If you are environment friendly and mindful of your cost of driving a gasoline powered car, you will surely be planning to buy an electric car. Electric cars cost a lot but if you can convert a gasoline car into an electric car yourself, it will cost only a fraction of what a new electric car would cost.

Since an electric car uses only electricity to run, cost of driving an electric car is very negligible when compared to the cost of driving a gasoline car. The following are the steps involved in converting a car into an electric car.

1. Choose a suitable donor car.

The car you are selecting for conversion into an electric car must be very light. Light electric cars can run more miles than heavy cars. They can also attain higher speeds than heavy ones.

However, if you choose a very small car, you will find it difficult to accommodate the battery and the motor in it. A pickup truck is the ideal donor vehicle for conversion.

2. Avoid a car that has automatic transmission.

Converting a car that has manual transmission system is much easier than converting a car that has automatic transmission system. You don’t have to worry about the transmission because your electric car will not have a gear box.

3. Check the condition of the donor car.

Check the donor car very thoroughly to ensure that the car is in good working condition. If you aren’t able to do it yourself, take a mechanic with you who will check the car for you. If the car doesn’t function well, whatever expenses you are incurring on converting the car will be futile. The life of the donor car should match the life of electric components you are going to mount on the car.

4. Search for a used car.

To bring the cost of your electric car down, find a used car for conversion. There are cars whose engine is badly damaged and the owners of such cars will be willing to sell the damaged cars at throw away prices. Possible places where you will find them are local junk car dealerships and advertisements on the internet. An engineless car is of no use to the owner but of great value for your car conversion project.

5. Remove the engine of the car.

Your electric car doesn’t need the gasoline engine. You can remove it with the help of a few of your friends and the basic tools. If you find it difficult for you, hire a mechanic. If you allow the mechanic to keep the engine for himself, he might do the engine removal free of cost.

6. Use a conversion guide.

This is the final and most important step. Since you are not a professional in car conversion, you need help at each and every stage and a good electric car conversion manual will be of great help in this regard. The manual will not only help you to fix the right parts at the right places but will also tell you where you can find the parts at cheap rates.

A conversion guide may cost $50 at the maximum and if you follow the instructions carefully, the cost of your DIY electric car will be around $4500.

Compare it with the cost of electric car conversion kits which cost around $6000. So, converting a car into an electric car is not as costly and as difficult as you might think.

These days there is more awareness about the overall health condition of the Earth, people are looking for various potions to reduce and eliminate the use of fossil fuels. This has even become more important due to the air pollution and noise pollution which is the result of our dependence on the fossil fuels.

One of the unique options is to get our gasoline powered vehicles converted into electric run vehicles. The gasoline powered vehicles emit carbon monoxide into the atmosphere and electric motors have nothing to emit, we will at least have some clean air to breath.

The total cost of converting the car into the electric car should between $5,000 to $10,000 which depends upon the car and the type of parts used in the conversion. There are many types of electric car conversion kits available in the market and more are in the pipeline.

Such new introductions will definitely bring the cost down and make it within the reach of the common man. There are two components in the electric conversion kit regardless of their cost, a DC controller and a DC motor, most of the components like motors and controllers come from forklift industry another point to note that most conversion kits are made for the cars with manual transmission rather than standard engines.

You must also decide about the level of voltage output when converting the gasoline powered vehicle to the electrical one. Most of the cars can operate between 96 and 192 volts, the voltage output determines the number of batteries and the type of the motor.

There are normally three types of batteries available for the conversion of the electric car, these are golf cart batteries, and high performance sealed batteries and marine deep-cycle lead acid batteries.

One of the major advantages with the marine deep-cycle battery is its cost and is available almost everywhere including the Walmarts. The electrolyte used in these batteries is usually gelled, absorbed glass mat or flooded.

The flooded are the cheapest ones but it has the tendency of losing power. The total number of steps are about seventeen; these can be easily followed if you have a reasonable knowledge of the engine. You have to start with removing the gas system, engine, exhaust system, clutch and sometimes radiator also.

The biggest task is the wiring when converting to the electric mode; this is the most complicated procedure. But once the conversion has taken place there is no external difference between the gas powered or electrical powered vehicle.

The only big difference is refueling and noise which is almost not there with electrical powered vehicle. There is no noise or air pollution with the electrical powered cars. It would really be amazing to see that when back from work, you charge your vehicle with solar power or wind power instead of going to pumps for gasoline. You will be thrilled when you feel that you have in fact become an environment savior by reducing the pollution level both air and noise and in fact contributing something to the Earth.

