My friend and I are converting a 95 corolla to electric power for our senior project. We are going to directly plug some sort of electric motor into the transmission. Have any other wackos tried this? Any recommendations on where to get cheap used electric motors?
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It’s been done, but that’s not important. What’s important is the learning you yourself will experience in trying to do your own.
Are you working with a shop teacher on this? Perhaps he could help you to understand how to figure out how much HP you need at various speeds, what maximum RPM’s you’ll need, how you’re going to vary and control the speed of the motor, how you’l determine how much heat will be generated by the motor and the battery pack and how you’ll dissipate it, and other miscellaneous details. You’re going to need some of this detail before picking a motor.
You may even want to look at ways to safely strip excess weight from the car. The less it weighs, the less power you’ll need to accelerate it.
It should be a great learning project. That includes doing research, which you have just done by leaving the question. Remember that a working product is not necessary the most important part of the project. Learning about researching, experiencing problems and then overcoming them and maybe even exceeding, are all winners.
I have little to suggest as to what might work or not, I really don’t know, but hopefully you will in a few months.
Thanks, we don’t really have any instructor, but we’ll learn as we go. My friends grandfather is a machinist, so he should be able to help make mounting brackets, adapters, and such. We do, however, need help picking out a motor although power is no biggie; anything above 0 mph will be considered a success. We’ve already removed most of the junk out of the car (rear seats, spare tire, etc.).
Thanks,
Ben
Google ‘electric car conversion’, I’d think there are dozens of folks who have done it.
I’d try an internet search for used industrial motors.
You’d be looking for a 12VDC motor that revs up to about 6,000 RPM (no biggie for most electric motors) and produces torque similar to that of a small 4-banger. You’ll want to feed it varying voltage and have a battery pack sufficient to provide adequate current for a short period. That’ll mean lead-acid batterys connected in parallel.
Optionally, you could use a 24VDC motor and set up series-parallel batteries. Set the batteries up in series and you add the voltages, set them up in parallel and the voltage stays the same but the current capacity rises.
Work with someone who knows electronics to ensure that you use cables with sufficient current carrying capacity and properly use the voltage controller (rheostat). You don’t want to accidently cook your rears over an open flame.
You have a huge advantage over other working on electric cars. You’re not concerned about range.
Keep us updated. I for one am intereated.
Thanks!
We have a blog where you can see our progress at:
See the word “Search” at the top of this board? Enter “Electric car conversion” and find the currant thread on this subject…I’ll see if I can bump it up for you…