Maintaining the electric motor and the deep cycle batteries on your DIY electric car, of course, is necessary for its efficient performance; but if you leave the car exterior uncared for, it does not impress anyone.

When you think of selling your electric vehicle for a change or any other reason, an unkempt exterior look is sure to bring down its resale value tremendously.

In this regard, a well maintained body with paint and glasses in good condition may score even over the overall performance of the EV. First impression lasts, doesn’t it?

Used car sale professionals do first lift up the external look before presenting a car for display. That may be an expensive proposition and is avoidable if you regularly take the very basic cleaning care like giving it a thorough wash with a pressured water hose, without trying too hard to remove dirt stuck to the body, from time to time.

The areas that are not easy to clean are generally those where tar and sand granules have got stuck. These will not clear up without using specific cleansing products available at auto stores. Following the directions for use given with the product is important so that car paint is not damaged in the process.

After this part of the process is over, the car is ready for being polished. A caution here is worth a million!

You must ensure that you pick up a good brand of car polish, albeit a little costlier. Cheaper polishing material works faster; but it is at the cost of your paint!

In fact, cheaper polish products are most certainly likely to contain some abrasive compound rubbing with which is sure to remove the upper paint layer; if used regularly the paint may get worn off with the primer coat showing. This will then need a re-paint.

Once you have completed the polishing job, the electric car surface should glisten; the areas where it doesn’t need to be polished again. Now, if left exposed to weather like this, the shine won’t last for long. This may bring your painstaking effort to a naught.

The remedy lies in applying a protective substance, most commonly carnauba, to the body surface; that’s it!

You will find that the protective layer is impervious to dirt, sand etc. so the shine lasts much longer. Some of the very well known names in car care products are Meguair’s, Turtle, Mothers, Zaino and so many more; these are all good and serve the purpose very well.

Of course, you have the right to choose from these brands depending on your own judgment about the quality of your car looks. One more tip here; always use terry cloth towels or fresh micro fiber for applying polish and giving it a shine.

Old used fabric from domestic waste for the purpose will actually do more damage than saving! You must have noticed that some cars you come across on the road though shining, appear as though coated with cobwebs when seen from some angle; this is the result of polishing with used cloth.

If you consciously find time to carry out the above cleaning process even once every two months, the paint on your homemade electric vehicle will surely not wear out for much longer.

With numerous varieties of automotive tools on hand, a garage car manual to guide and sparing some time and attention, minor car repairs and its scheduled servicing and maintenance works can be undertaken easily by anyone at his automobile garage at home to maintain an electric car road-worthy and keep it running smoothly.

This way one can comfortably save hundreds of dollars on garage expenses annually. Apart from cutting down on costly expenses on professional garage services, one of the most gratifying features of undertaking maintenance jobs on own vehicle is the opportunity it provides in better understanding of the car mechanism so that it is easier to handle in case of breakdowns.

A wide range of good quality automobile tools are essential in any home automobile workshop to work on a car. The machining and sizes of parts of cars are not uniform for all models and makes, as certain car manufacturers adopt different types of machining for their cars and in view of this, sizes of parts also vary.

It is, therefore, very important to procure certain special car tools from automobile parts stores. These tools are specifically designed for working on a particular type of car. A trolley jack and axle stands are among the two most important items in a home car workshop and without them the workshop is not complete.

These equipments are required to let the car owner to get underneath the car to carry out certain maintenance jobs, like changing the deep cycle battery or checking on the adapter plate or electric motor. For many routine jobs, such as changing blown fuse, battery connector, wire connectors, brake pads etc. on your homemade electric vehicle, all-purpose tools, like a wrench and a screwdriver are quite sufficient and practically, all hardware stores stock these small tools.

It is advisable to keep automobile tools separate from other normal tools so that these tools will be handy when car maintenance work is taken up. This way maintenance job can proceed smoothly without any disruptions or delays.

