OwnerEric Hovland
Owner's Other EV1978 Renault LeCar
LocationMukilteo, Washington United States map
Web/EmailWebPage email image
Vehicle Formula Evee
Loosely based on a Formula Vee race car.
MotorAdvanced DC 8 inch Series Wound DC
DrivetrainVW front beam and rear transaxle assys.
ControllerEvnetics
300V 1000A
Batteries12, 12.00 Volt,
upgraded to 144V and Soliton1 controller.
System Voltage144 Volts
DC/DC ConverterSevcon 622/11202
72-80V 300W
EV Miles
Current:55 Miles (88 Kilometers)
 
    As of 10/15/2021
Seating Capacity1 adult
Curb Weight1,800 Pounds (818 Kilograms)
Conversion Time3 winters work so far.
Conversion CostSo far about $6000 (I was guessing 3-4k)
OOPS!! add another $2800 for the new
Soliton1!!!
Here's a breakdown:
VW front beam & rear transaxle $250
Pair adjustable coil over shocks $380
Brake pedal/hoses/fittings $700
Wheels & Tires $300
Shift linkage parts $210
Misc VW parts $310
Seat $100
Battery tiedown ratchet straps $20
Paint $130
Steel pipe/tubing/box $350
Aluminum plate/sheet $50
Misc fasteners $150
Motor $1200
Controller 72v Curtis $300
Gauges- GPS & battery level $300
Switches & breakers $340
Wire/lugs/terminals/boots $550
Lights & indicators $200

Old batteries and steering wheel I already
had, as well as most of the tools. I will be
buying new batteries soon. A Zilla controller
has already been ordered.

This isn't exact but overall pretty close.
Some receipts I'm sure were missing but I also
had extra stuff like wire, terminals, and
metal. Some metal was wasted during
construction due to mistakes or changes, of
course more changes than mistakes!
First test run on 12-23-09.
Second drive: 12-24-09. Notes; Need to move seat farther forward
or pedals aft. Need to adjust brake balance, rear is braking
harder than front. A steering dampener might be a nice addition.
Not sure if top speed will be high enough at it's current 72v.
With 12 batteries on board the headlights are now just below the
legal height limit for licensing.
Third drive 1-16-10 after adjusting front brakes, alignment, and
moving seat forward 2". Still need more adjustment on brake
balance. Also could use some kind of reverse lockout on shifter,
because reverse and 2nd are very close! Max speed today 39.1 mph.
Almost 6 miles on car now.
I would really like to run at more than 72v but the 120v curtis
controller in my Lecar died last september.
So I'm wondering if I should buy a Zilla? (update: on order!)
Feb. 6 2010, added 6 miles today. 12 miles total on GPS
odometer. Added reverse lockout mechanism last week, works great,
no worries now shifting 1st to 2nd. Brake balance also good.
Steering feels good, I don't think it needs a steering dampener
any more. Another concern I had was body roll, because I didn't
install a sway bar, but after some aggressive slalom today, I
didn't notice any body roll. Must be the low center of gravity or
the lack of a body ;^)
Finalized the circuit design and started building my LED bar
graph battery monitors. They will display from about 10V to 13V
over a 10 segment led bar graph. See photo.
July 24 2010, Got my EVNETICS Soliton1 controller a couple of
days ago took only a couple of weeks. After wasting months trying
to get a zilla! Just need to decide how to bolt it in now.
August 18 2010, Just finished installing Soliton1, five more 12V
batteries and Sevcon dc-dc w/small aux battery just in time to
take to work for car show!!! Have only had a chance to test it in
the driveway so far. It seems much peppier!
Drove the car to work once, WOW what an improvement!
Big problem though, I forgot to leave room for my lunch box!!!
The car will squeal its tires on concrete no problem now! and I
don't even have the soliton turned all the way up yet, I'm only at
96v and 800? amps to motor. Now I'm actually concerned about
breaking the transaxle.
January 7 2011, Haven't had many chances to drive this lately,
seems like it's always wet outside!!! However I have been working
on the body mockup a little. I think I'm ready to start building
the real body. Just need a dry day to go buy some special bending
plywood.

code by jerry