Electric DeLorean - CBS Interview (higher volume)

[metallicastarwarsfan]

Could I convert a '71 Chevelle? And keep it rwd and still have shitloads of power? I am dead serious folks. Thinkin about a solar panel where a sunroof would go...

[drdhdmd]

@metallicastarwarsfan Not sure how heavy that car is but yes you could convert it and make it very powerful. The limiting factor will be how much money you want to invest in batteries.

[drdhdmd]

@metallicastarwarsfan And you can forget about the solar panels on the roof of the car. They won't help very much at all. Better to put solar panels on the roof of your house and flip the bird to both the electric Co and gas Co!

[metallicastarwarsfan]

@drdhdmd Well it was just a thought... But I still need rwd and shitloads of power. Those are a must. I know it sounds dumb but you're talkin to a hillbilly so excuse my possible ignorance.

[FordAccord]

lol @ "flux capacITATOR."

[Prim3StaR]

Completely electric = More battery power needed

More batetr power needed = Battery dies quicker

Dead battery on a DeLorean = Hydraulic systems in gullwing doors will not function

Hydraulic systems not functioning = Doors won't open. You're screwed.

I love DeLoreans. The DMC-12 is my dream car. But why would you choose a car where the doors won't open on their own, then put such high demands on the battery!? I love the concept, but at least use a car whsoe doors can open on their own.

[drdhdmd]

@Prim3StaR : You are confused. DeLoreans do not use a hydraulic door system. They have a torsion bar and compressed gas strut.. Also the traction batteries that move the car are seperate from the original battery that runs the electronics in the car. Thanks for your concern though. America and the world need electric cars and renewable energy sources.

[changolucky]

I won't buy a car until they are electric.. $12000 for convertion, definitely priceless!!

[changolucky]

great alternative.. stop fuel use!!

[kungfumaniac96]

lol the news guy is an idiot "flux capacitator". and the flux capacitor only needed plutonium to fuel the time circuits in the movie not the actual car itself

[tigerboy1227]

yeah doc actually states that in the third movie

[BFKAnthony817]

@kungfumaniac96 I was just about to post about that but you beat me to it by 7 months lol.

[3089280288]

Deloreans are made in Texas now. Perhaps they can offer a factory e version.

[jbyrd0861]

bypassing the pump is priceless...good work and inovation....couldnt help noticing the "real" delorean in the garage...and i bypass the pumps more than thirty miles a "charge" or "tank'.....Good foot forward though...Incredibly inventive especialy with the delorean...

[BoStErO1905]

capacitator? WTF

[DefconComputers]

Any plans to make it go more than 30 miles, or is that limit being caused by the power of the motor?

[drdhdmd]

I have plans for a 100+ mile per charge version. Unfortunately the Lithium batteries for it are still too expensive. ($20,000) Someday the prices will come down to a place that I can afford... or I will win the lottery!

[DefconComputers]

I know it probably won't do too much, but have you tried attaching an alternator to the eletric motor to help charge the batteries some as you drive. Something I just thought of.

[drdhdmd]

Any additional load on the motor would require additional battery power to turn it.

Since all devices are less than 100 percent efficient it could never produce more electric power than the extra electric power it would take to turn it, thus it would actually make the range less. (Do a search oh Carl Tilley's electric DeLorean.)

[CmdrTobs]

@drdhdmd You could get more range by using even nickel metal hydride. they are just as simple to charge as Lead acid and at a fraction of the weight and reasonable cost.

That should get you to perhaps ~60miles in lieu with the weight savings. I assume being an amateur you are using a DC brush motor. It would not be hard to rig up a regenerator circuit too you can use for "engine breaking". That could perhaps add another 10miles range.

[drdhdmd]

@CmdrTobs It was my understanding that regeneration give you 10% at best, depending on the driving environment...

[CmdrTobs]

@drdhdmd Depends... Of throttle regen can work miracles (so many factors). For your setup I would use the off throttle braking to power ancillaries with a separate Li batt or Ultracaps. Though you're right ~16% is prob too much for your setup.

[drdhdmd]

@CmdrTobs Also, not sure if NiMH batteries could put out the 1000+ amps I like to pull on occasion, like when I go to Power of DC and other EVents!

[CmdrTobs]

@drdhdmd Yeah, as off 2011 it's much better just to go straight to Li Chemistry.

[ilvanezzo]

This looks pretty cool, but here's a contender: a guy from Estonia built an electric car based on a 1958 GAZ-20 "Pobeda" with a 18 kW motor and a range of 96 km (60 miles). It took him a year and a half to make it.

[ilvanezzo]

I have a link to an article, but YouTube won't let me post it.

[drdhdmd]

Sounds interesting. What are the code letters after the video url? What ithe the author's name?

[bendutta2008]

You are the real Doc Brown.

[drdhdmd]

@bendutta2008 Thank you!

[WickedKnight07]

@drdhdmd You hear that the dmc is planning to mass produce electric Deloreans in 2013? They fixed the model up quite nicely with a build in GPS and Iphone dock for kicks.

[bendutta2008]

that is awesome.

[drdhdmd]

Thanks. It has been a fun project for me and my friend Tom. Now if we could only afford som lithium ion batteries!

[Jamie10004]

A Flux Capacitator ???

[jammer96]

Better than any Smart car!

[drdhdmd]

and cooler looking too!

[fetymann]

...still not loud enough.

[AxerJk]

This is absolutely fascinating. I think that's a very original idea with a truly iconic car. Do you ever bring this car to shows? I live in NY and would love to check it out. Let me know!

[drdhdmd]

Contact me!

[drdhdmd]

I plan to bring this car to the DeLorean Mid Atlantic, Spring Social April 25th, 2009 in Flemington, NJ

[AxerJk]

Oh man, unfortunately I don't have a car, so I don't really have a way of getting out that far!