If you are using a conventional automobile, it was comparatively easier to maintain cars and get familiarized with their mechanism than at present. With a DIY electric car, maintenance can be a bit tricky especially if the problem is caused by the controller.

It is, therefore, necessary to have special electrical problem-solving tools to check and fine-tune the controller and electric motor on your EV. Routine maintenance of internal and external components of your electric car in actually fact is not difficult and it could be carried out by anyone.

Removal of scratches, dents and panel beating are fairly simple jobs to undertake in a home garage. While a soft hammer is useful for panel beating, abrasive paper, spray paint and filler are necessary for spray painting work. For small scratches on your car body paintwork, you can use the Quixx paint scratch remover.

If the car is used regularly for a long period and the interior looks worn out, it also requires some attention. Fortunately, plenty of car upholstery tools are available in the market that can be used to refurbish the interior of the car and restore it to its original dazzling condition.

Small slits and burns on the seats can be repaired by darning them or pasting repair patches over those places. While the luster of the car can be restored with a good polish and a polishing brush, certain specialized tools are necessary for repairing the carpets or even substitute them, if required, with good ones.

It is obvious that owning and maintaining an electric car is not only mere tightening of nuts and bolts and stitching ripped seams, but also involves adding certain specific parts, like a more efficient high torque electric motor to durable deep cycle batteries. When fundamentals of car maintenance are properly understood, its upgrading and tuning will become more comprehensible, thereby saving lot of money in the long run.

The best method to save valuable time, effort and lot of money on car repairs is to keep the right automotive tools in the home garage and carryout small jobs on our own. However, it is also very important to bear in mind that one should acquire enough knowledge on cars so that he can decide when to seek the services of a professional mechanic from an outside workshop or otherwise, ignorance or insufficient knowledge will lead to more damage than good your electric car.

Electric cars are back in popularity after a long gap and most of the car drivers would prefer this type of vehicles to gasoline-powered cars because of soaring prices of fuel and oil, provided all other aspects, such as price, running and maintenance expenses and operating efficiencies between the two types of vehicles are the same.

The following are 3 ways that can stimulate the demand for electric cars and promote consumer car industry. Another option to boost the growth is to persuade consumers to compare the rates for car insurance from the different websites in order to get reasonable rates of premium.

1) Improvements in Technology

There is not much scope in this area as improvements cannot be brought about overnight. Although electric car manufacturers are working on the technological aspects to improve performance of electric car, reducing the cost of production and make charging of batteries more convenient, there is not much success in this area as the present day technology, electric car batteries are still lagging behind.

Rapid developments in electric car technology will, naturally, result in substantial reduction in costs. Nevertheless, the pace of technological developments is picking up to enhance the running efficiencies of electric cars and make them more convenient to use.

The latest advances include the facility to recharge the car with the help of normal household electrical energy sources. The ability to recharge an electric car fast without any hassles at home at the end of each journey, in effect, leads to a two-fold increase in driving distance.

Though these are favorable developments, they do not mean much in motivating more people to switch over from gasoline-powered cars to electric cars these days. In order to support the growth of electric car industry and encourage more people to use electric cars, government is initiating several strategies.

2) Government Incentives

Firstly, by permitting lone passenger use of carpool lanes, the people may be enthused to change to electric cars. Motorists, by using the carpool lane can save considerable time, while commuting on the highways.

Though this would encourage new electric car drivers, its benefit is restricted to only those who travel short distances because at present, all electric vehicles can be driven only for short distances per charge.

Secondly, toll discounts are another area of incentives that could motivate more people to own electric cars. Similar to carpool lanes, toll roads are generally more convenient than standard lanes as it decreases travel time to a great extent. The toll discounts would result in immediate, measurable monetary benefits over a non-electric car.

In certain regions use or avoiding of toll roads is inherent in planning the well-organized travel route. Much of the possible savings in petroleum by extensive switchover to electric cars will be felt by large number of motorists who drive in big cities.

For such places, the single largest incentive, which is nearly as good as a direct subsidy, would be a discount on parking fees. For those working in big cities, parking a vehicle can be as expensive as owning the vehicle itself.

