| Owner | Thomas Everth | ||||
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| Location | Coromandel, Coromandel New Zealand map | ||||
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| Vehicle | 1990 Toyota Starlet conversion for local driving (90% of my rides) in the Coromandel township. | ||||
| Motor | D&D Motor Systems, Inc. ES-32A-50 Separately Excited DC Got this through Thuderstruck WebPage in California. | ||||
| Drivetrain | Manual gearbox, front drive, 5 gears | ||||
| Controller | Sevcon PowerpaK DC Controller with regenerative braking, throttle and brake potentiometer and electric reverse/forward switch. Purchased through Thuderstruck WebPage in California. June 2009: The controller blew up after about 9 month in service when driving up a light incline and pulling about 240Amps. No external problems visible and the controller passed its self test (green light) but the controller is not starting. When removed from the car I can hear lose debris sloshing around inside, pointing to an internal explosion of some kind. Sevcon, the maker of the controller, is denying warranty cover. :-( While this controller worked well as long as it did, the fact that they are not honoring their warranty is a shock. Perhaps this is just because I am in New Zealand and to far away from the UK to cause them legal trouble. Who knows. But I do not think that this is a smart business move! | ||||
| Batteries | 6 Trojan T-1275, 12.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, Flooded 150 AH deep cycle 12 Volt. Pack weight about 222Kg | ||||
| System Voltage | 72 Volts | ||||
| Charger | Wellforces, Auckland Bought 3 chargers at 24V 12.5A for about $150 each. Friendly company. Made in China I believe but looking good. Site: WebPage | ||||
| Heater | Hat and mittens...! | ||||
| DC/DC Converter | Wellforces, Auckland DC/DC converter 72 to 96V in, 12V 30A max output used to top up small 12V auxiliary battery. Site: WebPage | ||||
| Instrumentation | E-Meter from Able Solar, Auckland | ||||
| Top Speed | 50 MPH (80 KPH) Reached 80 Km/hr on last test drive in 4th gear. | ||||
| Acceleration | Just like before to 60Km/Hr then a bit slower. | ||||
| Range | 20 Miles (32 Kilometers) First test of full battery discharge was 20 miles. But on the same drive I also repeatedly went for max speed and had a few climbs. So actual range at 35MPH on flat land should be a lot better. | ||||
| Watt Hours/Mile | 400 Wh/Mile Used 90KWhr AC charging for 400Km. That is 0.24 KWhr / Km or 24KWhr per 100Km or at NZ power prices of about NZ$0.16/KWhr that is NZ$3.84 / 100Km of driving. | ||||
| EV Miles |
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| Seating Capacity | 4 adults | ||||
| Curb Weight | 2,028 Pounds (921 Kilograms) After conversion = 920Kg total Front Axle = 530Kg Rear Axle = 390Kg Before conversion = 840KG Weight gain = 80Kg | ||||
| Tires | 4 | ||||
| Conversion Time | Many days so far.... | ||||
| Conversion Cost | About NZ$11,000 including the base car, a $2100 Trademe purchase. On Fuel savings: 100Km in the base car at 6L/100Km at $2 per Liter = $12 for fuel. Now: About 20Kwhr charging per 100Km at $0.16/KWhr = $3.20 or a saving of $8.80 per 100Km or 75%. At 15,000 Km / year the savings are $1320, a return on my investment of well over 10%! | ||||
| Additional Features | Regen braking, 3 batteries under hood, three in battery well sunken where the spare wheel once was. Will carry no spare wheel. | ||||
| Had more extended test voyage today! Works like a charm! Have seen up to 400Amps on acceleration. Got up to 80Km/hr. Made it back up our steep drive (15Deg) easily. Great fun! Regenerative braking is great just with throttle in idle. I fitted a relay to the brake light that switches the controllers regenerative braking mode to a high setting. Ideal! With the foot of the accelerator the car slows like a petrol car with the engine braking, and when the brake light comes on with a lightly depressed pedal the car slows a lot better. Great for rolling down hills. | |||||
1990 Toyota Starlet
“Elet”
Last Updated 09-11-2010
Copyright © 1997-2012 by Mike Chancey