I have to say, I love the idea. Give me an electric that can do 0-60 in around 5 seconds and provides 40-50 mile range on a charge, top speed ~80mph. Keep the weight/handling reasonable, and I'd jump all over it. We're the stereotypical family with 2 cars, and my daily commute is <10 miles. I could easily drive an EV, and my wife's car would be just fine for longer distances.

 

I was watching "Mean Green Machines" on TV for the first time yesterday. They had an electric ATV that they pitted against a Honda ATV. It reminded me of this thread. I couldn't understand the choice of gearing on the electric. The electric was so slow (6mph ave), yet it totally dominated the gas in the uphill pull (pulled a loaded 3/4 ton truck up a hill twice as far as its gas counterpart). Given all this torque, I could not understand why the chain drive had such a small sprocket on the motor side and such a large sprocket on the drive shaft (like what you would more typically see with a gasoline setup). I think the owner should have changed the ratio to give the ATV more comparable pulling power as the gas equivalent and a higher top speed. Who wants an EV that you can run faster than (even if it does have unreal torque)?

I wish roads were like slot car tracks; that way we could all have electric vehicles without having to charge a battery! We could all have a power meter in our cars similar to the power meters in our homes to monitor usage and be billed at the end of the month.

 

cool project.

only issue: aerodynamic?

"There is just no way this vehicle could go with less than 12v batteries since it can't handle the weight. On the plus side it's light and aerodynamic."

 

Haha, ok just to clarify. In the EV world tons of people use trucks to carry all the lead acid batteries around. So compared to a truck it is aerodynamic. Compared to an Aptera, not even.

If you haven't seen this yet, http://www.aptera.com. A guy at work is on the waiting list. Should be cool to check out.

 

so his s2k qualify for a "Hybrid" emblem.....

 

oh haha. link took to long to load. so i havent looked at it. i do like to get a Tesla Roadster but damn they are expensive.

http://www.teslamotors.com/

dont know where you live but can you get your car retitled as .... (cant be hybrid since thats gas/electric) so you can drive in the carpool lane and also how do you pass smog now?

again im new to this whole project tho i have heard alot of people doing similar things but never gone to a full electric

 

You actually register the fuel type as electric (E). There is a special type they made for Hybrids as well with DMV (H). I think gas is G, but not sure. Diesel is (D).

You have to get inspections for safety and make sure you really did convert it to electric so you can't just get around smog Currently if you take an electric car to get a smog test, it won't pass hehe. They have to actually be able to test it and get real numbers.

 

I did just find this info. Apparently somebody has build a drag car with just capacitors. It looks like it takes up a huge area (the same as any EV though really), weighs only a little over 300lbs and has enough energy for one race (I think 1/4 mile drag).

http://www.maxwell.com/pdf/uc/white-papers...rag_racecar.pdf

 

I'm a BYU Mechanical Engineering Alumni!

Well, I can't say I'm too proud... did you see their 1/4 mile times?

 

I didn't read that much detail. Looking back though I see very high 15s. Pretty sad considering that White Zombie car is getting 12s (no clue what his best is).

I was just impressed they stored enough energy in capacitors for that distance. 15+ seconds worth of power in the room a lithium setup could get you 200 miles.