Electric vehicles-Conversions

This is the place for posts that don't fit into any other category.

Moderator: RichardW

Post Reply
User avatar
white exec
Moderating Team
Posts: 7445
Joined: 21 Dec 2015, 12:46
Location: Sayalonga, Malaga, Spain
My Cars: 1996 XM 2.5TD Exclusive hatch RHD
1992 BX19D Millesime hatch LHD
previously 1989 BX19RD, 1998 ZX 1.9D auto, 2001 Xantia 1.8i auto
and lots of Rovers before that: 1935 Ten, 1947 Sixteen, 1960 P5 3-litre, 1966 P6 2000, 1972 P6 2000TC, and 1975 P6B 3500S
x 1752

Re: Electric cars/vans/bikes-Conversions/Secondhand..etc

Post by white exec »

Have to agree, Neil. The exotic are ok so far as they go, for marketing purposes and to establish the 'upper end' of performance. I'm much more interested in daily anf family vehicles, and apart from a few well-known examples, I regret to say it is China that are well ahead here. Another opportunity so far missed?
Chris
User avatar
myglaren
Forum Admin Team
Posts: 25366
Joined: 02 Mar 2008, 13:30
Location: Washington
My Cars: Mazda 6
Ooops.
Previously:
2009 Honda Civic :(
C5, C5, Xantia, BX, GS, Visa.
R4, R11TXE, R14, R30TX
x 4888

Re: Electric cars/vans/bikes-Conversions/Secondhand..etc

Post by myglaren »

The Swedish one is actually Chinese.
User avatar
NewcastleFalcon
Posts: 24563
Joined: 25 Feb 2009, 10:40
Location:
My Cars:
x 6866

Re: Electric cars/vans/bikes-Conversions/Secondhand..etc

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

Forgot to mention anything French in my list of Model T-Esque cars of the people.

Well the best selling French Car ever is the Renault Clio

Interesting little list from wiki

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_b ... utomobiles

Its electric versions of the sort of cars on that list....many of them in the small category......that will bring about the most rapid change.

regards Neil
Only One AA Box left
687 Trinity, Jersey
User avatar
NewcastleFalcon
Posts: 24563
Joined: 25 Feb 2009, 10:40
Location:
My Cars:
x 6866

Re: Electric cars/vans/bikes-Conversions/Secondhand..etc

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

Did come across this the other day, should you have a 2CV lying around, and would like to convert it to electric.

Prices for the various bits soon mount up, (higher than a second hand leaf with a decent battery life), but you would have a very different beast. Nice and easy to buy the kit though, just put it in your basket and wait for it to be delivered :-D , and add a few months/years of trying to get it to work!

http://www.everything-ev.com/index.php? ... cts_id=384

Regards Neil

PS There is a Somerset connection, Blue Lias House no less, and close followers of Picture of the day will be more than familiar with Blue Lias :!: :-D ....I would expect "Beauchamp" to be pronounced Beecham as in the powders!

Everything-EV.com
Alternative Vehicles Technology
Blue Lias House
Station Road
Hatch Beauchamp
Somerset
TA3 6SQ
England, UK
Only One AA Box left
687 Trinity, Jersey
User avatar
CitroJim
A very naughty boy
Posts: 49526
Joined: 30 Apr 2005, 23:33
Location: Paggers
My Cars: Bluebell the AX, Polly the C3 Picasso, Pix the Nissan Pixo, Propel the duathlon bike, TCR Pro the road bike and Fuji the TT bike...
x 6160
Contact:

Re: Electric cars/vans/bikes-Conversions/Secondhand..etc

Post by CitroJim »

NewcastleFalcon wrote:I would expect "Beauchamp" to be pronounced Beecham as in the powders!
As a Somerset Yokel born and bred I can confirm that is the correct pronunciation Neil :)

These are many Somerset place names with their very own pronunciation... It's how we tell if a person is a foreigner or not...

Frome is a well-known example but just one of very many indeed...
Jim

Runner, cyclist, time triallist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
User avatar
NewcastleFalcon
Posts: 24563
Joined: 25 Feb 2009, 10:40
Location:
My Cars:
x 6866

Re: Electric cars/vans/bikes-Conversions/Secondhand..etc

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

Quite a comprehensive site, but when you assess their price for the battery packs in comparison to a full replacement pack for a Leaf from Nissan at 5,500 ish dollars, they are eyewateringly expensive.,

Article from insideevs.com re Leaf replacement batteries
http://insideevs.com/breaking-nissan-pr ... t-durable/


As the current generation of cars like the Leaf reach the battery replacement stage, I suspect the option of a number of replacements/ upgrades will be available together with appropriate financial arrangements to soften the blow..