There are two types of golf cart engines: gasoline-powered and battery-operated. Those trying to purchase a new golf cart should first decide the type of golf cart engine that he would like to have in the new vehicle.

Several manufactures of golf carts have of late shifted away from equipping golf carts with gasoline engines to power their vehicles exclusively for golfing. Although many producers of golf carts no longer use gasoline engines for golf carts, they extensively use these types of engines in other types of vehicles such as those connected with ‘off-road’ driving or driving by limited group of people.

There have been significant technological developments in gasoline-powered engines. Many producers, still making use of gasoline engines exclusively for golf carts adopt this latest technology. These engines emit minimal amounts of harmful gases, do not pollute the atmosphere and do not make any noise, while running.

In addition, the latest versions of gasoline engines are more powerful than the battery-operated engines. The following paragraphs explain the merits and demerits of each type of engine fitted in golf carts so that one can opt for the correct type of golf cart that meets his needs. It is important to know the type of engine that a cart should have, especially if the golf course is rocky or a hilly area.

The later version of gasoline-driven golf cart engine is, normally, more fuel efficient and will give enhanced gas mileage than earlier models. However, the drawback in the gasoline engine is the heavy burden of maintenance expenses.

The maintenance jobs for this type of engine are usually carried out by experienced mechanics, unless the golf cart owner is confident of undertaking maintenance without any external help.

The high costs of mechanical parts and labor account for the huge maintenance expenditure on gasoline motors. In contrast, maintenance costs of battery-powered motors are relatively lower and that is why this type of motor is more popular these days than the gasoline-powered engine. Many new developments in battery technology have made battery-powered engines more powerful as compared to the models of previous years.

Purchasers of battery-driven golf carts can get these days an extensive choice of models with different battery patterns; some of them are nearly heavy duty types. The latest versions of battery-powered motors have longer running time without recharging and even if they are to be recharged, it is now much simpler, quicker and more secure than in the past.

As there are large number of models in battery-powered golf cart engine segment, purchasers of golf carts now have a wide choice of prices that suits everyone’s budget than one can get in gasoline-powered vehicles. The type of terrain on which the golf cart will be used determines the type of golf cart one should buy.

A golf cart powered by gasoline engine is ideal if one proposes to use the vehicle on a difficult hilly terrain as gasoline models can exert more power for driving up the hill. On the other hand, a battery-powered golf cart is more appropriate for driving on a comparatively flat terrain and price-wise, it is much cheaper than a gasoline-powered vehicle. Whatever be the type of motor, the quality has improved substantially in the recent models.

If you own an electric golf cart, one way of saving money is to recondition the old deep cycle batteries on your own. How do you do it? Click on the link below to visit the Electric Golf Cart Battery Guide and learn the reconditioning process.

==> Click here to visit Electric Golf Cart Battery Guide!

Have you ever spotted an electric car on the street, it is quite impossible to identify such cars as these cars quite resemble gasoline powered cars? If you are an automobile enthusiast, you can probably spot easily an electric vehicle (EV) among many cars, the other way is to spot an electric powered car is the excellent level of silence that these cars have.

The beauty lies in the silence of the motor of electric powered cars which does not produce any deadly emissions. The technology of the gasoline powered and electric powered cars is totally different and all the difference lies in the hoods of these cars.

If you want to know the working of EV, you need to explore the hood by opening it. The gasoline powered car engine contains many boxes and pipes which looks like a complicated plumbing work but with pure electric cars, the features are totally different and looks like a complicated electrical work.

The car which is electric powered uses its motor to power the wheels which will be totally different than gasoline powered cars. The electric motor directly uses electricity and starts rotating, which means the power is instant and this power can be used from the get go.

The main problem with EV is when it climbs a steep hill. This energy system is not adequate to propel the car upward on hilly surfaces. This is one of the challenge EV manufacturers are working very hard to resolve.

Initially, the electric car motor were powered by normal car batteries which did not have long usage life, but now this issue has been resolved to great extent by using modern lithium-ion batteries that will allow you to drive your eco-friendly vehicle for a longer duration without having to be recharged.

The working principle in the electric vehicle is an AC charger which charges the battery unit. After starting the vehicle, the power is directly passed on from the battery bank to the electric motor. There is a meter which is known as voltmeter instead of gasoline meter normally found in gasoline run cars. The voltmeter shows the level of remaining battery charge which is an indication to get the batteries recharged.

Pure electric cars do not have clutches therefore you have limited control on the power output from the motor. Instead of an accelerator, it has a potentiometer that allows increasing or decreasing the torque generated by the electric motor.