3) Discount On Parking

A heavy parking discount for electric cars would translate into large-scale change to electric cars for those who commute and park vehicles within the city. Progressive governments in cities are considering seriously implementing the concept of introducing parking discounts.

Though it means a slight dip in revenues for the city, this incentive would benefit large number of electric car population and encourage more people to convert their gasoline cars to electric cars. The performance and the costs between internal combustion vehicles and electric vehicles would continue to narrow down with rapid technological advances.

Ultimately, these developments together with soaring fuel costs will solidly tilt the scales towards electric cars. In order to see that this happens, incentives, like free parking will go a long way in encouraging more people to switch over without being compelled to pay more for polluting the environment by using gasoline-powered car.

Electric cars are becoming popular in view of the focus on going green to protect the environment by nations all over the world. Soaring oil prices have prompted people to look for other options.

Environmentalists were focusing on vehicles that run on gasoline and other such traditional fuels because of the pollution issues. This has put pressure on inventors and automakers to further develop the electric car technology.

If you are a prospective buyer of an electric car, you should be aware about the benefits as well as the disadvantages of using an electric car. Of course, a lot of developments have happened, but there are some limitations.

Some of the disadvantages are listed below. It is an expensive to own and operate electric cars. The price of electric cars is very high.

The major contribution to the price of the car comes from the batteries required to run the electric motor. Electric cars use lithium-ion batteries that are pretty expensive. The batteries last for about 3 to 4 years and after that they will have to be replaced. People who have bought batteries will appreciate as to how the costs add up fast.

The second disadvantage is that the batteries of an electric car will have to be recharged frequently. You need to plan in advance as regards recharging. To get the batteries to the full charge, sufficient time has to be allocated. This may not seem to be a problem to you now, but you will realize it when you make an assessment after buying and using it for a while.

You could also face problems if the batteries are not fully charged and you have to extend trip or make an unplanned trip. The limitation on the distance that you cover with an electric car between recharges is a big hamper.

An electric car may not be the right vehicle for a long distance drive. You need to plan the distance you have to drive before using an electric car on a daily basis.

Most of the makes have limitations on the distance that an electric vehicle can run before it has to be necessarily recharged. ZAP, an electric car maker, said recently that the electric cars made by them can cover up to 100 miles with a full charge.

This may be encouraging, but many people drive in excess of 100 miles, including to and from the place of work, every day. This limitation is an issue for those who are compelled to use an electric vehicle to commute to their work place as you may get stuck in peak hour traffic jams if your car battery runs out.

Yet another disadvantage of electric vehicles is the lack of power. The pickup is not all that good. Anyone doing interstate driving will have to accelerate quickly to merge into traffic at times. A lot of developments have been incorporated in the electric cars in recent years, but many limitations are to be tackled so that it can get wide acceptance among the consumers.

DIY Electric Car Conversion Guide

A cheaper option of own an electric vehicle is via a DIY electric car conversion project. You can actually remove the internal combustion engine of a conventional automobile and fit it with a high torque electric motor. However, the job of retrofitting an electric car is easier said than done.

If you are looking for an electric car conversion guide, check out the Convert2EV ebook by Les and Jane Oke. The Okes are from Canada and they have been using homemade electric cars for quite a long time. The Convert2EV manual was written based on the experience converting gas guzzlers to EVs. Click on the link below to visit their web site right now.

==> Click here to visit Convert2EV now!

Many people have heard of a pure electric vehicle (EV), but not a lot of people have driven one. Unless you are a golfer and you spend a lot of time on the green. Golf courses use a fleet of electric golf carts to ferry people around.

There are many benefits on driving an EV versus a car using an internal combustion engine. The following is 5 great reasons why you should own a pure EV.

1) Sever your dependency on gasoline.

This is one major factor why an EV is much better than a conventional automobile. Many car owners wish they didn’t have a car back in mid 2008.

