In terms of running cost, a pure plug-in electric car is definitely better compared to a conventional automobile. Just imagine the amount of money you’ll saved by not having to fill up at the gas station. There is a drawback on electric vehicle (EV) though, it is the high cost.

For the time being, an EV is still relatively expensive. If you were to visit an EV dealership, be prepared to spend upwards of $40,000 for a sedan electric car. Is there a cheaper alternative?

To save cost, my electric car enthusiasts are turning to homemade electric car to fulfill their dreams of owning an EV. Because of the rising demand from DIY electric car conversion, there have been a lot of EV conversion kits available in the market.

Generally, a DIY electric car is much cheaper compared to a brand new EV from the car makers. If you are starting your own EV retrofitting project, you should set aside roughly $7500 as the budget. The amount of money you spent on your EV can be reduced if you were to take steps to improve its efficiency.

To improve the efficiency on an EV, you have to find ways to extend its driving mileage before it has to be recharged. There are many simple and cheap ways you can do so and in this blog post, I thought of writing about improving the “air drag” of the EV.

Reducing Electric Car Air Drag

Just like a conventional car, when a homemade electric vehicle is moving, it too has to push through air. To extend its mileage, we have to find ways to push or redirect the air trapped in the front of the car to the side. One of the most popular ways of doing so is by installing a nose cone or grille blocker.

Depending on which model donor car you use, the grille blocker will improve the aerodynamic of your EV therefore extending its mileage per charge as much as 20 percent. It’s a simple solution and yet yields a big result!

Another way to improve the aerodynamic of EVs is by installing a flat belly pan underneath the car. This can be done by using a piece of plywood or thick plastic sheet. The idea is to allow air to rush through the undercarriage rather than being trapped in between the car parts thus creating drag.

There are many things you can do to improve the efficiency of your electric vehicle and they don’t have to be expensive. What you’ll need is some time and dedication to implement the solution onto your DIY electric car. It may seem insignificant, but the improvement on your EV mileage can be quite substantial.

Homemade Electric Car Conversion Guide

Do you want to know how to convert a gas guzzler to a pure electric car in your home garage? If you do, check out the Convert2EV e-book written by Les Oke.

Les Oke is from Canada. He and his family have been living a green lifestyle for more than a decade. Staying true to their green lifestyle, Les and his wife use homemade electric cars.

The Convert2EV guide was written based on Les’ years of experience with EV conversion projects. For more information, read the Convert2EV review on this blog.

==> Click here to visit Convert2EV now!

Many people before starting their own DIY electric car conversion project, have an uneasy feeling because there are so many uncertainties. Some will even give up before they get started.

If you are planning a homemade electric car conversion project, how do you get over your jitters?

You can start by doing some readings on EV conversions. There are a lot of electric vehicle magazines and also web sites that you can read to feed your curiosity before you begin. You can also visit EV related forums on the web that a lot of electric car enthusiasts hang out and post some questions. The idea is to calm your nerves with some technical information.

But beware, do not fall into the trap of “analysis paralysis” where you become paralyzed with fear because you did too much analysis on your EV conversion project. Overcome your fear by just doing it.

EV Conversion – Getting The Motor In

The biggest hurdle that you have to overcome is removing the internal combustion engine of your donor car and connecting the electric motor to the transmission unit. This process involves a lot of technical precision.

If you had an adapter plate custom made, changes are, you may face some unforeseen circumstances. You may get all the measurement and dimension right, but when you try to install it, the components may not fit exactly.

Here’s a tip. Why not get a machinist to help you with the electric motor installation process? He will be able to studying your donor car engine compartment and would be better to anticipate any challenges that may occur. By doing so may cost you a few hundred dollars, but it will save you a lot of headache and also time and money wasted to redo the adapter plate.

The Rest of The EV Retrofitting

When the electric motor is in, the rest of the procedures are simple in comparison. The next big hurdle is to make the rack for the deep cycle batteries.

Generally, a homemade electric car would have 15 – 20 units of deep cycle batteries. The challenge here is to find the ideal space to store them without taking up too much of the interior space.

When installing the batteries, what you must pay attention on is getting the right measurements. You can follow the rule of thumb for carpenter which is “measure twice and cut once”. In this case, measure the battery storage area twice before cutting the metal support frames.

DIY Electric Car Conversion Guide

A DIY electric car conversion in actual fact is not very difficult. However, it does require a lot of persistence and dedication. If you’ve done some car maintenance on your own before, you shouldn’t have too much problem installing all the EV components onto your car.

