| Owner | Ben Nelson | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owner's Other EVs | 1981 Kawasaki KZ440 2007 Vectrix VX-1 | ||||||
| Location | Oconomowoc, Wisconsin United States map | ||||||
| Web/Email | WebPage | ||||||
| Vehicle | 1996 Geo Metro converted to plug-in Battery Electric Vehicle | ||||||
| Motor | Nissan Forklift drive motor Series Wound DC 10" double-shafted forklift drive motor, rebuilt and tailshaft removed. Trimmed driveshaft to shorten to fit in car. Trimmed cast iron "shoulder" around tailshaft to fit in car. | ||||||
| Drivetrain | 5-speed manual | ||||||
| Controller | Open ReVolt Cougar Open Source DIY controller based on the ReVolt Cougar controller. Kits available at: WebPage | ||||||
| Batteries | 6, 12.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, AGM Was able to get Gel batteries which were new pulled from NEVs. I have run this vehicle on anything from 72-144 volts. | ||||||
| System Voltage | 72 Volts | ||||||
| Charger | K and W BC-20 Charger adjustable from 72 to 108 volt systems. | ||||||
| Heater | AC Oil-filled electric radiator heater. I have it in the car and "pre-warm" off wall AC power, then I unplug and drive. It stays warm for a good ten minutes | ||||||
| DC/DC Converter | None yet, just the 12V battery out of a friends Dodge Neon | ||||||
| Instrumentation | Currently have a 300 amp ammeter and a 0-100V volt- meter built into the dash where the radio was. Vacuum gauge to show status of power brake system. | ||||||
| Top Speed | 71 MPH (114 KPH) Have topped 70 mph at 144v. Was in a 55 zone, which was going down to a 45 zone. I am sure I still had a few more MPH left. | ||||||
| Acceleration | Software adjustable in controller. Pretty good acceleration when cranked up. | ||||||
| Range | 20 Miles (32 Kilometers) about a 20 mile range, the battery pack is relatively small. It has been as short as 10 miles in the winter though when not using battery warmers. Using warmers, it has almost its summer range | ||||||
| Watt Hours/Mile | 250 Wh/Mile Whr/mile is around 150 in actual in-town use according to controller energy tracker. About 250 to 300 per mile actual based on tracking energy to charger (includes losses and charging aux battery, etc.) | ||||||
| EV Miles |
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| Seating Capacity | Seat belts for 4. Weight capacity is most likely two adults plus a back seat full of groceries. | ||||||
| Curb Weight | 2,100 Pounds (954 Kilograms) 1780 as stock Metro. Batteries weigh about 450 lbs. | ||||||
| Tires | just what came with the car when I bought it. Painted the rims white. (Looked better than rust!) Put $10 hub caps on it later. | ||||||
| Conversion Time | less than one year from concept to "done". I don't think I will ever be done tinkering though. | ||||||
| Conversion Cost | Between 1200 and $1300, INCLUDING buying the car in the first place. Paid $500 for the car, sold $550 in parts off of it. Paid just under $400 for some machining work. The rest of the cost was: $50 for motor $50 for brushes $144 for batteries. (12 of them, only used 6 so far in conversion) $106 used transmission $200 for used 72v charger $300 for controller. | ||||||
| Additional Features | Car came with driver and passenger airbags. Appears that they are still working properly! Has daytime running lights. Hoping to replace those with LED daytime running lights. Also considering adding a large power inverter to power parts of my house in case of grid failure. | ||||||
| My second EV conversion. (1st was a motorcycle) Wanted to use a really basic car so that I could have something to experiment on that wouldn't be complicated or expensive. I have a fair number of YouTube videos about the project. Go to YouTube, my username is BenjaminNelson WebPage Follow my further adventures in Going Gas Free at my Blog: WebPage /> | |||||||
1996 Geo Metro
“Electro-Metro”
Last Updated 10-11-2011
Copyright © 1997-2024 by Mike Chancey