In this blog post, I am going to write about how to decide on your electric vehicle (EV) conversion needs and budgeting. Typically when it comes to converting a car to run on pure electricity, you have 3 main options:
1) A good range.
2) A high top speed.
3) A low conversion cost.
The fact is, you can only choose 2 of the 3 options above.
This means before selecting your parts or selecting a donor car, you need to decide what your goals are.
Let me elaborate further on the 3 points above.
A Good Range
The typical DIY electric car that runs on lead-acid batteries has an average driving range of approximately 40 – 50 miles before it has to be recharged. The mileage is due to a combination of multiple factors.
The biggest factors being the size & weight of the battery pack. Other contributing factors are the vehicle aerodynamics and your driving condition. Driving on hilly areas will definitely need more juice therefore reducing your net mileage.
To get a good or practical EV range, you need to understand your driving needs. Too much range, and it’ll cost you money because of the extra batteries needed. Too little range and your EV would not be practical.
A High Top Speed
How fast can an EV go? As fast as you want!
Unlike driving range, a high top speed for an electric car can be achieved without too much extra cost. It all depends on how much power is available from your car’s battery pack and how much power your car’s controller will allow through to the motor.
An EV with large enough power and current flow will out sprint a gasoline driven car. A Tesla Roadster will always beat a Ferrari Modena on a straight sprint!
Low Conversion Cost
The overall cost of the conversion of an EV will vary from car to car, and from country to country. Some of the costing factors are shipping and freight costs, the strength of your currency for buying parts from overseas sources, labor costs to fabricate battery racks and a motor-to-gearbox adapter plate etc.
There are many ways you can save on your DIY electric car conversion project. Some are straight forward while others require some creativity.
For more tips and strategies on how to save money for a DIY electric car conversion project, check out Les Oke’s Convert2EV e-book.
Les and his family have been living off the grid for more than 15 years. To live a green lifestyle, Les has been using a pure electric car for commuting purposes.
Throughout the years, Les has converted numerous automobile to EV. The Convert2EV manual is his years of EV experience penned down.