Electric Kit Cars

[KDIcarmad]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=ends...

Found this when watching other videos. Very inspiring! I feel a book like Ron Champion on building a seven type car may be the way to go. Still limited use and appeal for now.

[Stuart Mills]

I was referring to my current project which is a single seat trike, it is powered by a Lithium pack and weighs only 260 kgs all up! With 360Nm or torque it is great fun, of course if you have never driven a very light EV then you will not have experienced the silent power that pushes you along, it is an interesting experience. Electric motors do not need gear ratio changes.

Max_Torque said:

er, 360Nm at the drive wheels? that's not really a lot of use to anyone is it. My not very powerful family car has 5019Nm at the drive wheels in 1st...........


As i said, cars need gearboxes, no matter if you use an electric motor or an ICE one ;-)

[Olivero]

qdos said:

Electric Atom Supercar

Watch this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVV9azx4OBA

Oh and that's from 6 years ago too. Electric cars are NOT a joke

This is the type of car I am thinking about. Just cheaper!

I think the price should be ignored for the moment. As the market matures and demand goes up, costs will go down.


I would prefer a body shape closer to an MX5/Fisher Fury for a couple of reasons.
- To make it 'fit-in' with conventional cars a little more.
- So that at some point the whole surface could be covered in flexible solar panels that has been embedded into a clear gelcoat. Extend the range for free.
eg - http://www.siliconsolar.com/flexible-solar-panels....


Could the batteries be quickly recharged using another car, in the same way that you would jump start a car at the moment?

[KDIcarmad]

Stuart Mills said:

I was referring to my current project which is a single seat trike, it is powered by a Lithium pack and weighs only 260 kgs all up! With 360Nm or torque it is great fun, of course if you have never driven a very light EV then you will not have experienced the silent power that pushes you along, it is an interesting experience. Electric motors do not need gear ratio changes.

Max_Torque said:

er, 360Nm at the drive wheels? that's not really a lot of use to anyone is it. My not very powerful family car has 5019Nm at the drive wheels in 1st...........


As i said, cars need gearboxes, no matter if you use an electric motor or an ICE one ;-)

Stuart Mills is that the tilting one you were planing?

If it is, or if not, I recommend a visti to....
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
There are a number of interesting tilting electric ideas around.

[anonymous-user]

Olivero said:

qdos said:

Electric Atom Supercar

Watch this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVV9azx4OBA

Oh and that's from 6 years ago too. Electric cars are NOT a joke

This is the type of car I am thinking about. Just cheaper!

I think the price should be ignored for the moment. As the market matures and demand goes up, costs will go down.


I would prefer a body shape closer to an MX5/Fisher Fury for a couple of reasons.
- To make it 'fit-in' with conventional cars a little more.
- So that at some point the whole surface could be covered in flexible solar panels that has been embedded into a clear gelcoat. Extend the range for free.
eg - http://www.siliconsolar.com/flexible-solar-panels....


Could the batteries be quickly recharged using another car, in the same way that you would jump start a car at the moment?

Unfortunately you can't just ignore the cost (well unless you win the lottery obviously ;-)

A body covered in solar pannels is pointless unfortunately, especialy in the UK! Solar load is approx 1.2kW/m2 on a very sunny cloudless day (how often do we get those in the uk?) And with a typical photon to electron conversion efficiency of less than 25%, each square meter of solar pannel only gets you about 300W. Look at the Austrailian solar challenge cars, they have massive flat body work with something like 10m2 of pannels, and weigh something like less than 100kg, have only a couple of kW of power and still struggle to cross Austrailia in the blazing sun!!

You can charge / recharge / discharge battery systems very quickly, unfortunately this very rapidly reduces there storage capacity and hence life. For example, if you do the sums on using Regen on a lead acid storage system the regen actually costs you money! (because it degrades your battery system faster than it actually recouperates energy)


Now, don;t get me wrong, it's perfectly possible to build an electric kit car, and it will be alot of fun, but you could have a lot more fun for a lot less money with a conventional ICE engine ;-)

[Olivero]

Max_Torque said:

Now, don;t get me wrong, it's perfectly possible to build an electric kit car, and it will be alot of fun, but you could have a lot more fun for a lot less money with a conventional ICE engine ;-)

I remember an interview with a very bright chap from a few years ago. He was given a (very large) grant to live in a very low-impact/low-energy way for a year. He figured out how to do this in many, non-hippy ways but said that the one area where it was not that practical was personal transport. Basically the calorific value of petrol is so high to weight and an ICE is pretty good at what it does to rule out getting rid of it.

I would love an impractical sports car, that has a limited range and ok top speed, for no other reason than trying something new. That and a near silent car would be cool.


Do I think electric cars are the answer to some big question? No, not really, but I don't think that matters.

Do I think prices will come down in a very big way? Yes, not for a while and only when the big companies really get involved.



I also want to hear the rumble of N/A 4.6l V8 in something rapid. That shouldn't have to rule out a tiny electric toy though.

[Frankthered]

Dragon Electric Vehicles had a display at Stoneleigh last month.
Check them out here http://www.electricvanandcar.co.uk/

(I am in no way associated with this company, just saw their display.)

They are obviously based in the UK, but might put you on the right track.

[fuoriserie]

http://www.faqs.org/patents/assignee/tesla-motors-...

