brainstorming an electric vehicle

[The Toecutter]

Ahh, I forgot he even had a CRX. That's an almost perfect choice for a donor car.

[omgwtfbyobbq]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

The only problem with gen sets as range extenders is emissions. I'm guessing the low end ones aren't very good in that regard, and aren't emissions one of the reasons for going electric?

EDIT: I don't know about bioidiesel emissions. Just talking about gas here.

That's worth some further study imo. I know there are small four strokes that are CARB certified for mopeds (Honda, Robin, probably a few others...), so one of those, running at it's most efficient rpm/load with a efficient generator might be worth looking into. Especially compared to any car built before the late nineties, as the combination of looser emissions regulations and low load operation may result in something like a Civic VX/HX having worse emissions and worse mileage. Biodiesel generally results in higher NOx with lower soot/CO iirc because it tends to burn better than diesel iirc, the NOx can be lowered (along with a slight increase in efficiency) substantially with water injection.

[The Toecutter]

The NOx increase of biodiesel is still small. I've seen studies that pegged it at like 6% more than petroleum diesel, but with greatly reduced emissions everywhere else.

[MetroMPG]

Could be a deal here...

"EV in a box" kit:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...5%2B%26fvi%3D1

[86Celica]

A CRX is a perfect choice, for electric conversion or not. That said, if you need a lot of battery space and are ok with a 2-seater, why not consider the 86-89 Toyota Celica? It has a *huge* trunk if you take out the rear seats. It has a good Cd, small frontal area etc. See my garage.

[Gary Palmer]

Matt: You have several challenges. First, the CRX is your wife's car! Good idea to take care of it, for your wife. Bad idea to fiddle with. Second, your planning on her driving the car. Your toy, she drives? Bad idea to fiddle with.

I'd say go with electrifying your mountain bike. It'll cost a lot less, you can fiddle to your hearts delight, and in the aggregate, if it doesn't work out as well as you thought, you haven't sunk a lot into it.

In either case, I'd recommend not fiddeling with something which your wife is utilizing on a regular basis. WTW

[MetroMPG]

There's lots of cheap electric scooter & bicycle parts on eBay too. I have to force myself not to go looking through it or I'll just end up with another project, when the other N aren't finished yet.

[The Toecutter]

That said, if you need a lot of battery space and are ok with a 2-seater, why not consider the 86-89 Toyota Celica? It has a *huge* trunk if you take out the rear seats. It has a good Cd, small frontal area etc.

But it also weighs about 2,600 pounds.



On the plus side, it lends itself to some excellent aeromods, and people have succesfully converted Celicas in the past.

http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/613

IMO, an MR2 would be a much better choice than a Celica.

[GasSavers_Ryland]

the CRX is not built for the weight, non of it is, you would have to add bracing on to the body for the suspention, and connect that directly to the battery tray, it's a car desined for two 150 pound people and 50-100 pounds of cargo, designed to be light weight, and small.

and you say she doesn't want an electric bicycle because of how they look? what part of how they look?

[landspeed]

A quick note - be careful when removing the rain gutters on the roof of the triumph - more welding may be needed. British Leyland cars of that time actually used those gutters as the means of joining the panels together, so, if they are removed