Daniel's EVPorsche 911 conversion

[daniel]

Originally Posted by JRP3

Not even once

Well, maybe just once.

Originally Posted by WarpedOne

Hi Daniel!

I hope you report back about your new EV. I want to know *everything*

If it actually comes, and after eleven months of waiting I have zero confidence that it will, I will definitely report.

I won't be reporting on its top speed, though, because supposedly it will be governed somewhere around or slightly over 100 mph, and I would not drive that fast even with a gun to my head.

[WarpedOne]

If it actually comes, and after eleven months of waiting I have zero confidence that it will, I will definitely report.

In situations like this i try to remember Hoffstadter's law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law.
It's somewhat comforting

[vfx]

The longest owner listed wait time for a Roadster is 925 days. 671 is also listed.

[daniel]

Originally Posted by vfx

The longest owner listed wait time for a Roadster is 925 days. 671 is also listed.

Is that the longest time anyone has waited (which could be the first reservation long before the Roadster was expected to be built) or is that the longest time someone is still waiting?

When I visited, roughly two years ago, they told me the estimated waiting time then was about a year IIRC. Of course, there were delays. I imagine I'd have gotten it about now plus or minus a month or two.

They also told me there was a priority list, for people who deposited $50,000, and a low-priority list, for people who put down a smaller deposit, and who would have to wait until the priority list was all delivered. The first person on that list could conceivably still be waiting.

[daniel]

My 2003 electric Porsche 911 Carrera arrived yesterday (Thursday). I was a bit disappointed in the acceleration, but it's possible that it's merely so smooth that it doesn't feel like it's moving as fast as it is. More likely I was just expecting too much. But it does seem that I'm not getting the six to eight seconds zero to sixty that Paul had told me to expect. However, I have not yet taken it anywhere I could go sixty. Once I have, I'll report. It's a six-speed manual transmission. Paul had told me I'd probably just drive it in 4th gear all the time, but in fact it seems to do best in second gear in town, or first gear if I want to start out as fast as I can. One snag: they forgot to include the charging cable, so until I can get my electrician to build me a cable I have only the charge that was in the battery pack when it arrived.

Once I have a charging cable I'll take it on the freeway and log amperage vs speed in 4th and 5th gears, and then I'll have an idea of my actual range. But I found a chart of speed vs range for the Roadster on this site, and my battery pack is 28 kWh, or just over half the 53 kWh of the Roadster's, and the battery importer said I can safely go down to 20% SoC, so if the weight and efficiency of the two cars is similar, I'm estimating I should have a safe range of 94 miles at 55 mph, down to 72 miles at 70 mph, which is the freway speed limit here.

I am disappointed that Paul disregarded my requests on a few design points, and I should not have had to wait eleven months for the car, but he is definitely on the level, and it's a beautiful car, and it works. And if you want a freeway-capable EV and didn't get on the list for a Roadster two years ago, there are not a lot of choices out there. And I sat in a Roadster prototype a couple of years ago, and the Porsche is a lot more comfortable.

[WarpedOne]

Great great great!

You'll find out that performance will improve over time. Primarily because you'll learn all the little secrets of gear selection and SoC. Also batteries probably need some break-in.

Can we get complete specs? Like motor, battery, controller, voltage, weight, etc :)

[daniel]

Originally Posted by WarpedOne

Great great great!

You'll find out that performance will improve over time. Primarily because you'll learn all the little secrets of gear selection and SoC. Also batteries probably need some break-in.

Can we get complete specs? Like motor, battery, controller, voltage, weight, etc :)

I don't think the LiFePO4 batteries need break-in, but Paul told me the motor does because the bearings are tight at first.

My original contract specifies eleven inch warp motor, 1000 amp controller, 225+ volt system. My battery pack is actually 144 volts, but I don't know if the "system" is at a higher voltage than the pack. I know my Prius has a 201-volt pack but the "system" operates at about 500 volts with a voltage converter. Maybe the Porsche does something similar???. I have not yet looked under the hood, but when I do I'll post pictures. I don't know the weight. However, at a very rough guess it should be similar to the stock Porsche 911 since the batteries replaced the engine.

Unlike most folks driving EV conversions, I know nothing about this stuff. I just hate gasoline and I love electric transportation. Be it cars, trains, or trolley buses, I like electric. And unlike some Roadster drivers, if I can merge and pass quickly and safely, I've got enough acceleration. My previous cars have been a CJ5 Jeep 1976-1988; a Honda Civic 1988-2004; a Prius 2004-present; and a Zap Xebra 2006-present. I'll keep the Prius for road trips but I'll sell the Xebra if I can get an acceptable price. It also has LiFePO4 so may be worth more to me, for my investment in it, than anyone will pay.

[vfx]

Originally Posted by daniel

... they forgot to include the charging cable...

Crazy!


!
(Pretty EV though)

[WarpedOne]

Unlike most folks driving EV conversions, I know nothing about this stuff.

That's because most EV's so far are DWYBs - Drive What You've just Built. Buying one is not so common yet.

And yes, it is beautiful. Can you make a video or two and post it to youtube? A general walkabout the car and a piece from behind the wheel? We're dying too see those

[doug]

Yes please. And more photos, including interiors. Perhaps you can post your photos to flickr.com? Our current picture attachment system kinda sucks.

How does your conversion compare to the RUF Porche conversion?