If you are a total newbie and you want to get some basic information on home build electric car, you can check out the Convert2EV e-book by Les Oke.

Les Oke and his family live in Canada and they have been living a green lifestyle for more than 15 years. In order to have a low carbon footprint, Les and his wife drive electric cars that they built themselves.

The Convert2EV e-book was written based on Les’ years of experience retrofitting conventional automobiles to run on pure electric power. For more information on the electric car conversion guide, click on the link below.

==> Click here to visit Convert2EV now!

Have you driven a pure electric car before? Most people had but they just do not realize it. If you are a golfer, most probably you have driven an electric golf cart in the golf course. The golf cart is exactly how an electric vehicle (EV) feels like. It is quiet, no vibration, no exhaust gas and has a very powerful acceleration.

Many vehicle owners like the idea of using a pure plug-in electric car for their daily driving. However, a brand new electric car from the car manufacturer is still quite expensive. Let’s take the Phoenix SUT as an example. Phoenix SUT is a pickup truck that runs purely on electricity. If you want one, be prepared to spend upwards of $45,000! Yup, pure electric cars are not cheap.

Due to the high cost, many people are turning into Do It Yourself (DIY) electric car conversion project to get hold of an EV. But before you rush to your garage and start yanking out the internal combustion engine of your car, this is what you have to know about homemade electric cars.

DIY Electric Car Conversion

Will the DIY electric car fulfill your driving needs? No doubt a DIY electric vehicle has many advantages, but it is not meant for everybody. The biggest drawback for an EV is the driving range before it has to be recharged.

Do you know how many miles you drive in a day? This number is very important because it will tell you if the electric car is suitable for you.

Let’s take the Phoenix SUT as an example again. The electric truck uses a lithium-titanate battery bank which give it approximately 130 miles of driving before it has to be recharged.

For a DIY electric car, the type of battery you will be using is the deep cycle kind. Deep cycle batteries are used for homemade electric cars because it is most suitable and cheapest.

However, EV using deep cycle batteries would not be able to give you the same driving mileage as a car using lithium-titanate batteries. Hence, your Do It Yourself electric vehicle will only have a driving mileage of approximately 50 miles before it has to be recharged.

Now, do you see why your daily driving mileage is so important now?

The mileage of 50 miles an EV can give you is for round trip. It is actually good if you are driving to a distant of about 25 miles from your home. The battery will provide you sufficient power to get to your destination about 25 miles away, but the balance power for the next 25 miles is needed for you to drive back.

If you were to get your journey mileage wrong, you may end up having your DIY electric car stranded in the middle of the road because the battery bank runs out of juice.

DIY Electric Car Conversion Guide

Before you get started on a DIY electric car project, you must know whether the EV will meet your daily driving needs. If it does, the next step is to get a good EV conversion guide. If you are looking for an electric can retrofitting guide, check out the Convert2EV e-book by Les Oke.

Les Oke and his family are from Canada and have been living a green lifestyle for more than 15 years. To keep their carbon footprint low, they use pure electric cars to commute.

Throughout the years, Les has converted numerous conventional automobiles to run only on electricity. The Convert2EV guide is written based on his experience with DIY electric car conversion project. For more information on the Les’ EV guide, read the Convert2EV review on this blog.

==> Click here to visit Convert2EV now!

Should you be using lithium iron phosphate batteries (LiFePO4) on your homemade electric car? Lithium rechargeable batteries are the ideal battery choice for a Do It Yourself (DIY) electric car.

Lithium batteries are perfect to be used on EV because they are light weight, durable and can generate the power output almost twice compared to a conventional lead acid battery.

However, before you start stocking up on lithium batteries for your EV conversion project, here are 3 things you should know.

Lithium rechargeable batteries require a programmed charger.

Although the lithium battery has many advantages, it does have an Achilles’ heel. This type of battery can easily be damaged by overcharging. When the LiFePO4 is overcharged, it has a tendency to bulge thus breaking its outer casing. One good example is when we overcharge the battery of our mobile phone.

Over mobile phone uses the same rechargeable lithium battery as it power unit. If we constantly overcharge our phone, you will notice a shortening of your battery life.

If you were to remove the phone battery unit and place it on a table, you will notice a slight bulge at the center. The same scenario will happen with lithium batteries on electric vehicle.

To overcome the issue of overcharging lithium batteries, we have to use a special programmed charger known as a Battery Management System (BMS). It is best to use a BMS from the manufacturer of the lithium batteries because it would have been carefully tuned and adjusted.

