elctric commy idea

[dynoryder]

hi all i was looking for elctric motors to see if i could find one to power a car

just wonder what you all think of a elctric commodore like a vr or vs

and if any one knows where to get a 400kw brshless motor good for 20000rpm

[michaelw]

For electric motors you wont need to find one that revs that high, You will have all sorts of trouble with transmission and couplings. There are specific motors for ev conversions around the 100KW mark.

Take a look at UQM Technologies

Mike

[dynoryder]

yea i have seen the 100kw ones

i would be looking for one with the right splines that is all i need

i can make up an adaptor plate for bellhouseing

maby only need 10000rpm

[DannyboyDS]

wouldnt 5000rpm suffice? I mean the electric motor will probably have allot more tourqe then an internal combustion engine, and for street use ive never hit 5000rpm in a car.

Or are you planning on racing it?

How funny would it be if you couldnt get it engineered.

"Sorry mate, can't pass your car with that as the catalytic converter is not connected" would probably happen to, Sigh.

[_R_J_K_]

Have a look at a car called "White Zombie" owned by John Wayland. He had two 7" (?) DC motors customized to fit together. It's a Datsun 1200 that pulls low 11's. It blows the doors off just about anything on take off, as electric motors have maximum torque at 0rpm.

As for splines, I think that there are drive shaft adapters anyway.

As for doing it to a VR-VS, there are way better cars. Commodore's are still too heavy to get any decent range out of them. If I were to do it, I would be looking at a Gemini or a Sigma or a Galant. Something around 1000kg's.

[michaelw]

I had a chance to see the ECOmmodore at the paralympics in 2000, it was an awesome looking car, from memory it had the front 3/4 of a VT and from the c pillar back it was the (as yet unreleased) Monaro.

Mike

[Reaper]

The motor isn't the problem. It's the battery or 50km long power chord that gets a bit un-managable.

Reaper

[Cheap6]

There is a whole sub culture of people doing electrical conversions on previously ICE powered cars. Silicon Chip mag has covered a bit (it's their type of thing), including a conversion on a Hilux. There's a chick who did a conversion on a Starion which is quite well known. There are commercially available, turn key versions of current Getz and Focus and more.

As far as legality, as usual it depends on which state you are in as to what applies but there is a section in the NCOPS on vehicle mods specifically for electric conversions.

[_R_J_K_]

This site gives you a good idea of both the amount of conversions taking place and the amount of work required to get one of these on the road. There are electric cars from all over the world on this site.

EV Photo Album: Our Electric Cars on the Web

And this is that Datsun I was talking about earlier - John Wayland's 1972 Datsun 1200 White Zombie

Distance on electric cars can be improved, but it is usually at the cost of another area. Keep in mind that these cars are built for city and town driving, not the long haul between states.