[drdhdmd]

Well were are you located?

[AxerJk]

Hey there! I am actually not living in NY anymore, I am actually back in my hometown of Livonia, MI. It's great for cars though, I've been to over a dozen this summer, and I think I am going to join the motor city Delorean club here.

[LeviMan2001]

hahathe announcer said flux capacitator when its capacitor. hehe.

[drdhdmd]

I believe you are referring to the TESLA. They claim 200+ miles on a charge. If I had the $100,000 dollars it cost for that car, I could make mine go 200+ mile too! The mileage depends also on how you drive, just like in a gasoline car.

[Danzilla666]

Since your an electric car enthusiast, did you hear about the Tesslars and their electric cars? How many miles do they get per charge?

[cityofdomes]

Nice - and when the cycle life of the batteries ends, you can do a thundersky swap-over of lithium phosphates or, on a doctor's income, lithium polymers :-D

[4799947]

that news guy is an idiot its called the flux capacitor not the flux capacitator

[anthonycut]

I'm STILL getting consistent 65 MPC on 8 year old EV-95 NiMH batteries in my 2000 Ford Ranger EV....you are right...the car companies are SCARED!

[drdhdmd]

A year from now I'll still be getting 30 miles. Batteries do go bad but not in one year, if you take care of them. Of course some day the patent that Chevron holds on the NiMH batteries that were used in GMs EV1, which went 140 miles on a charge and which scared the heck out of GM and the oilies, so GM took all the cars back and crushed them and sold the patent to Chevron, will be available. They are proving to last more than 100,000 miles.

BTW what is "human battery technology"?

[CJaguar265]

why do you think chrysler destroyed all but 9 of there turbine cars because it worked like the ev 1 it flaws but it worked

[jeffgooloolie]

He gets 30 miles per charge today, but what about a year from now when the batteries are dying. Batteries do not last forever. In fact, human battery technology sucks.

[silenthill0027]

Holy Shit! When did this come on on tv?? But i knew that they would make a Electric DeLorean I knew it! lol

[drdhdmd]

Not they , me and Tom!

[drdhdmd]

I bet an oil company buys the patents for Li batteries!

[jammer96]

If they could mass produce this, this would be awesome! Maybe there is a way to make it go further than 30 miles on a charge. Great idea!

[drdhdmd]

Just use Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries and you'll be able to go over 100 mile. But they'll cost $20,000...

[voyager1985]

lol there are all these types of batteries now that wont give out like lead acid ,have virtually no maintenance .Yet still the major auto companies rolling out guzzlers like theres no tomarrow..................gas by me is at 4.09 up from 4.01 one day price increase

[voyager1985]

you could go 250 miles per charge with NMH batteries and get a 210 20 minute fast charger like the GM EV-1 had

[hempev]

The NiMH EV1 got as far as 150mi per charge, not 250. NiMH has lower energy density than any lithium chemistry, so the fact that Chevron owns the patent and won't let anyone legally make anything over 20Ah will become moot as LiFePO4 gets cheaper. Problem is waiting for the economics of scale to take effect.

[voyager1985]

dear hempev i was meaning doubling up the battery packs on larger vehicles to get the longer range theyd have the space for it as for wich type of batteries and who owns them ..i think about it and it makes me sad that the auto companies and panasonic are flushing there credibility down the toilet

[hempev]

NiMH can't be paralleled, so you need large capacity cells to make a larger capacity pack. Lithium can be paralleled, which is what Tesla did with thousands of little cells.

[voyager1985]

Hempev i dont need a lecture on the different batteries ,I need a car company to make and sell all types of EV model lineup's for my great state of Illinois to purchase before 2010. I'll take 150 mile range 250 would be better. There are so many types of batteries out now it's just absurd that the only one thats really being used is a dinky NiMH for hybrid's. I'd really prefer altairnano's battery pack but that bring's us back to the magical year 2010.:)

[hempev]

~30kWh would get a small car 150mi, but that is $30K just for the pack, and Americans seem to prefer over-sized "ego wheels", meaning more capacity needed for heavy weight and poor aerodynamics. Your 150mi is half a tank in my ICE in city driving or 1/3 tank on the freeway (a refill every 2 or 3 days!) Freeway-capable EVs with 50mi range do come up on eBay pretty regularly, but rarely go for $10K (even without a reserve price). If you want one, look there...or keep waiting and waiting.

[voyager1985]

your still lecturing and wev'e turned the comment page into a petty argument . what we are saying back and fourth to each other isn't helping the people on here that no nothing about ev's and would like to know more about them. Im not going to respond to another comment on this vid and id like to say congrat's to drdhdmd for creating a beautiful green ride and doing it himself . DRDHDMD this American envy's you.

[hempev]

If you consider thoughtful responses based on knowledge and education a lecture, maybe I am, but knowing the facts is more important than going off half-cocked and posting like e.e.cummings. Dr Delman is on our EV discussion list, so he knows all this already; those who don't will buy NEVs and complain about their purchase, or expect 200-mile EVs for the price of an econobox.

[voyager1985]

you need to describe who e.e. cummings is because most people are not going to if thats a person of importance or if your making a sarcastic remark , and the last time i checked the capitalist system here in america is still in effect , Why are the auto companies not capitalizing on all the different types of batteries available to put in there ev's.

Why does Panasonic give me the cold shoulder when i ask to speak to a battery engineering department . Ive bought panasonic crap all my life, WTF

[hempev]

It's a joke and those who know of him will get it.

[mcarpenter2006]

Capacitator LOL

[ziggyg55]

great scott!!!

[frankodelic]

McFly!!!