That is when the world crude oil price reached a dizzy level of $150 per barrel. The effect has pushed local gasoline prices through the roof. People were having a very tough time refueling their cars and making ends meet.

A car using electric power is independent from the fluctuation of global crude oil prices. When there’s another energy price spike in the near future, at least you’ll know it won’t affect you and your family lifestyle too much.

2) Zero emission.

Since an electric car does not use an internal combustion engine (ICE) as its power source, there is no engine exhaust therefore zero emission.

Smog from car engine is one of the causes of “green house effect” which raises the planet temperature therefore melting the polar ice cap. It’s an issue many world leaders is trying to solve.

When you use an EV, you’ll know you are doing your part to help the environment. Instead of just “lip service”, you are actually taking proactive action to help the environment.

3) Save money.

Do you want to stop spending your hard earned money at the gas station? Would you rather spend it on your family on a holiday? When you use an electric vehicle, you can forget about stopping at the gas service station ever again. The only time you’ll go there is when you need to use the restroom.

Do some calculation. Figure out how much money are you and your family members are spending on gasoline a week. And then multiply it with 52 weeks. That is how much money your family will be saving in a year if everyone drives an electric car.

4) Reliability.

Compared to a conventional car, an EV has less moving parts. Let’s take the heart of the electric car which is the electric motor as an example.

The electric motor has only 1 moving parts, which is the rotating shaft. An internal combustion engine has more than 100 moving parts. All the parts in an engine have to be lubricated in order for them to function properly.

Which one do you think has a higher chance of failing? The electric motor or the internal combustion engine?

That being said, an EV is more reliable compared to a gas guzzler. That’s only one component of the car. How about other parts on a normal car that’s not required on an electric vehicle? Components such as exhaust pipe, radiator, spark plugs, timing belt, air filter, fuel filter etc. Every part has a chance of failing, but you do not have this issue with an EV.

5) Recharging at home.

With an EV, you have the option of recharging at home. No more trips to the local gas station. I don’t know about you, for me, going to the gas station is quite a hassle.

You have to queue to use the pump, get out of the car, go to the cashier, more queuing, wait for the cashier, wait for the gas to be pumped etc. A lot of none productive time spent.

With an electric car, all you have to do is drive to the garage at the end of the day, and then plug it into the charger. Leave it there overnight and by next morning, the batteries will be fully charged.

There are many more reasons why using an EV is much better compared to a normal car. What I’ve written down is only a small list.

Do It Yourself (DIY) Electric Car

Buying a brand new electric car from the dealership might be more expensive compared to a conventional car. There is a cheaper option though. You can convert your existing car into an EV. To do that, you will need an EV conversion guide.

One of the latest EV conversion manual on the internet is the Electric Conversion Made Easy e-book by Gavin Shoebridge. Gavin is from New Zealand and he has converted his old Mitsubishi Tredia into a pure electric vehicle.

In his manual, he’ll teach you step-by-step how to retrofit a car to run on electricity. Together with the manual, there is also a series of High Definition (HD) instructional videos. For more information, check out Gavin’s website at www.evsecrets.com

==> Click here to visit Electric Conversion Made Easy now!

Is it safe to drive an electric car? More importantly, it is safe to drive a Do It Yourself (DIY) electric vehicle? The reason I ask the question is because I read an article lately about the accident rate of hybrid car owners. The article was from USAToday.com and there was a study made and they found a couple of interesting results.

Apparently, hybrid car owners get more traffic tickets and had more accidents! You can read the full article at: Hybrid car owners drive more and get more traffic tickets, study finds.

In summary, the study found that hybrid car owners take more pleasure drive a part from daily commuting. Hybrid vehicle owners will drive 25 percent more compared to a conventional car owner. When we have a fuel economy car, we tend to drive more because there is a sense that we are not spending too much money. When you drive more, the chances of you getting into an accident are also higher.

Here’s an interesting fact. To fix a damaged hybrid car, it will cost 13% higher compared to a non-hybrid! This is understandable because not every car mechanic has the tools and knowledge to repair a hybrid.

