011 Electric Car Conversion: Freeway Test Drive

[luzilois]

Very good job...

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

[XMtnDude]

isn't this 300v? thats a lot of voltage, you should be able to get to 60 quicker.

[BenjaminNelson]

@XMtnDude

Yes, it's a lot of volts, but it's the motor and motor controller (plus weight and aerodynamics) that effect acceleration. Since this video was made, Tom put a more powerful motor controller in the car. It has much nicer acceleration now.

[gamewiz0070]

@BenjaminNelson Can we get a another video with the better acceloration? Id love to see this.

[BenjaminNelson]

@gamewiz0070

I haven't seen much of Tom's car since the new AC drive. I'll try to meet up with him and do another video sometime soon.

[gamewiz0070]

@BenjaminNelson Ok thanks!

[my73737373]

How many amps does that car draw and freeway speeds.

[MrBry329]

what youmean electric motor dont have enough torque than a gas motor lol ..

[Chingonazo1]

Good job man.

[baboracus]

what do you mean when you say the AC controller varies the current frequency? Say you got a bridge and you are turning the gates on and off at 60 hz. If you turn them on and off at 120 hz is that changing the frequency of the current? I'm still a little confused. What was your baldor motor rated at for V, A and frequency? Is that one way to find out the inductance?

[BenjaminNelson]

@baboracus

I think you might be slightly confusing how AC and DC work.

On an AC motor controller, the alternating current "pushes and pulls" at some certain rate, say 60 times per second. Imagine an old-fasioned steam locomotive. The piston pushes out to rotate the wheel forward, and when the rod is fully extended, pulls it back in, but the wheel is still turning the same direction. The faster the piston goes back and forth, the faster the wheel spins. AC motors work pretty much the same way.

[baboracus]

@BenjaminNelson

I was mainly wondering why it was referred to as current frequency instead of voltage frequency. Isn't changing the voltage frequency the same as the current frequency?

[BenjaminNelson]

@baboracus

I may have misspoke there - I'm just an amateur, who is still learning all this. Tom, the big bald white guy behind the wheel is the electrical engineer. It's my understanding that the voltage changes directions a certain number of times per second (hertz or frequency)

[miniUMM]

Do more episodes ;D

[InsectsandCreatures]

OMG! This is really interesting.By the way, which type of motor is more effecient? AC? or DC? I just wanna know.Cheers Tom!

[BenjaminNelson]

@InsectsandCreatures

Technically, AC is more efficient, because it has no brushes. Both can be excellent motors, and more than enough to push a car down a road.

[panyolito1929]

hello sir BEN can you give me a wiring daigram of a electric car motor pls, coz i wandering how you speed up the motor just like a gasoline car the more you push the gas pedal the more speed thats what i like to know ??? pls reply

[BenjaminNelson]

@panyolito1929

AC (Alternating Current) electric vehicles use a controller which changes the frequency of the current to the motor to change the speed. That's all internal to that controller, called an "AC Drive".

On DC electric cars, the controller just turns the current on and off to the motor, but extremely rapidly, an varies the relative on to off time to adjust the speed. Do a web search for "PWM" of DC motors for more information.

[daswada9]

should be a problem if i don't use a gearbox,just connect the motor to the shaft ?

[BenjaminNelson]

@daswada9

This is a front-wheel-drive car. Without the gearbox, you have TWO drive-shafts (one to each front wheel) that are just hanging there. You would need a custom solution to support both shafts and connect a motor or motors to them. There have been some conversions, such as the Solectria Force, that used a custom single-speed gear reduction in place of the original transmission.

[daswada9]

@BenjaminNelson but if i have a back-wheek-drive car ?

[BenjaminNelson]

@daswada9

On a rear-wheel drive car, you COULD connect the motor directly to the differential. This has typically only been done on high-voltage, high performance cars, such as for drag racing.

[BenjaminNelson]

Tom recently upgraded his controller. I haven't gotten to go for a ride with him since then. It is more powerful. Should be a fun ride!

[mujjuman]

when acclerating, cant you just max out each gear? like shift to 2nd at 30mph and shift to 3rd at 55mph... i think maybe your highway accleratoin will get better with sacrificing battery a bit

[redman2751]

Hey your in my old neck of the woods. Grew up in oak creek. Anyway, would you be able to use a Honda generator inside and extend the range.

[BenjaminNelson]

@redman2751

Not much room inside the car for a generator. A friend has an electric pickup truck that he sometimes puts a generator in back.

[fabiosoares2]

hi doing i thing you have problem to acelerate because the transmission,i think you didint need one,the engine has big torque,you reduce the espeed with the brakes so

[billydudeiskewl]

can you just leave it in 1st even at a stop since electric motors don't need to idle? or do you still have to use the clutch?

[BenjaminNelson]

@billydudeiskewl

Yes, you can just leave it in gear, because electric motors completely stop spinning, unlike a gas engine. In fact, this car doesn't even HAVE a clutch anymore.

[TheDegree777]

have you thought about somehow adding a alternator to charge the batteries while

your are moving maybe move the batteries into the trunk so you can carry three people around again?

[dougdangger]

3:55 you got passed by a big fat heavy semi. LOL!

Btw, that Ford Escape does not have a "big huge" engine.

[ONLYLOGICALTHINKING]

could you tell me how many amps are required to drive the car from the batteries,

what batteries are you using, eg, 12v 120amp, car or sola, dry or acid.

what motor are you using, dc, volt, amp, rpm.

The reason for the questions, is that i am making a generator that charges batteries when in use, this way the car will charges while in motion, so far i have reached 300amp with three seperate coils, powered by a 12v drill motor at 30 amp using a gear system.

Good videos, and keep it up.

[siralexu]

I'd bet anything if we didnt chose gas to power our cars when the first car was made by this time battery technology would give us about the same range as ordanary gas cars

[zgymnast]

How many watts are required to go 65 mph?

[Odiseo555]

Hola Tom, quiero preguntarte que cambiarias si iniciaras de nuevo el proyecto con la experiencia que has adquirido ahora

[grndiesel]

What sort of drive is Tom running in the neon? Do you know the Constant/peak power rating? Also curious to know the final weight of the car.

Sorry for the questions but I'm close to trying my car and and like to compare notes to see how it *should* run.

Great Vid!

[TakayaFreeman]

20-30 hour recharge time? You use a charge from the '60s or something? 6-8 hours is average for electric cars charging off of 110v. Half that for 220v.

[BenjaminNelson]

No - he said 18 to 20 hours on for a FULL charge (running pack to absolute ZERO - dead, dead, dead on 110V, and less than 8 hours on 220v.

Please watch the video again at about 2minutes 30 seconds in.

[TakayaFreeman]

I meant for today's newer charging systems, they take less hours to fully charge electric cars. This is why I asked why it takes so long to charge for his car. And I just listened to what he said. I misheard. 18-20 hours, but that's still quite a lot of hours. I guess it also depends on the charging system.

[BenjaminNelson]

It just also happens to be a lot of batteries. Each charger is 10 amps. Use 20 amp chargers, and it would cut the time in half. You aren't going to find a lot of electric outlets that can handle 20 amps times nearly 30 batteries!

[Kreigu]

@TakayaFreeman the new Chevy Volt takes similar times to charge. Same distance per charge as well.

[lanite1999]

Good job. It sounded like a jet engine when it accelerated.

[SirTragain]

Nice video.

What is the formula you are using for MPG equivalent and was the new weight considered into that equation?

[pgm98387]

Thats something to really be proud of.

[fakexloser]

Awesome (:

[falcon02012]

how many volt? and what is the HP of the motor?