Requires power equalization.

In order for the BMS to work properly on your electric car, the individual battery unit on your EV has to be equalized. To perform the equalization, you will need a device known as a balancing module for each battery.

The function of the balancing module is to constantly check and record the condition of the battery from its state of charge to its internal core temperature. All the information will then be sent to a master control unit.

Lithium battery pack master control unit.

The third key component of a lithium battery pack is the master control unit. Its key function is to control the charging and discharging of individual battery.

With its centralized data processing system, the central control unit will prevent overcharge and over-discharging of the lithium rechargeable batteries on your electric car.

If you have the budget, by all means use lithium batteries on your homemade electric car. But before you do so, make sure you understand the importance of the 3 components above. Doing so will ensure your lithium battery pack to last a long time.

Homemade Electric Car Conversion Guide

Do you want to know how to convert a conventional car into a pure plug-in electric vehicle? If you do, check out the Electric Conversion Made Easy guide by Gavin Shoebridge.

Gavin is from New Zealand is a well known as the EV Guy. He has personally converted a Mitsubishi Tredia into an EV in his garage on a shoestring budget. To learn how he did it, click on the link below.

==> Click here to visit Gavin Shoebridge’s web site now!

If you are looking for a cheap electric motor for your DIY electric car conversion project, why not consider using an old electric motor from a forklift.

Where can you find this type of electric motor? Well, at forklift service workshops of course. But not all forklift electric motor can be used on a homemade electric vehicle (EV).

When you are going through old forklift electric motors, look for something weighing in between 100 to 150 lbs. If you have a heavy donor car with lots of deep cycle batteries, you’ll need a big motor to push it around. Obviously, a bigger electric motor weighs more.

Here’s a tip. Look at the core of the motor. You want to see insulation that is wine colored with yellow banding. The brush leads should still have its copper color and should not be scotched. The commutator should not have any grooves or pitted because that is a sign the motor has been over used.

Here’s another tip. Look for armatures that have a commutator with a big bar count. A large bar count means the motor can handle higher voltage. Higher voltage means more power for your electric car but it will drain your battery bank faster.

If you are looking at a series motor, have a look at its solid field leads. Make sure you are not getting a sep-ex or compound would motor that may not suit your needs.

Finally, inspect the shaft of the electric motor. This is one of the biggest issues when using a forklift motor on a homemade electric vehicle. Make sure the shaft is something which you can modify and attached to the transmission. Replacing the entire shaft is a tough procedure and it takes a lot of time.

When shopping for an electric motor, if you need to, take off the cover of the motor to have a better look at the inside. Go through all the internal parts making sure they are in good conditions.

Some time we get so excited and eager to buy the forklift electric motor for our EV project but end up getting something not suitable.

Homemade Electric Car Conversion Guide

Want to know how to convert a gas driven car to run purely on electricity? If you do, check out Gavin Shoebridge’s Electric Conversion Made Easy e-book.

Gavin is from New Zealand and is known as the ”EV Guy”. His guide will show you what are the parts and components needed for a DIY electric car conversion project. For more information, click on the link below.

==> Click here to visit Gavin’s web site now!

1) EV Parts – This company provides parts for electric golf cart, street vehicle, industrial vehicle, marian – RV etc. It’s main warehouse is located at 157 West Cedar Street, Sequim, WA 98382.

2) The Beeps Company – This company specializing in electric vehicle products with its main shipping store located in Clarkesville, GA.

3) KTA Services Inc – This company sells everything related to electric vehicle conversion from electric motor to adapter plate. KTA has been around since 1984 and is located in Ramona, CA.

4) Electric Vehicles of America – Has been around for more than 20 years selling electric car components. The company is located in Wolfeboro, NH.

5) Canadian Electric Vehicles Ltd – A Canada based company started as a hobby for Randy Holmquist, owner of Canadian Electric Vehicles in Errington, Vancouver Island. The company has been around since the early 1990s.

6) NetGain Motors Inc – The company is the exclusive worldwide distributor of WarP™, ImPulse™, and TransWarP™ electric motors for use in electric vehicles and electric vehicle conversion. It is based out of Lockport, Illinois.

7) EV Components – The company operation is based out of Lacey, WA.

8) EV Source – EV Source was founded in January of 2005 to provide goods and services to the alternative transportation and energy markets. The company is based at Logan, UT.