The successful companies will do their utmost to retain their customers. I fully anticipate
Nissan will be at the forefront in this regard.

Regards Neil
Last edited by NewcastleFalcon on 20 Jan 2017, 07:53, edited 2 times in total.
Only One AA Box left
687 Trinity, Jersey
Gibbo2286
(Donor 2020)
Posts: 7171
Joined: 08 Jun 2011, 18:04
Location: GL15***
My Cars: 2006 C5 2.0 Litre HDI VTR Automatic Estate.(now sold on)
Currently Renault Zoe 2014 ZE
x 2500

Re: Electric cars/vans/bikes-Conversions/Secondhand..etc

Post by Gibbo2286 »

Did you see the 'rowing bike' on the West News tonight Jim?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-38679575
Man is, by nature, a lazy beast, he does not need twice encouraging to do nothing.
User avatar
CitroJim
A very naughty boy
Posts: 49526
Joined: 30 Apr 2005, 23:33
Location: Paggers
My Cars: Bluebell the AX, Polly the C3 Picasso, Pix the Nissan Pixo, Propel the duathlon bike, TCR Pro the road bike and Fuji the TT bike...
x 6160
Contact:

Re: Electric cars/vans/bikes-Conversions/Secondhand..etc

Post by CitroJim »

Gibbo2286 wrote:Did you see the 'rowing bike' on the West News tonight Jim?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-38679575
Neat :D
Jim

Runner, cyclist, time triallist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
User avatar
NewcastleFalcon
Posts: 24563
Joined: 25 Feb 2009, 10:40
Location:
My Cars:
x 6866

Re: Electric cars/vans/bikes-Conversions/Secondhand..etc

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

Plenty of news stories over on insideevs.com

This particular one relates to the Samsung next generation battery for 373 miles range rechargeable in 20 minutes
http://insideevs.com/samsung-sdi-announ ... 0-minutes/

Samsung SDI presented in Detroit at the 2017 NAIAS several battery innovations for electric cars.

The major reveal is the next generation lithium-ion cells with both high energy density for 600 km (373 mi) of range in an all-electric car and high power density for 20-minute recharge (80%).

The drawback is that Samsung SDI expects mass production of these cells in 2021. Well… it seems we will have couple years to enjoy 200+ miles BEVs first then before ICE vehicles will finally be crushed by electric cars equipped with these new cells.
Many others working in the field too, including "car makers" such as Tesla and Nissan, but interesting quote here from Renault
While Nissan is making its own batteries at three different production facilities, partners Renault and Daimler are not following suit. Marianne Bataillon, leader of Renault’s EV division claimed:

“We are a carmaker, not a chemist.”
VW have a similar attitude, with the catch up to the leaders in the field such as Samsung and LG being too great and too expensive to set up their own battery manufacturing capability.

Regards Neil
Only One AA Box left
687 Trinity, Jersey
User avatar
Mandrake
Posts: 8615
Joined: 10 Apr 2005, 17:23
Location: North Lanarkshire, UK
My Cars:
x 664

Re: Electric cars/vans/bikes-Conversions/Secondhand..etc

Post by Mandrake »

NewcastleFalcon wrote:Plenty of news stories over on insideevs.com
It's amazing how when companies actually put their mind to these challenges and do proper research and development instead of saying "it's too hard", they actually get solved pretty quickly. 10 or even 5 years ago battery capacity, weight, charging times, and longevity were major hurdles to electric cars - I think within the next 10 years battery technology will be a "solved" problem for electric cars where you have all the range you could reasonably need - once you get past about 300 miles per charge and 30 minutes to recharge do you really need any more than that for a private passenger vehicle ?
Simon

1997 Xantia S1 3.0 V6 Auto Exclusive in Silex Grey
2016 Nissan Leaf Tekna 30kWh in White

2011 Peugeot Ion Full Electric in Silver
1977 G Special 1129cc LHD
1978 CX 2400
1997 Xantia S1 2.0i Auto VSX
1998 Xantia S2 3.0 V6 Auto Exclusive
User avatar
white exec
Moderating Team
Posts: 7445
Joined: 21 Dec 2015, 12:46
Location: Sayalonga, Malaga, Spain
My Cars: 1996 XM 2.5TD Exclusive hatch RHD
1992 BX19D Millesime hatch LHD
previously 1989 BX19RD, 1998 ZX 1.9D auto, 2001 Xantia 1.8i auto
and lots of Rovers before that: 1935 Ten, 1947 Sixteen, 1960 P5 3-litre, 1966 P6 2000, 1972 P6 2000TC, and 1975 P6B 3500S
x 1752