If you are planning to use air conditioner in your car, there is an additional battery source used for onboard heater. The power windows and other accessories are also powered by this secondary electric power source.

As compared to an automobile powered by an internal combustion engine, increasing the speed on an EV will give you a lower mileage because more current is needed to power the motor. Understandably, the present pure electric cars in the market have many flaws. But with the passage of time and improvement in technology, these cars will become more efficient and most importantly become cheaper to buy. Pure electric vehicles are the best alternatives to gasoline which has contributed to the destruction of our environment.

This is the known fact that the future lies in the hybrid cars, such cars apart from saving the costly fuel will also reduce the harmful carbon emission. These benefits coupled with other incentives have helped hybrid vehicles to gain the attention of the car owners.

Many people who own the conventional automobile are looking forward to replace their cars with the hybrid one. The reason is simple the rising fuel costs and the harmful emission. Hybrid vehicles are equipped with two engines; it has the standard gasoline engine and also electrical motor which runs on the batteries.

The use of these two engines cuts the fuel consumption by half as compared to the conventional vehicles. It is quite possible to run the hybrid car for more than 60 miles per gallon of gasoline; with such an advantage these cars are quite suitable for long run.

The owners of hybrid cars are really not worried about the rising costs of oil. In addition these cars have other strong points also. Recently the President of the United States signed an agreement that the hybrid car owners could be given some tax concessions. You are expected to save a lot of money which otherwise you were expected to pay as taxes.

Some of the other incentives given by the federal governments are complimentary parking, free entry into car pool lanes and reduced fee at the toll gates. The hybrid vehicle have inbuilt capability of recharging the batteries, this means you do not have to charge the vehicle at the personal electric outlet nor are you required to go to the charging stations.

With so many advantages there are some short comings also, the biggest one is the price of such vehicles which makes it quite non affordable to the people. On the long run such cars might prove quite economical but it only few who have ample money can buy these cars initially.

The size and the weight of the hybrid vehicle is quite high, the reason is the installation of large batteries and the additional engine. The manufacturers are trying to reduce the weight by using lighter material but again it should be perfect in aerodynamics to maintain the running efficiency of the vehicle. It has also been seen that hybrid vehicle have proved more risky in case of an accident.

The car has both plus points as well as negative points, the hybrid automobiles have very high voltage in the batteries which poses a great danger by way of electrocuted in case of accidents. The rescue team will have to face great difficulties in rescuing the inmates in case of accidents in hybrid vehicles. These are some of the advantages and disadvantages of hybrid vehicles.

Automobile manufacturers are working really hard to make these vehicles safer and remove all the disadvantages. Since the research is on, day is not far when you will get a safe, durable, lighter and trouble free vehicle to drive. Let us all wait for the day and drive the safe hybrid car.

The rising prices of petroleum products globally has raised many concerns with car owners, they are finding it more expensive to run their cars on the traditional fuel. The answer to this problem is seen in hybrid cars; this will not only conserve fuel but at the same time control carbon emission.

Hybrid cars are gaining popularity not only with drivers but manufacturers also are investing huge amounts of money in the development of such technology. The plus point in hybrids cars is that these vehicles can run both on the conventional gasoline and also on electricity via an electric motor and batteries. These two systems when used together can reduce the use of gasoline and can even improve driving mileage to more than 60 miles per gallon of gas.

These cars have inbuilt systems to allow the charging of batteries inside the vehicle, this totally eliminates the charging through electric outlet at home or specialized charging stations required to charge such vehicles. Such facilities provided in hybrid cars have made them quite popular.

The biggest drawback of hybrid cars is its high price, which has proved to be big deterrent because only few can afford such cars. Governments have given some incentives like free parking, free entry to car pool lanes and many other rebates. Some of the incentives are reduced fee at the toll gates. It is believed that such incentives will make hybrid vehicles more affordable and therefore luring more potential buyers.

Apart from the benefits mentioned above, there are quite few disadvantages also; hybrid cars have very high repairing costs. These costs are mostly associated with the integration of the charging system, electric motor and the internal combustion engine.

The complex integration system is bound to make things go wrong, in such cases it has been noticed that the repairs and the associated parts are very costly.

In addition, the rechargeable batteries require periodic replacement as is the case with any other rechargeable battery. Normally such a situation develops many years after the purchase and will cost you thousands of dollars, depending upon the manufacturer. Some hybrid cars also have poor fuel efficiency and the power of the vehicle is less as compared to the traditional automobiles.

