What do you PLC motor guys think of these EV conversions?

P

pipe_bender

Senior Member
Location
Boston
Occupation
Electrician
I saw a unusual old Porsche the other day, a 964 I think, it had been converted to an EV, the owner claims its something like 550 hp,
I know some kids build their own e-bikes but this is a big boy toy, I did not realize people commonly do this, I was not able to get the technical details I wonder if they use 3-phase motors and VFD's
or DC permanent magnet motors?
Have any of you seen or worked on a classic car EV conversion professionally?
Sacrilege?
 
I would have to think they're using DCPM rather than 3ph to improve efficiency, but integrating a drive would make the controls aspect a ton easier since you could use a 0-10V or 4-20mA signal as your speed set point, as well as allow for regenerative braking.
 
I've seen them done using electric forklift DC brushed motors. Some use series field and some shunt field. Ones I saw used the controller from the forklift. I don't think the forklift controllers will let you overvoltage them to get into the big HP numbers though. I call BS on most big HP claims though. I don't believe it until I see it run on a dyno
 
I found some links on them I had no idea, google it there is a company in the UK that makes the kit. I do wonder if its been tested to verify the claims.
 
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Using a forklift motor, and choosing a good one

Hey all I thought I'd chime in and discuss the basics on choosing a forklift motor. In general, I advise people to look for a motor that weighs between 100 to 150 lbs. The heavier the car, the heavier the motor needs to be to push it around. The way I see it is, you don't want Peewee hermin...
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25+ years ago, before Elon Musk bought into Tesla and pushed the concept of EV forward, people experimented with the concept using conventional AC induction motors and VFDs. It was clunky, heavy and ugly, but it worked. I saw one built with a 75HP Baldor motor and an A-B PowerFlex 700 VFD powered by old car batteries in a small RWD sedan, (can’t remember what) so the motor just connected to the existing drive shaft and differential. It went 0-60 in under 6 seconds, which is pretty impressive for a 75HP motor, but only ran for about 30 minutes (because the batteries were too heavy).

But that technology is way too cumbersome and inefficient to keep implementing now. They are using custom designed PMAC and PMDC motors now with special proprietary drives, and of course the battery technology was the real game changer. It’s all about efficiency now, because range is harder to attain than power once you go to electric.

There is a local guy who will convert any car (so he says) to electric for about $40-$50k. I just saw an ad on Craigslist yesterday for a non-op FREE 2008 Porsche Cayenne, (4 door coupe), I was seriously considering it! My wife would probably divorce me though…
 
I think if I was going to do one, I'd get a little pickup like an S10 chevy and use forklift motor and controller, just run it on 48 volts. Lots of electric forklifts get scrapped when they are only a few years old, lots of times only because they have a bad cell/s in the battery. I have a friend that use to buy all the inop forklifts that were trade ins from the new forklift dealers. They didn't even want to mess with them. He actually got a lot of them for nothing. I'd go out with my tractor and Landoll trailer and pick up as many as I could at a time. He brought them back and built working ones out of them. Lots of times it was just a matter of swapping a couple cells in the steel case FLA batteries. He sold like one every day, made a fortune. Kind of guy that bought new cars, trucks, and commercial properties cash and lived very modestly,

So anyway used forklift motors and controllers are out there. and much less than 50k by a few decimals
 
In 1981 or 82, I helped a guy electrify a 71 Mustang. He used an aircraft starter motor. It was very crude, but we drove it around town a few times. He got bored with it and sold the car to a local electrician. A month later, the local paper ran a big story about how this guy (who bought the car) did the marvelous gas to electric conversion. The guy who actually did it and I laughed out butts off.
 
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