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Electric car conversion: Project ForkenSwift; changing a geo to battery power
Topic Started: Dec 4 2010, 02:48 PM (2,023 Views)
iplaybass
Member
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what do yall think of this?

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/electric-car-conversion-project-forkenswift-33.html
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Johnny Mullet
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Fear the Mullet

Most of us here frequent that site :cheers
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bogs
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Duct tape heals all wounds

Speaking as one who does not (frequent ecomodder) I have read about that car. It was an interesting read and build, but I dont think it was much of a gain. The only other threads I have read over there were the build on the mpguino and obdguino, I highly recomend either :thumb and of course, I read JM's thread there :)
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Jim-Bob
Junkyard Engineer

I read it once before but to me it seems rather pointless from a purely practical standpoint. The car's range is very limited and with the MPG that a normal metro is good for it would take quite a long time to recoup the investment. It's more of a fun science experiment than something truly useful.

All that being said though, I have considered a dual mode hybrid Metro as part of my thought experiments. It would essentially be a NEV at low speeds but run off the standard ICE everywhere else. The electric part would drive the back axle and the gas the front. The back axle would also provide regenerative braking at all times-even when the electric drive was not in use. However, it too runs up on the law of diminishing returns as the cost would far exceed the ability to easily recoup the cost of construction.
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JoeBob
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Why you Mutt!

I've often thought that it might be interesting to set up a Metro with an electric motor for driving through parking lots, or for going through the fast food drive-through. Use that for up to about 5 mph or so, then pop the clutch to start the gasoline motor.
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JellyBeanDriver


It's range is limited because he has quite a small battery pack, adding more batteries ups the weight quickly as he's using flooded lead acid batteries. Lead acid batteries and a brush motor is the least expensive way to do this converstion. His MPG is just over 100mpg equivalent - sounds worth it to me. Plus looks like it was a fun project.

I work with many guys that live 3-6 miles from work. Their gas engines never reach operating temperature, their MPG sucks. An electric car that is reliable, doesn't need to warm up, doesn't need to be smogged every 2 years would be GREAT!

I'd do it in a heartbeat if I had a similar commute.
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bogs
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Duct tape heals all wounds

Quote:
 
I work with many guys that live 3-6 miles from work. Their gas engines never reach operating temperature, their MPG sucks. An electric car that is reliable, doesn't need to warm up, doesn't need to be smogged every 2 years would be GREAT!
Under those conditions, I'd agree. Of course, under those conditions I could also just ride a bike which would be a lot less expensive :) Maybe an electric bike ;)
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Stately
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Geo cheerleader

bogs
Dec 5 2010, 12:52 PM
Maybe an electric bike ;)
Or motorbike :thumb

Posted Image

From http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/2010-native-s-review-89745.html
"Its modular platform ranges from the GPR-S rolling chassis kit sold under the Electric Motorsport name for $2,500, and an almost ready-to-ride GPR-S lacking only batteries for $3,500, to the finished Native S bike for $4,500 already mentioned, and the $7,500 Native S in this review. This said, build levels can far exceed even the primo model to satisfy paying customers."
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MetroMPG
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Jim-bob's right on most points: it would take a LONG time to recoup the cost of doing the conversion, even though it only cost ~1000 bucks. Mostly because it's an *additional* car, not a replacement. So there's extra insurance and licensing fees, which equal 50% of the conversion cost every year.

And he's also right that it was done more as a fun science experiment than for anything else.

That said, it's really fun to drive - I prefer driving it to the gasser Firefly. This fall, the car passed 5000 km since the conversion.

Keep in mind, the car lives in a small city, so even though it only goes up to ~30 km on a charge, range has never been a problem in its role as an urban runabout.

Mostly I bike for local trips. But I use the electric car to: (A) carry stuff that I can't easily take on my bike :), or (B) if the weather is crappy. And it's surprisingly practical, especially since I added the trailer hitch this summer....

Posted Image
Edited by MetroMPG, Dec 5 2010, 09:25 PM.
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nerys
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Grr

$500 a year? you need new insurance man. it only cost me $200 to add a car to my insurance and its $36 a year for tags $35 a year for inspection

if its old enough and you drive it that little get "classic tags" for it. no emissions sometimes no inspection and MUCH MUCH cheaper insurance.

Treat the insurance like "liability" ie never ever file a claim then tell them anything you want (yeah it sits in a garage and is driven to shows and events)

no fraud if you don't file a claim against it in my book.
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bogs
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Duct tape heals all wounds

Welcome to the thread MetroMPG :) I am sure it is fun to drive, and if I had a similar situation it looked like a fun build, thanks for the extra perspective.

Stately, that bike I would GLADLY go with :thumb
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Jim-Bob
Junkyard Engineer

MetroMPG, please don't take what I said the wrong way. If you were my neighbor and were building something like this I would be over there every day working on it with you and learning from the experience. I actually dig the whole science project thing and that is what my Metro is to me. I am already planning another one and I haven't even got this one going yet. I drive a lot of city miles though so my car's setup is going to be different than most of the hypermilers out there as it will rarely see much more than city driving ( it's being built as a pizza delivery car that should shave 60% off of what I spend now on fuel). The next one though will be highway optimized and powered by a kei car engine as I figure that 660ccs will use less gas on the highway than 993. It may be slow to get to highway speeds, but once it's there the difference should be fairly big.

BTW, I directed a friend of mine to your site and he really enjoyed it. He used some of the driving techniques to gain 5-8 MPG in his $175 Hyundai Sonata. I think I'm gonna try to get him to try a grille block as it's cold where he lives right now and I want to see if it will really work. What sucks though is he's the only other tinkerer I know that would do this stuff with me and he lives in New York while I'm in Florida.
Edited by Jim-Bob, Dec 6 2010, 01:28 AM.
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Woodie
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nerys
Dec 5 2010, 09:48 PM
$500 a year? you need new insurance man. it only cost me $200 to add a car to my insurance and its $36 a year for tags $35 a year for inspection

if its old enough and you drive it that little get "classic tags" for it. no emissions sometimes no inspection and MUCH MUCH cheaper insurance.

You can't just say that Nerys. Insurance cost depends on a bunch of different factors, the most important of which is location. It costs me $400 a year for my 98 Metro, minimum coverage, less than 5,000 miles a year, one 52 year old married driver with a clean record. When I lived ten miles south of here, closer to DC, it was $500 a year.

Classic tags are 25 years or older and are VERY limited mileage wise.
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nerys
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Grr

Thats about right woodie now how much for the SECOND car ? its usually very very cheap to add a second car to a policy many times around $100 because its 1 driver 2 cars.

I just want to be sure he is not being screwed over :-)
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metroschultz
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Please just call me; "Schultz"

Darrin (MetroMPG) lives in Ontario, Canada.
As much as insurance differs between states, consider how much it must differ between countries.
Your insurance parameters are not the same as mine and totally different from his.
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