| Owner | Michael Brooks | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | San Jose, California US map | ||||||
| Web/Email | WebPage | ||||||
| Vehicle | 1986 Honda CRX Car was given to me with a blown engine. | ||||||
| Motor | Advanced DC FB-4001 Series Wound DC Purchased on Ebay almost 8 years ago. | ||||||
| Drivetrain | Original transmission, rebuilt and filled with 5-10 synthetic oil. | ||||||
| Controller | Curtis 1231C Wired to EVAmerica's plans with a primary and secondary contactor. | ||||||
| Batteries | 12 Trojan T1275, 12.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, Flooded 2 In place of the radiator. 3 Over the motor, thus the hood scoop for clearance. 7 in the hatchback area. 6 in a box where the gas tank used to be. 1 in a box where the spare tire was with the charger. | ||||||
| System Voltage | 144 Volts | ||||||
| Charger | Quick Charge Select-A-Charge This is mounted in the rear and connected via the gas cap. It's not as fast as I would like, but I don't really need faster. It completes a charge in 12 hours after 30 miles of driving. | ||||||
| Heater | None yet | ||||||
| DC/DC Converter | Iota DLS-45 I tried a Vicor power module, but it blew 2x probably due to voltage slew near the rated power. | ||||||
| Instrumentation | Voltmeter and Ammeter. Still trying to decide what else I need. I built a battery monitor system from plans from James May: WebPage It works very well, and now I can see as my batteries fade | ||||||
| Top Speed | 65 MPH (104 KPH) Usually I drive city streets, max of 45. Expressways around here are 50 and it does that well. | ||||||
| Acceleration | Pretty close to stock | ||||||
| Range | 33 Miles (53 Kilometers) I haven't had a real need to go further. I suspect 50 would be OK as long as I'm not doing 65 | ||||||
| Watt Hours/Mile | 18000 Wh/Mile I average around 35 MPH on city streets. It can get on the freeways fine. The furthest so far has been 9 miles at 65 Mph. With 20 miles max that day | ||||||
| EV Miles |
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| Seating Capacity | 2 adults | ||||||
| Curb Weight | 0 Original weight was 1860 lbs. I need to weigh it to get current weight | ||||||
| Tires | Upgraded to 14" rims. 185 60 14 | ||||||
| Conversion Time | Elapsed time 9 years! In reality when I got serious about 6 months. I removed ICE stuff 9 years ago. I didn't really start seriously until March of 2008. I drove it the first time in Sept 2008. | ||||||
| Conversion Cost | around 10K so far. It still needs a paint job | ||||||
| Additional Features | I put solar panels on the roof of my house, fed back to the grid (solarcity.com) So charging is essentially free! I upgraded the front steering knuckles with '87 Acura Integra knuckles, and replaced the brakes and rotors with Acura parts, giving me about 20% more surface area for braking. It stops on a dime now. Rear springs replaced with Acura Integra springs, put the car back to original height with batteries installed. I average about 25 miles a day. I can charge at work if needed. | ||||||
| Thanks to Steve McDonald for insight and motivation. Californians, beware! I tried after a year to get a carpool sticker, since EV's qualify. Turns out my car was registered as a hybrid, there is no way for a DMV office to change it to electric without a certification from a Bureau of Automotive Repair GOLD station. So now my car's registration is in limbo until I get that completed. Doesn't cost much, $8.25, but there are only a few "GOLD" stations around. I should have left things alone! | |||||||
1986 Honda CRX
“ThatDamnCar (my wife's words)”
Last Updated 02-10-2010
Copyright © 1997-2012 by Mike Chancey