Another negative point is the extra weight of these cars due to the addition of batteries required for the electric motor. The batteries do add a substantial weight thus weighting down the chassis.

On some terrains and climates, hybrid cars can only operate on gasoline power than on electric motors. The increased weight of the cars also lower the fuel efficiency and you would have to spend more on gasoline.

Manufacturers are working hard to overcome such challenges to make these cars more acceptable and fuel efficient by using lighter components and more efficient rechargeable batteries so that the running and the maintenance cost is reduced. Once such drawbacks are removed, people will get really attracted towards hybrid cars as ultimately these cars are the only solution to the rising prices of oil.

Your decision to convert your gas powered car into an electric car is a smart one. You will not only be doing the nature a favor but will also be reducing the cost of driving your car.

Before you embark on your electric car conversion project, it is necessary to decide what motor you are going to install on your electric car. An electric car can have either an AC motor or a DC motor.

AC motor works on alternating current while a DC motor uses electricity stored in batteries. There are both advantages and disadvantages in using Ac Motor and DC motor for your electric car. The power input for an AC motor is more.

An AC motor needs volts in between 48 and 96 whereas a DC motor needs only 6 or 9 volts. Since an AC motor uses more volts, additional safety features must be incorporated into an electric car’s design.

AC motors are preferred over DC motors on two counts; they are lighter in weight and a mechanism that produces power while you apply the brake can be installed. The power thus produced is used to recharge the batteries of the car. Because of these advantages, most commercially produced electric cars use AC motors.

The main disadvantages of an AC motor are its high cost and the difficulty in installation. Only skilled technicians can install an AC motor on an electric car. If an AC motor is used in the car, there has to be a converter to convert AC into DC.

While AC is converted into DC, there will be some current loss too. DC motors are cheaper than AC motors and it is easy to install them. There is no need of invertors and there is no loss of power. A DC motor lasts longer than an AC motor.

To reduce the cost of converting your car into an electric car, you can use a second hand DC motor which you can get from the local scrap dealer at a very low price. If proper care is taken, a second hand DC motor will last throughout the life of your electric car. An ideal DC motor for your electric car should measure between 9 and 13 inches in diameter.

A DC motor of this size will not be too heavy and it will be powerful enough to propel the car. Taking all the advantages of a DC motor into consideration, car conversion using a DC motor is the best option. The only things where you need to pay special attention are the size of the motor and its voltage input.

A DC motor just needs connection to the batteries through the control unit which is again connected to the accelerator of the car. The accelerator cable of an electric car is similar in function to the carburetor which controls the amount of fuel that goes into the engine of a gas powered car.

Depending on the size and voltage input of the DC motor, the battery size has to be changed. As a general rule, a bigger sized and more powerful motor will need more voltage and therefore the battery has to be a bigger one.

Batteries store energy to be used in almost all the applications of the current world. This necessitates the dependence on fossil fuels.

However, deep cycle batteries play a great role in reducing the need for fossil fuels and these batteries help in reducing the carbon foot print caused by the usage of other batteries in consumer applications. It is because the deep cycle batteries store their energy received from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power.

A starter battery which is recharged using the automobile’s alternator, is powerful enough to help in starting the engine but it does not serve the purpose if it comes to household equipments which need power constantly. For homemade electric cars, deep cycle batteries which are designed in a way to sustain the stored energy for a longer period of time are perfect for the job.

Long term charge, consistent power release, longer period of usage are the key and striking features of deep cycle batteries for electric vehicles (EV). Consistent power release helps in preventing the batteries from getting drained quickly.

On a hot day, solar panels can be used at home to trickle charge the battery units via special purpose charges. When the sun goes down, the deep cycle batteries help to keep the consistency of the power source, thereby widening the use of solar power. The slow distribution of power extends the life of the deep cycle batteries.

Deep cycle batteries do not need marketing, since the environment friendliness of the product is in itself a great promotional tool. As this is the best alternative for carbon based power, the entire world is much attracted to it and manufacturing of fossil fuel power is becoming less desirable.

No inferior to the traditional power supply, these batteries can also save the environment. Their usage as a power resource for residences and small vehicles, and their durability make these batteries highly dependable.

The price of the battery technology products have gone down and this makes the maintenance of the high efficiency models of the deep cycle batteries much affordable. This will make it a good replacement for internal combustion engines as the electricity stored can be used to power high torque electric motors.

By storing the electricity at an affordable cost, the deep cycle batteries make the usage of renewable power convenient and undoubtedly this factor helps in keeping the environment safe. This type of batteries help in reducing the use of fossil fuels to a much greater extent than one can think of.