9) Revolt – The Revolt Electric Vehicle Components store is brought to you as a collaboration between the Revolt Electric Vehicles team, and Cara Fealy and Alyssa Farver.

10) Electric Motorsport – The company specializes in the sales and service of Personal Electric Vehicles as well supplying electric vehicle parts for EV Builders, Hobbyists, Educational institutions and Original Equipment Manufactures (OEM).

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!

When you are doing an electric car conversion project, there is one thing that you have to keep an eye on. It is the cost!

If you are not careful, you can blow your EV conversion budget very easily. The following are 3 factors that will affect your overall DIY electric car conversion cost.

1) Range.

When most EV owners talk about range, what they meant is the distance from a full charge to absolutely flat battery or Depth of Discharge (DOD).

Using an EV to 100% DOD is not a good idea. It will shorten the lifespan of the battery.

A typical homemade electric car has a driving range of approximately 40 miles. The actual driving miles will depend on a few factors such as the condition of the batteries, the gross weight of the car, the car aerodynamic and also your driving style.

If you want to have a long driving range on your EV, you would have to use more batteries therefore increasing your budget. The best option is to figure out your driving needs on a daily basis and then design a battery system just to fulfill that need.

2) Speed.

How fast do you want to go?

Unlike a conventional car, a high top speed for an EV can be achieved quite easily. All you need is to have enough power in the batteries and controller that will allow large amount of current to the electric motor.

However, speed does come with a cost. Higher speed equals to higher cost.

3) Labor and shipping charges.

Most of the components needed for your EV conversion would have to be shipped or delivered to your home or garage.

The components such as the electric motor, adapter plate and batteries can be quite heavy hence cost more to be delivered.

If you are staying outside of the United States, some of the parts may have to be shipped oversea to you. You have to take into account international shipping charges and import taxes.

Another cost factor is on labor. If you are planning to outsource some of the work such as electric motor support frame welding and crimping of the main power cable, be prepared to spend some money to get the work done.

EV Conversion Budget

Before you start your electric car retrofitting, it is a good idea to draw out a budget. List down all the parts, labor, transport charges and miscellaneous costing of the project.

Project budgeting is a pain, but trust me, it is more painful when you’ve over spent money that you don’t have.

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 pages:

1) Electric Car Conversion Plans – 5 Tips To Find Good EV Manual

2) The Best Book To Design Electric Cars

A lot of people are wondering, how much does an electric car conversion cost?

It is very hard to come out with an exact figure. The project cost will depend a lot on what want to get out of your DIY electric car.

One thing is for sure though, if you were to buy an electric car conversion kit, you will be saving a lot of your time and effort.

The following is a list of 5 reasons why it is a good idea to use an electric car conversion kit.

1) Save cost.

Most EV conversion kits are custom made to fit a specific car model. For example, if you are planning to use Volkswagen VW Beetle as your EV donor car, you can purchase an electric retrofitting kit special designed for that model.

2) Save time.

If you were to make every EV components by yourself, it will take you a long time.

The toughest component to fabricate on your own is the metal adapter plate.

The adapter plate will be used to line up the electric motor to connect to the existing transmission unit.

Have you tried cutting, filling and drilling a 1 inch metal plate?

It is a very difficult task if you do not have the necessary tools and equipment.

3) All parts work together.

This is a big time saver also. But most importantly, it will save you a lot of unnecessary head ache!

Converting a normal car to run on electricity involves a lot of components. Sometimes, these components do not work well together.

The problem is to troubleshoot and figuring out why certain system is not working or refuse to work.

An EV conversion kit will have parts that have been tested to work well together.

4) Parts availability.

If you live in a remote area, it may be difficult for you to locate a certain parts needed for your donor car. You may have to wait weeks before the hardware shop get the stock you’ve order.

The custom EV conversion kit will have all the required parts needed to retrofit your electric car. All the components can also be easily delivered to your home or garage.

5) Step by step instruction.

Finally, the benefit of using an electric car conversion kit is the step by step instruction.

The kit comes with an instruction manual that will show you how and where to install the components sent to you.

Some premium conversion kit will also have High Definition (HD) instructional videos.

No more trial and error. All you have to do is follow the recommended directions.

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!

1) Build Your Own Electric Vehicle by Seth Leitman and Bob Brant

2) Convert It! by Michael Brown

3) Electric Vehicle EV & Conversion: All you need to know about Electric Vehicle & converting to EV. by Dr Y EV

There are a couple more in the list, but these are the few that came highly recommended.

