Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Posted ImageWelcome to the all new Geo Metro Forum. We hope you enjoy your visit.

You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are features you can't use and images you can't see. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Join our community!




Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Electro Metro; Lotsa pics
Topic Started: Aug 23 2012, 11:40 PM (15,548 Views)
Coche Blanco
Member Avatar
Troll Certified

"Electro Metro: Pretty Rough"

Hmmm
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Batty1214
Member Avatar
Member
[ *  *  * ]
Balancing beads work great on the larger diameter tires. I run them in 42" tube buggy tires, and in the 10 wheel service truck at work. they work well for that. Ive heard of people using them in motorcycle tires with some success, but have only seen debates as to if they work in small car tires, but I dont know why they wouldnt work. As for your car, This is one awesome ride. I wish I had the talent, know how and drive to fix a ride up to this level of detail.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
evmetro


Coche Blanco
Jan 3 2014, 04:00 PM
"Electro Metro: Pretty Rough"

Hmmm
Yea, I suppose it may be time to update the thread comment. I assure you that this thing was really rough when I got it though. I have pulled out pieces of steel shelving, duct tape, expanding foam, coat hangars, and an unbelievable quantity of SAE harware that was not automotive. Large diameter hose clamps were a means of mounting things as well. Now I need to come up with something besides "pretty rough".

Thanks all for the nice words.

I did not snap any pics today, but spent many hours working on the bottom side. Both of the screws that held the right front rotor on had rounded out phillips screws and had to be drilled out, and then required my jumbo 3 jaw puller to remove. Still much to do...
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Woodie
Member Avatar


Coche Blanco
Jan 3 2014, 04:00 PM
"Electro Metro: Pretty Rough"

Hmmm
I was thinking the exact same thing as I clicked on it thirty seconds ago.

Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
evmetro


I still could not think of anything really catchy, but there are a lot of pics...
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
evmetro


I have been looking forward to posting before and after... There is still much to be done, but I took it out for a test drive and snapped a few pics.

Posted Image

Posted Image

Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
georandy
Member Avatar


Beautiful.

Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
GeoStalker
Member Avatar
"Chicks dig me and guys think I'm cool."

This has been a fascinating thread to follow. Congratulations on such a beautiful ride!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
evmetro


Thanks guys. I am taking it out for a long road test tomorrow. I need some range testing, so I will take it out and run the batteries way down to see how many miles I can get . I just ordered a second battery pack for it to almost double the range, but I want to get the numbers for the single pack that is in there now first. I actually have a bit of time to do the range testing since the second battery pack is on a slow boat from China... literally.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
georandy
Member Avatar


Awaiting the results impatiently.;)
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
evmetro


I got 38 miles on my first test, each cell charged to 3.333 volts, and pulled in to a nice local sushi place for lunch. There was a 110 plug right where I parked and they let me plug in while I was eating since I eat there often and they know me. Its always a good idea to carry an extension cord when you drive an EV. Anyway, I will turn up the charge per cell from 3.33 to 3.65 volts per cell and take it out for a longer run tomorrow.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Nappers
Member Avatar


That's awesome!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
evmetro


I ended up getting 1/2 a kilowatt during my lunch. The pack that I have in the car now has about 11.5 kilowatts of usable storage. Around here, 1 kilowatt costs about 15 cents, so a full tank costs about $1.72, and I got less than 10 cents worth of fuel during my lunch stop. I am pretty sure my tip more than covered my charging. I could have turned my charger more than I did, but I am really careful to not wear out my welcome by popping a breaker. I assumed that I was plugged into a 15 amp breaker, so I set my dial to 6 amps in case they had other stuff plugged in..
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
t3ragtop
Member Avatar
Turbo3 and Twincam Tweaker

a 38 mile range would be perfect for my daily commute.

the only problem i had with the only electric car i ever built was that the area in which i live has some pretty severe winter weather. i had to stop driving my ev after ice and snow would make it impossible to keep the windshield clear.

it takes a tremendous amount of heat to melt ice off a windshield and the state of the art in electric traction drives in 1993 wasn't all that good. there weren't any good choices for producing heat to keep windows clear back then. pure resistive heating killed batteries and the electronics weren't very advanced back then.

i'm pretty sure that our current weather with the polar vortex and minus temps wouldn't be the hot deal for an electric commuter car.

what sort of temperatures were you operating in to get a 38 mile range?
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
evmetro


The Arctic weather did not hit CA the way it hit so much of the country yesterday. I am going to guess it was around 50 degrees on my test drive. This conversion only runs a single 1500 watt ceramic heater element since that portion of the conversion was done by the previous owner, and I did not take the time to update it to the 2 1500 watt elements that I normally install. On the other tevie1 electric metro, 3000 watts will blow 160 degrees out the vents and I have to back it down to 1500 watts before too long or it gets unbearably hot in the car. I would have to estimate that 2250 watts mimics the factory metro heater, and 1500 watts is like having the heat knob right in the middle where you line goes from blue to red. Keeping it comfortable inside robs about 10% of the range.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · Project Forum · Next Topic »
Add Reply