Components of an Electric Car?

by Will
(san antonio,tx)

What are the main components for building an electric car? Batteries, motor...what else?

Hi, Will -
Here's what a DC conversion list looks like:
Motor, transmission adapter, batteries, battery racks, controller, charger, DC/DC converter, a couple of contactors, a few fuses, a potbox, and an e-meter.

Regards,
Lynne

P.S. Looking for a conversion kit? You can find an article on basic ev conversion kits here.

Conversion Cost and Power

by Stevie Jensen
(Tracy, Ca 95376)

Two questions: One, I was wondering how much can all this run you to do it because, even though it will make up in gas prices, I need to know if I can afford it and average price for kits.

The other question is how much hp, torque and all that stuff does it have because I heard from a guy on the news they had a electric 914 and it was burning out but anyway would it be less power then a 1.7 l or 2.0 l or close to the same or more?

Hi, Stevie -

A simple, basic DC conversion will cost you about 15k. It can be done for less, and more. My conversion kit page gives you more information, and the Deluxe Universal kit from Electro on that page costs about $6,200 including shipping. They have other kits available - here's Electro's price list.

Now on to the power and torque question:

The Porsche 911 conversion in the picture is a rocket!

With a DC conversion (the most common type), all the torque is available from a standstill. That makes for a very thrilling ride.

In the gas-guzzler version of a Porsche 914, most of that hp is being used to get you from 0-35 mph.

What does this mean?

It means HP isn't a very good indicator of performance with an electric motor...

...but you can get all the performance you can handle (and then some) from an electric car. EV racers routinely blow the doors off their gas-gobbling competition; )

Regards,
Lynne

how much to convert a 1988 bmw 325i?

by Adam J.
(Los Angeles, CA)

How much would it cost to convert a 1988 BMW 325i that I can charge at any 110 outlet?


Hi, Adam!

Conversion expenses depend on several things; the conversion in the photo above is a nice DC conversion, and cost about 10k. You could certainly spend more; )

Things that cost money:

• fixing up the donor car;


• the conversion kit (by this I mean the motor and controller);


• the batteries;


• the charger;


• miscellaneous parts and tools;


• your time...or someone else's.