However, there is one electric conversion manual that I have read so far that is pretty good. It’s the Electric Conversion Made Easy by Gavin Shoebridge.

The EV Guy From New Zealand

Now, who’s is Gavin Shoebridge?

Gavin is from New Zealand and he looks like an average Joe. One thing unique about him is he had converted a conventional gasoline driven automobile to an electric vehicle (EV).

A few years back, Gavin was sick and tired of having to pay high gasoline prices to maintain his car. He decided to take action to sever his gasoline addiction by using EV.

Unfortunately, new EV from a dealership is very expensive. The cheapest alternative is to convert a normal car to run purely on electricity.

That’s what Gavin did!

The Mitsubishi Tredia EV

What Gavin did was to purchase a 1987 Mitsubishi Tredia, remove the internal combustion engine (ICE) and put in a DC electric motor.

The process sounds very simple, but it was anything but that.

You see, Gavin is not an automotive engineer and he has never done an EV conversion before. The project was pretty much a trial and error process.

Gavin took almost a year converting the Tredia to EV. But in the end, Gavin managed to complete the project and had the pleasure of enjoying the “EV grin” when he first took his homemade electric car for a spin.

People Start To Notice, Even The TV Channel

After some time, people start to notice Gavin’s EV. Instead of the loud roar of an internal combustion engine, Gavin’s electric car only gives off a soothing “hum”.

A New Zealand local TV station actually did a news segment of his DIY electric car. You can see the news clip above.

Electric Car Design Book

Back in August 2009, Gavin decided to put all his knowledge and experience into a manual. Most of his writings are not really conventional. Many of his ideas are “fly by the pants” because he’s a real DIYer. Creativity is important when you’re working with a limited budget.

What’s different between Gavin’ e-book versus all the EV books from Amazon.com? It’s the videos!

Yes, Gavin e-book comes with 11 High Definition (HD) step-by-step instructional videos on how to get started building your own electric car.

It is pretty cool actually. Seeing what’s involved in converting a normal car into a pure electric vehicle. For more information on Gavin’s Electric Conversion Made Easy e-book, click on the link below.

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

Related web pages:
1) Electric Car Conversion Manual

2) Gas 4 Free Review – Is Gas4Free The Real Deal?

Sometime I will also go the book store and buy books related to EV conversion or on topics related on renewable energy. But by far, the most information I can gather is from the internet.

If you did a quick query on the search engine, you will come up with literally thousands of web pages that have write ups on electric car conversion. Which one should you read?

The following is my Top 10 electric car conversion information web sites that I will usually visit:

1) DIY Electric Car Forums

This is a great forum site where people discussion about electric car conversion projects. Reading the forum posts will give you a better understanding on what’s involved in doing your own EV conversion.

2) EV Weblog

This is a blog maintained by Jerry Halstead. Jerry is a software engineer that likes to work on electronics and mechanical devices. He did his first electric car conversion project in the fall of 1995.

3) Gav’s EV Conversion

Gavin Shoebridge is a New Zealander and an electric car enthusiast. He converted an old Mitsubishi Tredia into a pure plug-in EV. Gavin actually documented the whole conversion process on videos. Great stuff!

4) Electric Cars for Girls

I know…it’s a weird name for a web site. But it does have good information on the electric car industry.

5) Autoblog Green

This blog does not limit on electric cars only. You can get information related to alternative fuel sources for vehicles i.e. ethanol, bio diesel, vegetable oil etc.

6) KTA Services

KTA Services has been in business for more than 24 years. It is basically a company selling electric car related components and parts. Usually I will come to this site to get some technical information on electric vehicle.

7) NetGain Motors

This is the web site I will visit when I want to read up on electric car components especially on the electric motor. I came across one of the most popular electric motor for EV conversion on this web site, the Warp 9.

8) Electric Auto Association

An EV association web site that has everything to do with electric car. It has a great inventory of EV newsletter.

9) Tesla Motors Blog

One of my all time electric car model in the market is the Tesla Roadster from Testa Motors. This is the blog that I read to get the latest updates on Tesla’s EVs.

10) Better Place

One of the biggest challenges of driving an electric car is its limited mileage. So far, the only company that is working to solve that problem is known as Better Place.

There are a lot technology advancement from Better Place. To keep myself up to date, I have their web site on my bookmark.

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 pages:

1) Golf Cart Battery Maintenance Guide To Extend The Life Of Electric Golf Cart Batteries

2) Samuel Watson Premium Electric Car Guide Review