Re: Electric cars/vans/bikes-Conversions/Secondhand..etc

Post by white exec »

Hope so. A huge amount of R&D is now going into battery design, not least from universities worldwide. The prizes for success are considerable. Big oil must be sh****** themselves, and not before time.
Chris
User avatar
Mandrake
Posts: 8615
Joined: 10 Apr 2005, 17:23
Location: North Lanarkshire, UK
My Cars:
x 664

Re: Electric cars/vans/bikes-Conversions/Secondhand..etc

Post by Mandrake »

white exec wrote:Big oil must be sh****** themselves, and not before time.
Yes and no.

Oil is an a source of energy, batteries are only a storage device - you still have to provide the energy from somewhere to charge that battery, and I'm sure Big oil would be more than happy to burn that stuff that people don't want for their car petrol and diesel tanks anymore to generate electricity to charge those new fangled batteries. :wink:

Not that I'm suggesting that's a good thing, as it isn't (oil should be conserved for things that really need it, like manufacturing materials like plastics instead of wasting it burning it for energy) but I'm sure it will happen, so they won't go away overnight. They may just find that their market moves away from directly powering passenger cars.
Simon

1997 Xantia S1 3.0 V6 Auto Exclusive in Silex Grey
2016 Nissan Leaf Tekna 30kWh in White

2011 Peugeot Ion Full Electric in Silver
1977 G Special 1129cc LHD
1978 CX 2400
1997 Xantia S1 2.0i Auto VSX
1998 Xantia S2 3.0 V6 Auto Exclusive
elma
Posts: 3745
Joined: 13 May 2007, 02:17
Location: United Kingdom
My Cars: Undisclosed
x 287

Re: Electric cars/vans/bikes-Conversions/Secondhand..etc

Post by elma »

The oil industry have a lot of friends in high places, I don't think they are too worried. About a decade ago there was a trial of combo boilers with sterling motors in the flue which provided the houses electricity, as commonly found in Germany. A certain oil company used their friends in high places to have the system regulated out of the UK before the trial was complete. I lived with one of the analysts for the trial and they were absolutely fuming.
Gibbo2286
(Donor 2020)
Posts: 7171
Joined: 08 Jun 2011, 18:04
Location: GL15***
My Cars: 2006 C5 2.0 Litre HDI VTR Automatic Estate.(now sold on)
Currently Renault Zoe 2014 ZE
x 2500

Re: Electric cars/vans/bikes-Conversions/Secondhand..etc

Post by Gibbo2286 »

There's a lot of conspiracy nonsense talked about big oil companies, big companies in general in fact, if batteries are the thing of the future big oil will be investing in them not trying to block them.

Motor fuel, especially petrol, is a waste product of the oil industry and for the most part is not a profit maker for them, their real money is made in the plastics and chemicals goods they produce.
Man is, by nature, a lazy beast, he does not need twice encouraging to do nothing.
User avatar
NewcastleFalcon
Posts: 24563
Joined: 25 Feb 2009, 10:40
Location:
My Cars:
x 6866

Re: Electric cars/vans/bikes-Conversions/Secondhand..etc

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

A snippet from the article on ultracapacitors
http://www.rdmag.com/article/2015/10/wi ... qus_thread

So why aren’t ultracapacitors more widely used?
The answer to this is question is simply because batteries are the incumbent technology. Power electronics are currently designed around battery technology, making the adoption of ultracapacitors more complex, as well as more costly. But times are changing. As ultracapacitors are used more widely every year, the technology around high-power devices evolves as well. Costs are coming down, engineers are gaining more and more experience with ultracapacitors and new applications are emerging.
Money talks,and the big investments are in li-ion batteries, particularly in manufacturing plant which will anticipate an increasing demand. Indeed one of the articles on insideevs.com was on a potential shortage of supply.

If the improvement in ultra capacitors continues conceivably they could rival or replace batteries as the most efficient method of energy storage for electric vehicles,

Research and development should go hand in hand, but with the big money being invested in battery power, the progress of ultra capacitors into electric vehicles could be hampered.

Regards Neil
Last edited by NewcastleFalcon on 20 Jan 2017, 19:18, edited 2 times in total.
Only One AA Box left
687 Trinity, Jersey
Post Reply