Will we see a custom EV hacker movement?

[desura]

EV's are mechanically simpler than Internal Combustion Engine cars, and so it seems possible IMO that at some point, there might be like a EV car "hacker" scene spring up. Already there are some shops which have sprung up to alter Toyota Prius cars so that they have more EV capability.

It just seems to me that an electric car can be made more modular and so at some point, especially if there's a dramatic improvement of battery tech which allows a shrinking of the size of the battery, we could see a big DIY movement on it like there were for hotrodding ICE cars in the old days.

eh?

 

[NutBucket]

I know Eli hasn't been around much but he's added the ability to manually control the IMA in his Insight. Makes sense for the right person but most people just want their car to work and the people that mod want it to be faster

 

[phucheneh]

For an actual power upgrade, what could you possibly do other than overvolt the motor? Or just change the PWM control of it, assuming 'WOT' isn't already just a 100% duty cycle.

 

[AustinInDallas]

there has been a "homebrew" dyi EV community for decades, I think they have there on magazine.

edit: I remember reading that people would go around buying the old UPS batteries from server farms for their home made EVs

 

[Midwayman]

http://endless-sphere.com/

This is where I ended up doing most of my home brew EV research.

 

[Kaido]

There's a great homebrew EV site here with pictures & basic specs:

http://www.evalbum.com/

Some of them have links back to their websites, too. The downside right now is cost & range. It can be $5k to $20k to do and you only get 50 miles of range in a lot of cases.

 

[AustinInDallas]

There's a great homebrew EV site here with pictures & basic specs:

http://www.evalbum.com/

Some of them have links back to their websites, too. The downside right now is cost & range. It can be $5k to $20k to do and you only get 50 miles of range in a lot of cases.

http://www.evalbum.com/4669

I WANT THIS!

 

[mmntech]

There's not a heck of a lot you can mod on an EV. Overvolting is an obvious one. You can also do motor swaps. With motors there's two options you've got. Different kV (RPM per volt) and different windings. So you can select a motor that is optimized for speed, torque, or a balance of the two.

The problem with EV mods is changing one component affects all others. If you change the motor, you have to make sure the battery, speed controller, and wiring can handle the amp draw.

I think a lot of automakers will transition EVs into becoming a "disposable" car. One that cannot be repaired or modified by the end user beyond suspension and brakes.

 

[phucheneh]

I'm not sure if the OP was talking about 'customizing factory-made EV's' (what I assumed) or building your own 'custom EV's'.

The latter seems a lot more interesting than the former.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

http://www.evalbum.com/4669

I WANT THIS!

I love that it still has a trunk.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

If I could change the electric motor or upgrade the battery and reflash it to give full electric motor with a push of the button I would seriously consider buying one.

 

[Kaido]

http://www.evalbum.com/4669

I WANT THIS!

rofl @ "Clutch slips at 750 Amp..." :biggrin:

 

[Kaido]

I think a lot of automakers will transition EVs into becoming a "disposable" car. One that cannot be repaired or modified by the end user beyond suspension and brakes.

I can definitely see that happening. I was out in my buddy's electric Honda again tonight...there's just nothing to break in that thing! Especially with today's crumple zones, it's usually just not economically feasible to repair it after a wreck - you get saved, but your car gets totalled.

The 2013 Nissan Versa 5-speed has A/C, CD, and an MP3 input jack, gets 36 MPG on the 5-speed and 40 MPG on the CVT, and starts at $12.9k for an extremely usable & fun-to-drive car. $13k for a safe, nice, warrantied, reliable car with air conditioning and an iPod hookup. Imagine when batteries get cheap...$9,999 for a basic electric commuter? Throw it away when you're done? Upgrade it every 2 years like a cell phone?