Is It Safe To Drive An EV?

What does this mean to electric car owners? A hybrid vehicle is one step away from a pure plug-in car. A hybrid has an internal combustion engine (ICE) and an electric motor to generate power. An EV has only the electric motor.

If hybrid owners were to drive more in their vehicle, would EV owners do the same as well? I think they will commute more short distances because EV is limited by its mileage. A normal sedan electric vehicle has approximately 60 – 100 miles before it has to be recharged.

In terms of repair bill, well that is another issue. If you were to crash your EV, it is safe to say you will end up with a large bill! The most expensive components would be the electric motor, electric controller and the batteries. Not to mention the large amount of time needed to fix and re-check all the system.

Is it safe to drive a homemade electric car on the road? That will depend on the person behind the wheel. If you are a speed demon, there is no different whether you are driving a conventional car or an electric car. You will crash sooner or later. If you are in an EV, you will be a “green speed demon”.

Mechanical wise, there are a few components that you have to make note of to keep the EV safe on the road. I will save that idea for my next blog post.

To all EV owners…drive safely.

Related web pages:

1) Tesla Recall: Setback for the EV Revolution?

Other related web pages:

1) Electric Cars Owners Club
The Electric Car Owners Club was started in 1982 by Frank Didik as an informal association of electric car owners and enthusiasts. At that time, interest in electric cars developed during the second gasoline crises in 1977, had died out, and it was very difficult for electric car owners to obtain information on maintaining and improving their electric cars. The club acted as a focal point for electric car owners.

2) Methacton Electric Car Club
The Methacton Electric Car Club has been in existence since 2001. They are an extracurricular, high school club with 15 active members, based at Methacton High School, in Norristown, PA. They maintain, as well as continually develop a battery electric vehicle known as, The Lorax. The club works with faculty sponsors, members of the community and local and national sponsors, to continually develop the car’s technology and energy efficiency.

3) Milwaukee Electric Car Club
The Milwaukee Electric Car Club is dedicated to Electric Cars, electric car technology, building electric vehicles. Milwaukee Electric Car Club has members who converted gasoline vehicles to Ac & DC powered electric vehicles.

4) Fox Valley Electric Auto Association
Fox Valley Electric Auto Association, the FVEAA for short. They are the northern Illinois chapter of the Electric Auto Association and they meet each month.

5) Santa Monica Neighborhood Electric Vehicle Club
NEV Clubs are on the rise. Forming a club enables members to explore the many uses of NEV transportation in their community; thereby promoting a clean, quiet, and pleasant environment. A NEV club consists of a group of people who are passionate about low-speed vehicles and are interested in making a difference in their community.

6) Eastern Electric Vehicle Club
Founded in 1980, the E.E.V.C. is a grass-roots network of people from all walks of life interested in the potential of alternative powered vehicles. As the need for alternative energy grows, so does the importance of exploring alternative energy resources.

7) EV Club Of The South
The EV Club Of The South is for EV drivers, their families and others interested in electric vehicles and is a chapter of the EAA Electric Auto Association.

8) Gateway Electric Vehicle Club
Gateway Electric Vehicle Club is a registered chapter of the Electric Auto Association (EAA) made up of individuals living in the Saint Louis area that believe electric vehicles (EVs) are an important part of the solution to our global energy crisis. The main goal of the club is to raise awareness around the benefits of EVs.

9) Austin Area Electric Automobile Association
The Austin EV is a group of people who gather to discuss electric vehicles, their construction, the technologies that make them work, and how we can further their continued re-introduction into central Texas.

10) Noe Valley’s Electric Car Club

Convert Your Own Electric Car

Want to know how to convert a conventional automobile into a plug in electric car? If you do, download the 20 DIY Electric Car Conversion Videos e-book.

The e-book will show you videos of homemade electric cars and the different components needed for the conversion project. Click on the link below to download the free e-book now!

==> Click here to download free e-book!

Related web sites: