We are starting with tesla parts, Damien's control boards and some high tech racing cells that are smaller, lighter and have a much better C-rate than tesla batteries. We just picked up a p85d driveline and will be ordering boards this week. Every tesla component we use will be disassembled and 3d scanned for solidworks with the intent on improving the design and making compatible improved parts like heavy duty cases, optional gearsets and straight cut gears for racing applications. Again, their setup is more power dense than just about everything else on the market, but with lots of room for improvement.
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Classic cars that are restored with all the technology a Tesla: any interest?
- Thread starter eClassic
- Start date
There are many other motors available, land no transaxles or transmissions that can handle the torque. We will be scanning all the axle parts for the intent of manufacturing heavy duty replacement of gearsets and cases, final drive options and compatability with other motor technologies. Tesla, toyota, gm and ford have the best design in motors and controllers currently, everything else is a weakly adapted industrial AC motor with low efficiency, low density and poor cooling.
Brando
Active Member
Electric car conversion
1- you should do an internet search; learn/see the basics; discover current state of this market niche
(IF you didn't read this thread from the beginning ... why not? just do it.)
2- Recreate Tesla technology under a classic auto body? With enough money anything is possible.
Tesla can't meet demand for their own cars, so you'll either buy new/used Tesla or go for salvaged.
3 - From #1 above you'll find many options.
So far NO major automaker has matched Tesla.
(try to match performance? safety? save money too? - get real.)
Most any car +25 years old have/had far less hp than Tesla S/X 100 or even Model 3 - can't u use less?
dreams are great - keep dreaming and have fun - you CAN do a lot - keep expectation near reality?
good luck
1- you should do an internet search; learn/see the basics; discover current state of this market niche
(IF you didn't read this thread from the beginning ... why not? just do it.)
2- Recreate Tesla technology under a classic auto body? With enough money anything is possible.
Tesla can't meet demand for their own cars, so you'll either buy new/used Tesla or go for salvaged.
3 - From #1 above you'll find many options.
So far NO major automaker has matched Tesla.
(try to match performance? safety? save money too? - get real.)
Most any car +25 years old have/had far less hp than Tesla S/X 100 or even Model 3 - can't u use less?
dreams are great - keep dreaming and have fun - you CAN do a lot - keep expectation near reality?
good luck
Brando
Active Member
Asymmetry
Member
Not sure what it more heresy, EV stang or RB motor swap into a stang.
Personally Id get a classic EV and swap in the Tesla powertrain into it. Its the equivalent of a LS swap into a old school V8.
Detroit Electric - Wikipedia
Henney Kilowatt - Wikipedia
Personally Id get a classic EV and swap in the Tesla powertrain into it. Its the equivalent of a LS swap into a old school V8.
Detroit Electric - Wikipedia
Henney Kilowatt - Wikipedia
dhrivnak
Active Member
Yes I have done a few conversion cars and quality parts to get you to a 6 second 0-60 and a 100 mile range will run about $25k plus the car. It is fun and you learn a LOT but not a very profitable hobby.
Im not building cars for people to get groceries with. Yes, about 25k to convert a car with cheap components and a small pack is about right. We are designing a kit car meant for racing on a porsche platform. Nich market yes, but the focus will be in building the racing team, garage and making parts. All our tesla parts have been scanned externally, we will scan them internally as well and start building heavy duty cases, gearsets, and improved parts compatible with the Tesla components.
ai4px
Wes
Im talking to a friend who builds them, tube frame rock crawlers is a great application for electric, to use a tesla drive, you'd have to mount it centrally and essentially use it as a transfer case, and for control of torque, you may have to use additional gear reduction.
Brando
Active Member
you can DYI (Do It Yourself) much cheaper than using Tesla parts - doesn't need to even have license plates.
Merrill
Merrill
I would say that most who like classic cars also like the gas engine and sound that goes with them, I have a friend that restores classic Cadillacs and not interested in anything EV.
tonybelding
Active Member
If you search online for EV conversions, you'll find many, many examples. Most of them are older examples with outdated technology, though. I mean lead-acid batteries (and 40 miles range), or those early Chinese Li-ion things (Thundersky?), and DC motors taken out of forklifts. Throwing together some kind of EV powertrain that'll get the car moving is easy. Keeping up with EV technology that has advanced so rapidly in the last few years is another thing entirely.
Right now it seems like the best conversions are using components salvaged from wrecked Teslas or Chevy Volts. Tesla batteries have the best energy density (and best range), while Volt batteries give the most power output (and best performance). When these cars are totaled and come up for auction, a lot of them go cheap because most people have absolutely no idea what to do with them. So, the supply is there for conversions.
The next challenge is, how many of those packs or modules can you fit into your target vehicle? Your random gas-powered car isn't designed with a floor pan to house 100 KWh of batteries. You have to fit as many as you can wherever you can, and decide how much of the trunk space or rear seats (if applicable) you're willing to sacrifice. And you have to make sure they've got functional cooling, etc.
Making a conversion with decent range, with decent performance, with regen, with fast charging... is quite a challenge. I know a lot of guys who love a challenge are working on this. It's an exciting time. But as someone who might possibly be interested in getting a conversion done, I have to be wary, and I have to ask some sharp questions about exactly what they can or can't accomplish.
Right now it seems like the best conversions are using components salvaged from wrecked Teslas or Chevy Volts. Tesla batteries have the best energy density (and best range), while Volt batteries give the most power output (and best performance). When these cars are totaled and come up for auction, a lot of them go cheap because most people have absolutely no idea what to do with them. So, the supply is there for conversions.
The next challenge is, how many of those packs or modules can you fit into your target vehicle? Your random gas-powered car isn't designed with a floor pan to house 100 KWh of batteries. You have to fit as many as you can wherever you can, and decide how much of the trunk space or rear seats (if applicable) you're willing to sacrifice. And you have to make sure they've got functional cooling, etc.
Making a conversion with decent range, with decent performance, with regen, with fast charging... is quite a challenge. I know a lot of guys who love a challenge are working on this. It's an exciting time. But as someone who might possibly be interested in getting a conversion done, I have to be wary, and I have to ask some sharp questions about exactly what they can or can't accomplish.
When considering the cost of all involved with a proper conversion, using the tesla drive units is a VERY cost competitive way to build a car, front drives are cheap, lots of rear drives available too (I have a source). They offer a compact package that won't destroy an OEM transmission or driveline parts. The only other motor worth anything are the dual remy units, they are more expensive than tesla drives and good luck finding a trans that won't explode behind them cheaply. All the other AC motor tech out there are reworked industrial motors, with coolong systems added to them, and every one is enemic on power.
Also, there are better (NEW) batteries than used tesla modules. Not everyone has room for 900lbs of tesla batteries, and not many have the skills to rework them for proper battery management, which is really the most important part of a modern EV build, it controls power flow, charging, cell levelling and ground fault protection...EVs with no battery management are dangerous!
Brando
Active Member
EVwest - fine article about electric conversions - enjoy !
Electric Conversions Can Save Classic Cars and Make Them Quicker
Electric Conversions Can Save Classic Cars and Make Them Quicker
Yes, EV west has a system that you have to send your motor controller PCB to them for them to reflash, and then you need their $4k controller. They have been working on a cradle for installing the tesla motor in a 911. They have been working on it for 6 months, and still have issues with it. It took me three weeks to build one, it is going for powdercoat this week. Not a lot of room in a 911 for the Telsa motor assembly, there is about 1/2 inch of wiggle room in certain places. There is Damien Maquire's open spurce PCBs and you can sniff the CAN codes out and re-inject them. It's not rocket science, just a little car hacking...
The real issue for building most cars, is that there are few places to put and entire Tesla pack in the car because it can't be reconfigured for the proper voltage, and the batteries aren't really that great anyhow. The trick in this race car is getting it to do 30 laps with a pack that doesn't weight 1000 lbs and has the proper C rate for a 1300 Amp discharge. Ev west is running LGchem batteries at a lower voltage to reduce the C rate requirement. Kind of takes the fun out of it to derate it to 2/3 of the motor's power....There aren't many lithium options for a small conversion sized pack. Again. Not too many cars can house all of the tesla modules.
You need cells with a high discharge C rate. El Mofo modules come close, but even the cars run with those in matching power scenarios have to be detuned. We have a pack for this car selected that will weight about 600lbs and still deliver the roughly 1/2 million watts the Tesla P85D rear axle can require.
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dabbler
Member
Brando
Active Member
Saving classic cars for week-end [cars & coffee] drives seems the opposite end of "racing electrics".
Racing electrics is starting - Pikes Peak; drag strip; any salt flat speed records yet?; Formula E (seems pretty boring so far); dirt bikes?; has the Tesla GT started?
Anyway, having fun would seem a key factor - enjoy your journey.
Brando
Active Member
Won't believe number of products Bosch has - check it out - really really surprising to me.
Bosch Mobility Solutions
Bosch Mobility Solutions
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