If the consumption of fossil fuels that power all the cars, trucks, SUVs etc in the world are reduced, we can assure that here starts the “go green” concept. Leave alone the household appliances and small vehicles, the deep cycle batteries can also be used in trains, ships and airplanes.

Putting together the good features of this product, it is not an exaggeration, if we say that this environment safe product is going to solve many of the environment concerned problems.

One of the key areas you want to work on during an electric car conversion project is the transmission. The transmission is a little more challenging.

The transmission was originally designed to coupled to a clutch plate. When you are building a Do It Yourself (DIY) electric car, you are not going to use a clutch. The electric motor will be coupled directly to the transmission.

The main thing the clutch does for a car is allow you to leave the internal combustion engine running when the car isn’t moving. With an electric motor, you can just switch it off.

The other reason you don’t want a clutch is to minimize the amount of mass or the amount of weigh the electric motor has to spin because that will cost you valuable energy.

When the electric motor has to spin a bigger resistant, it will consume more electricity hence making your EV less efficient and it won’t go as far.

When connecting the electric motor to the existing transmission unit, most EV retrofitters will use the Lovejoy metal coupler. Putting the coupler on the motor shaft is easy. But how do you put the coupler on the transmission shaft?

Reason being, the end of the transmission shaft has grooves and teeth while the coupler doesn’t.

To solve this problem, you need to have some creativity and do some modification. You start out by removing the old clutch plate. Look at how the plate is attached to the transmission shaft. You will see a little coupler in it that had ridges that matches up to the shaft of the transmission.

Cut out that small coupler and weld it to the center of the Lovejoy coupler. Make sure the weld is strong so it does not spin. The Lovejoy coupler with the old clutch plate ridges can now be fitted to the transmission shaft. It is a lot of work, but that’s how you solve a problem in a DIY project.

Once you have all the couplers in place and the rubber spider separator in between, you can now connect them together and be able to transfer power from the electric motor to the wheel of your electric car. One of the advantage of the Lovejoy couplers is it allows for a small amount of shaft misalignment.

If your electric motor is not perfectly align with the transmission, it is not going to create much problem. It would not handle too much misalignment though, only one of 2 degree, but it’s better than trying to hard weld two of the shaft together on a straight line. You will never get the line perfect.

DIY Electric Car Conversion Guide

Looking for more information about DIY electric car conversion? If you do, check out Gavin Shoebridge ‘s Electric Conversion Made Easy e-book.

Gavin is from the land of kiwis, New Zealand and he has personally converted his old Mitsubishi Tredia into an EV in his garage.

For more creative tips and tricks to convert a gas guzzler to EV, check out his manual.

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

One of the trickiest processes of a DIY electric car conversion is coupling the electric motor to the transmission unit of the car. To make the connection work easier, it is recommended for you to take out the transmission and put in on a workbench. It involves a lot of work, but it will save you a lot of time and unnecessary headache.

When the electric motor and the transmission is on a workbench, you can now handle the alignment, get the holes drilled and get everything working.

To start of the connection process, there are 2 things you need to consider.

1) The physical piece of the electric motor.

You have to find a way to somehow bolt the motor to the transmission. The motor will be using an “L” shaped motor mount.

A lot of electric cars use a motor that mounts off the face and you’ll actually end up with a piece of metal plate between the electric motor and the transmission.

2) Connecting the power from the electric motor to the transmission.

When doing this, you will notice two different size and very different shaft. You will need to come up with a way to connect both together. The most common way electric car converters are adopting is to use a brand of connector calls Lovejoy connectors.

The connector comes with 2 pieces of steel with finger. There will be a piece of rubber insert that sits between them. The Lovejoy couplers are not very expensive and you can get them from Amazon.com.

You can order the steel pieces independently with different size hole to match the different shaft.

The Lovejoy couplers are designed for industrial work and are made to go right on the shaft of the electric motor. Look closely at the electric motor shaft. It is smooth except for a groove in it. That is where the “key” goes in.

The key is what keeps the coupler from spinning once it is on the motor shaft. That is how you connect the electric motor to the transmission unit of the donor car.

DIY Electric Car Conversion Guide

Do you want to find out more on how to convert your gas guzzler to a pure electric vehicle? If you do, check out Les Oke’s Convert2EV manual.

Les and his family live a green lifestyle and use an electric car for their daily commute. Les has converted numerous conventional automobile to EV. The Convert2EV e-book is all his EV conversion experience penned down.

==> Click here to visit Convert2EV now!