Electric Starion EV - Electric Car Conversion - Part 3

Welcome to the third installment. It's taken a bit of preparation time, which is essential rather than diving in to find something we've done is not quite right - both Nathan and I have been guilty in the past of making stuff only to discover a better way of doing it. But parts availability has been the biggest issue; delivery time has been long delayed for many reasons too complicated to discuss here. In this video we re-assess engine bay mounting; most of the battery racks are welded up now and the battery management has arrived (except the master unit, d'oh!). We discuss battery management, the most efficient use of space in the engine bay, as well as the AC motor we received that will drive the air-con/power steering. (btw, the AC motor and BMS come from www.bev.com.au where they are custom-made). Also an older previously unused segment stripped in about removing weight, as this is crucial in gaining mileage. Oh, and a mention of power cabling which we will try to get through some of the sub-frame rather than running under the vehicle or lumping under the carpet (as the power cable sits inside a plastic flex conduit roughly an inch diameter), so long as it's legal which we'll check with someone who knows (guessing it's something like 600mm distance between u-clamp affixing). The Zivan will sit in trunk/hatch area to the left near the charging 'fuel' port; not sure about tire placement yet, but it looks like we'll keep our back seat which is good thing (and did you know that there is an under-seat sub-frame area roughly two inches high? Hmmm... possibilities....). As for the battery tank at rear, we're looking at ducting hot air from it using PC fans and 'exhaust' steel piping. It'd be nice to get them through the side vent follies on the pillars, but this would mean a lot of work (they'd probably be part-exposed in the interior, angled down rather like roll-cage bars). Overall I would have loved to have progressed a bit more than we have but there have been circumstances beyond our control and parts supplies have been an issue all the way along - which in a sense is a good thing so we don't rush too-obvious solutions that would otherwise cost in time/energy to undo (in a circumlocutory sort-of way ;-) ). I'd like to thank Christina for her camera work during the making of these videos, shot on a two-year old Nokia N93 still going strong, as well as Linda for filming the air-con motor, without them I'd be stuffed for making videos about this car.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• electric
• car
• EV
• vehicle
• Tesla
• Thundersky
• battery
• zilla
• curtis
• starion

[DrSteveHolt]

this reminds me of napolean dynamite !!!!!!!!!!!!

[cityofdomes]

but I am not taking any breast-enhancement herbs!

[cityofdomes]

Hi there, it's a BMS from BEV Melbourne. Not too difficult to replicate; simple shunt resistors, a reg and uses an Atmel Tiny13 programmed in C for top voltage protection (the chip is the same size as a triple5). There are better BMS available now, particularly compact resin-encased modules from evworks(dot)com(dot)au. Cheers, Carmel

[sprukutuy]

what do you call that gold motor that has a potentiometer and where can i get?

[cityofdomes]

Hi, that's the IOTA drive and motor from IOTA engineering for the air con, model DLS 30 I recall now. I got it from Ross Blade at BEV Australia. Drop him an email, very friendly guy (sorry I don't have my data sheet right here with me to tell you more). Cheers!

[takingaleak]

Any concerns about the struts/suspension? I heard that in some cases they needed to be overhauled in order to support the weight of the batteries.

[cityofdomes]

Weight comes in at only 170 or so kilos heavier than the original tar weight - that's the beauty of lithium phosphates - if I used Optima D34s or Trojan deep cycle batteries, it wouldn't have been worth it. If I had the money for Thundersky lithium polymers, the weight would come in well under original weight of vehicle. Cheers

[StarionRules]

Really nice rack - for the batteries.

[sikkepossu]

Which BMS you use in this setup? Or is it your own design?

[tandalakubwa]

Great job. I got inspired by Gav Shoebridge and Jack Rickard and did my own which I am totally loving. You can google it at: John Allen's EV conversion. It is so great not to have to buy so much gasoline.

[tandalakubwa]

@takingaleak . I had to get new coil springs made so the EV would sit well. You can see how I did it if you google: John Allen's EV conversion. Hope that was helpful

[BumbleBeeGS]

@Beamshipcaptain messed up #2...

2)GM released the EV1 in 1996, and it lasted until '99 when a government order was released to destroy them or make them immobile (for museums)

Not sure why i tried to capitalize a number...

[BumbleBeeGS]

@Beamshipcaptain

5)...the Focus BEV, Battery Electric Vehicle. No specs are known yet. Built in the US (somewhere near Plymouth, Detroit)

fuck the character limit of YouTube and help keep jobs in America by buying American. Hopefully it wont cost $40,000 like the Volt does.

[BumbleBeeGS]

@Beamshipcaptain

3) ...fully electric, 100 miles to a charge. Plugs into to your wall at home.

4) Just released within the last month is the Chevy Volt. despite its name, it has a 4 cylinder gas powered generator. Technically is an electric car since the power to the wheels come from an electric motor at all times. 40 miles per charge, then the gas generator kicks in to make more electricity up to 300 or so...depends if you drive it with a heavy foot really.

5) In 2012, Ford is releasing the