Motor BayTrunkShowing the EV at the Ann Arbor Maker Fa
OwnerAdam Blankespoor
LocationPalo Alto, California United States map
Email email image
Vehicle1996 Honda Civic LX
MotorNetgain WarP 9 Series Wound DC
Drivetrain5-speed manual
ControllerNetGain Controls 1000 amp
With liquid cooling
Batteries45 Thunder Sky 100 Ah, 0.00 Volt,
System Voltage144 Volts
ChargerElcon 3kW
Heater12V Seat Heater (not necessary in the Bay
Area)
DC/DC ConverterIota DLS-55
InstrumentationDIY tachometer using a hall-effect sensor
and shaft collar with 2 steel set pins to
mimic the original gauge input.
Top Speed97 MPH (156 KPH)
This is theoretical at 4500 rpm in 5th gear.
I've gone 75 and had plenty of pedal left.
AccelerationI haven't timed a 0-60 run, but it
accelerates better than stock.
Range45 Miles (72 Kilometers)
I don't use the full battery capacity and
call 30 my practical limit.
Watt Hours/Mile300 Wh/Mile
Best trip was 250, but most of my driving is
stop-and-go city driving.
EV Miles
Start:148,391 Miles (238,761 Kilometers)
Current:159,791 Miles (257,103 Kilometers)
Total:11,400 Miles (18,342 Kilometers)
 
    As of 11/30/2015
Seating CapacityOriginal seating capacity maintained
TiresGoodyear Assurance Fuel Max on the HX
wheels.
Conversion Time2 years
Conversion Cost$14,000
Additional FeaturesI'm working on a coulomb counter and fuel gauge interface to
show the battery state of charge. This is a good project to
dust off my PIC programming skills and automotive instrument
interfacing.
I have recently started using this car as my daily driver. I
commute to work 17 miles round trip which takes about 30 AH
to replace. I plug in the charger when I get home and am
able to unplug it later in the evening after about 3 hours.

I am amazed how much fun the car is to drive!

Update: 5/23/2012
I have over 1700 miles on the car so far and it is still a
pleasure to drive. I plan to add a cooling fan to the
controller/radiator because I am starting to reach the
temperature threshold during hard accelerations in the warmer
weather.

Update: 3/28/2013
Still driving the car as my daily driver. I charge the
batteries, fill the tires with air, and drive it. I haven't
had any problems with the mechanical or electrical components
in almost two years of driving.

Update: 7/7/2014
Thought I should rotate the tires. Still no mechanical or
electrical problems. I added an Electric Imp (WiFi) to the
batteries so I can check the approximate SoC. I can monitor
the batteries with my smartphone and I receive a text when
the charging is complete.

Update: 11/29/2015
I had to replace a lower ball joint and a high voltage cable. The
original cable between the motor and controller was too short and
eventually started to fail (i.e. fray and then weld...). It was
an easy fix and I'm back on the road. I am also in the process of
upgrading my charge port to j1772 so I can charge at public
stations.

code by jerry