| Owner | Stephan | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Manly, New South Wales Australia map | ||||||
| Web | WebPage | ||||||
| Vehicle | 2001 Mazda Mazda Tribute Simular to Ford Escape, the original Tribute is a family car All wheel drive. The V6 and Auto Gear are replaced with a smaller HPEVS AC50 and manual Mazda 3 gearbox. 24Kwh Leaf batteries. Power steering pump from a Holden (07) and power break pump for vacuum on original brake booster. | ||||||
| Motor | HPEVS AC50 single shaft 60HP 3-Phase AC | ||||||
| Drivetrain | Rear wheel driveshaft is removed so it is no longer a 4w/all wheel drive. At the rear all drivetrain parts are removed. In front wheels with ABS connect to Mazda 3 gearbox. 5 speed manual gear connects to original clutch, which connects to aluminium conversion plate, connecting to the motor. Car weight is reduced from 1590 kg to 1470 kg. | ||||||
| Controller | Curtis 1238-7501 Model - Curtis 1238-7501 controller 96 Volt 550 Amps In 2018 the pins on Curtis side were worn, and replaced. This is a big issue if it happens causing uncontrolled behaviour. Fixed now. The 5v for the Encoder also had an issue and Encoder replaced. | ||||||
| Batteries | 48 LEAF, 99.00 Volt, Lithium-Ion Ah/serie of cell V/cell Cells V/Total 122 8.4 24 100.8 244 8.4 48 100.8 Pack is from Nissan Leaf and protected with Batrium BMS. Total weight of 48 pack is 2x99 kg. Rear part is in original enclosure. Front 24 pack is stacked differently in 4p6s and both rear and front work as-one. Front modules are protected by a custom made fibre glass box (same fibre used as Les's Ferrari replica who build it for me). | ||||||
| System Voltage | 99 Volts | ||||||
| Charger | EnPower small 3 kw onboard charger. Charger is installed close to the new J1772 charging connector with an power inlet where used to be the gas cap. A second 15A inlet is installed under the bonnet which is easy to connect to every power point everywhere. | ||||||
| Heater | Ceramic 1000W heater element. This runs on 96- 110V and draws actual 750W. It is not very hot though but just enough to pass requirement. Airco is removed. | ||||||
| DC/DC Converter | 100-12v converter | ||||||
| Instrumentation | - Curtis Display on dashboard with RPM, temp, voltage and Amp draw. - Charging LED - Fuel gauge SoC | ||||||
| Top Speed | 70 MPH (112 KPH) | ||||||
| Acceleration | I mostly use first,second gear and reverse. This is used as a 'shopping car', 'go surfing' as well. Top speed measured on high-way in 4th about 70mph.There was a bit more in it but did not test it to maximum in the 5 the gear. | ||||||
| Range | 40 Miles (64 Kilometers) Not fully tested yet. It could be 50-60 miles max but the battery usage before this conversion is unknown, and the actual kwh capacity is yet unknown. minimum of 25 miles range measured without any issues. Measured without re-gen. | ||||||
| EV Miles |
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| Seating Capacity | 4 (reduced from 5) | ||||||
| Curb Weight | 0 1470 kg | ||||||
| Tires | Original | ||||||
| Conversion Time | 6 Year | ||||||
| Conversion Cost | 25,000 USD (total) including upgrade to 24KWH. Battery: $10K incl. BMS and parts Motor: $7.5K incl. controller Parts: $7.5K | ||||||
| Additional Features | 1) Zeva Fuel Gauge driver = SoC on the original 'fuel meter' 2) USB programmer cable for Curtis. Awesome tool 3) RGB LED in use that connects to Batrium BMS for SoC 4) warning if external charge in progress; car won't start/drive Note5 I had to revert the Hyundai Getz dash cluster back to comply with road safety requirement. So I reverted the cluster back to original. It resolved some issues such as seat belts and airbag signals. Telemetry is not optimal due to gearbox conversion missing the speed signals. workaround with standalone meter is build in. | ||||||
| Successful registration after twice failed for road worthy certificate. First, Minor Safety feature certificate issues. Fixed all minor things such as reverse light, high Beam light (failed before conversion) and some lose wiring. Second attempt, the car was too slow. Problem was a design problem and under specification of the 12kwh battery, hence the upgrade to 24 kwh battery. Note that the range is not the problem but the draw above 300 Amp was killing the motor + it was wearing out the battery too much, too quickly. Bottom line, it drove not faster than 30-40 mh and it could not go uphill. Third upgrade: finally success. Now the car drives uphill and has no issues with higher 300 amp draw. This battery is build for nominal 240 A draw. Just enough for short trip and some hills. I am member of AEVA.asn.au these guys helped me a lot wit this conversion. And they still do... If any questions feel free to contact me. See my website contact detail. | |||||||
2001 Mazda Tribute
“Tribute”
(under construction)
Last Updated 12-12-2023
Copyright © 1997-2025 by Mike Chancey