $100,000 Telsa Roadster has one fixed gear. Electric motors are more efficient over a much wider RPM range than gas/diesel engines.

[nbsr1]

@ForkenSwiftDotCom unless you're using a series DC motor (that are rather bulky for their performance) all motors have approx. fixed torque. It means, that without transmission, you have to either use an oversized, inefficient motor (like Tesla does) or compromise either torque at low speeds or maximum speed.

In other words, such motor will work at its max. power only near the maximum speed of the car.

[BigFishingShop]

Does the controller vary the voltage ??

[ForkenSwiftDotCom]

Yup.

[retaessa69]

hey , have you tried using 6volt deep cylce bateries instead , just to try to increase distance? i know that they are alot more heavier but you'll gain some pep , if i were u i wouldnt spend time on the ev 1 motor controller cus it has too many security features that will cut out power , and it controlles speed (slow speed that is) stick with the curtis type and experiment with the amp ratings on them , they are much more simple to work with

[ForkenSwiftDotCom]

The car is using a 48v pack of 6v golf cart batteries now. The 12v batteries shown were just for testing. And we stuck with the Curtis controller: 48v 400A peak (used golf cart controller).

[TommeyLeeReed]

My speed controllers design.

[lazzer408]

What?

[Charles2337]

Why dont you get a gasoline generator, a small one, and use it to charge the batteries during long range driving.

[simeybinker]

generators are far less efficient than car engines; you may as well toss in a V8, and you'll be putting out the same amount of pollution.

[Charles2337]

I've seen some Honda generators that focus on efficiency. Plus it's a small 10 hp one; not too much pollution.

[simeybinker]

do they have catalytic convertors? onboard air/fuel mixture computers? some are 2-stroke, most aren't even fuel injected. generators are built for quick, easy, light power in remote places; no matter what the cost is. power generators are horrid for emissions; and 10HP will NOT cut it to "increase the range" of the vehicle. for highway travel, you need a good 30HP to keep your speed. without re-gen braking on this car; why have an electric system at all if you're going to install a gas engine?

[simeybinker]

there's maybe some gain in the effectiveness of the system because the generator would be running at optimal RPM; but then you loose all that gained power because the car weighs just as much as a normal swift, you have spent double the amount of money, you're putting out just as much pollution, and you have less power under the hood. I'm not being a dick; but we have to weigh these things out. plus, a mechanical engineering degree helps my education a little.

[simeybinker]

remember kids; arguing on the internet is like the Special Olympics - it doesn't matter if you win, you're still a retard.

[Charles2337]

If you can make an electric car, why not attach a catalytic convertor to it? It's not that hard. And how about add a gear system so it has a mechanical advantage; higher RPM = more power. The T-zero uses this system.

[creamyfilling102]

a catalytic converter on an electric car? i'm not following.

[Charles2337]

So you can turn it into a hybrid. Charge the batteries with it.

[Charles2337]

There is this Honda Generator that has an output of 3000W, lasts for 10 hours on a small tank of gas. Pretty efficient.

[simeybinker]

seriously dude, you need to stop arguing and simply do some research. or, build an electric vehicle. or do a check on what the definition of "power" is. and research the torque/power curves for an electric motor. and research how the Zilla controller operates. or do some power calculations and benchmarking of different IC engines. or simply calculate volume of fuel to KWh for different engines; and electrical systems while you're at it. and then have a little respect for other people who do.

[Charles2337]

Who says I'm arguing; it's just an idea. And check out the tzero, you will see what I am talking about. I noticed a lot of engineers are pricks like you.

[simeybinker]

yawn.

[testacorsa150]

I know your car is beer budget, and my hat of for that, but do you know any light batteries, that hold a lot of power, and dont cost a fortune?

I am a petrolhead, but your idea is just perfect for a new project for me, so I want to lean stuff - and quickly too :-)

Nice job guys, and thanks for posting these amazing videos - they where very informative, interesting, and funny as h**l.

Best regards

Brian.

[bicostp]

As far as batteries go:

Strong / Light / Cheap

^ Pick two.

[TommeyLeeReed]

about $400.00 water cooled.

rotarypistonengine(dot)com

for price list.

[ForkenSwiftDotCom]

OK - how much for a 48v 400-600A unit ? :)

[TommeyLeeReed]

What really sucks that most controller are cheap to build.

WE build controller for less 50% less then any company out there.

120v 600amps advanced technology controller for $500.00

120v 1200 amps $1000.00

rotarypistonengine(dot)com

[ForkenSwiftDotCom]

Test drive vid is posted. Click "More from this user" above and to the right, or do a search on forkenswift and you'll find it.

[retaessa]

hey keep it up , we need a test drive vid....

[jmoyet]

lol another Gran Turismo 4 theme song, that one is from the license tests.

[landongendur]

Looking great! All those switches look so complicated. I can't wait to see the test drive video!

[ForkenSwiftDotCom]

A surprising portion of the sound in the vid is gear noise from the transmission - maybe even equal to the noise made by the brushes/comm. Gear whine isn't something we're used to hearing over the sound an ICE makes.

Thanks for the comments.

[terrorist420x]

Nice. I love the way that motor sounds when it revs. I love old forklift motors and surplus aircraft starter-generators for the noise they make, even if they might not be very efficient, reliable, or capable of handling a lot of power. Sadly, as much as I like the power of a Netgain WarP 9", they just don't make much noise. But I like power, and that 9" motor is what's going in mine.

[danjorextreme]

I look forward to seeing the progress of your project. =)