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