Tesla Motors Open-Sources Patents for those interested....

[Stuart Mills]

KDIcarmad said:

Stuart Mills is that the tilting one you were planing?

If it is, or if not, I recommend a visti to....
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
There are a number of interesting tilting electric ideas around.

No, the tilting trike I worked on is now being manufactured in China, I should have a sample to play with in a month or so. I imagine it will be available for sale in the UK very soon and will be based on a 150cc scooter.

[fatbutt]

Thread resurrection!!!

Has there been any movement in electric kit cars? With the huge increase in momentum on the production car side you would have thought there would be something similar on the self-build front.

[one eyed mick]

GBS are reputably developing a car wether is a 7 or some thing else not revealed googlethem and speak to Richard

[fatbutt]

Cheers. Not after buying one so much as interest in the market. My company is building a system that uses a lot of car components but re-purposing them for a marine environment so we've done a lot of work using the kind of motor/ battery/ controller stuff I'd anticipate finding in a kit car.

Always thought it'd be relatively easy to build a car from the parts we've bought.

What happened to these guys? https://www.lightningcarcompany.co.uk/Lightning/ho...

Edited by fatbutt on Monday 10th July 11:18

[Andy Allenton]

EV West in the States sell all necessary parts, but they're very expensive. I've seen lots of their stuff on Youtube, and they look great. However, sooner or later someone will realise the potential of a secondhand Nissan Leaf as a fantastic parts donor. I love the idea of driving something truly individual with no engine noise.

[fatbutt]

Andy Allenton said:

EV West in the States sell all necessary parts, but they're very expensive. I've seen lots of their stuff on Youtube, and they look great. However, sooner or later someone will realise the potential of a secondhand Nissan Leaf as a fantastic parts donor. I love the idea of driving something truly individual with no engine noise.

$7K for 50kW motor+controller+DC/DC+other bits. Cheap I'd say, which isn't a surprise judging by the package on offer; its not the most modern. No batteries in the package.

Something like a leaf would be a good option.

[ajprice]

Thread bump 2!

VW have shown a modern dune buggy concept at the Geneva show. EV, rwd or 4wd, 200bhp. This is the kind of car where range doesn't matter that much, but it's based on the new I.D. electric platform, so it's probably good for 200 miles. The idea with the car is that the buggy body pops off, and third party bodyshells could replace it.

https://jalopnik.com/heres-volkswagens-all-electri...

The electric car 'skateboard' floor with the battery and motors in there would make a good base for a kit body. The technology is a lot further on now than when this thread started.

[Jetblackonetenth]

sin cars are doing an electric platform car that can have different bodies on

https://sincars.co.uk/sin-cars-palette/l-city/

would make a good base for a kit car, although I can't imagine it being cheap

[Stuart Mills]

just loading a electric motor in an Exocet as we speak.

[Steve_D]

Stuart Mills said:

just loading a electric motor in an Exocet as we speak.

So what has changed?
You did electric before then moved on or away from it so what brings you back?

Steve

[Stuart Mills]

Steve_D said:

So what has changed?
You did electric before then moved on or away from it so what brings you back?

Steve

I have been toying with electric cars since I was about 10 and that was 50 years ago! Now a days it seems the big boys are concentrating on providing customers with all the creature comforts they have become accustomed to but using batteries to power heated seats and A/C is a huge range buster.
Tesla seem to have it right, but they use about 7000 little batteries all linked together (same sort you have in your battery drill) powering a very heavy car. Then again if they didn't have heated seats and A/C they may not attract buyers. Add in the Tesla "ludicrous mode" and the car becomes great fun but hugely heavy on current and range reduction.

Kit cars can be basic, light and fun, we get away without having to install a heater as we have no roof! Perfect for EV conversion without wasting energy on those creature comforts that we can do without, weight decrease = range increase.
Kits cars could see a resurgence as techy folk become interested in whats makes electric cars work. Maybe they will venture far enough to learn and build one. Meantime my carbon footprint created by my V8 Chevy will be more balanced when I get the Exocet finished.

[TheFreak]

Stuart Mills said:

I have been toying with electric cars since I was about 10 and that was 50 years ago! Now a days it seems the big boys are concentrating on providing customers with all the creature comforts they have become accustomed to but using batteries to power heated seats and A/C is a huge range buster.
Tesla seem to have it right, but they use about 7000 little batteries all linked together (same sort you have in your battery drill) powering a very heavy car. Then again if they didn't have heated seats and A/C they may not attract buyers. Add in the Tesla "ludicrous mode" and the car becomes great fun but hugely heavy on current and range reduction.

Kit cars can be basic, light and fun, we get away without having to install a heater as we have no roof! Perfect for EV conversion without wasting energy on those creature comforts that we can do without, weight decrease = range increase.
Kits cars could see a resurgence as techy folk become interested in whats makes electric cars work. Maybe they will venture far enough to learn and build one. Meantime my carbon footprint created by my V8 Chevy will be more balanced when I get the Exocet finished.

Interested to see the electric Exocet development. We race the dinosaur juice version and think the handling and balance is great. Will it be keeping the same sort of weight distribution? Are the batteries going to be lighter than the the cast iron lump up front usually?
Will you need some ballast over the rear as no fuel tank now?