Thread: Ex-7 - Electric RX-7 conversion

Originally Posted by cgalpin

Don't laugh, but a simple solution for the battery distribution might be to make a fake hood scoop like the ricers have. You could do a double layer of batterie up front with a little more clearnace.

Not laughing! It's a good idea. We made decisions that we're living with for the moment:

• We decided not to encroach on structural parts: There's a big radiator mount that we already cut into non-structural areas. We decided to leave the part that holds the hood latch alone for the time being, but if we removed it, and put in pins like the race cars use, we could also free up some space.
• We decided not to cut into the wheel wells but we could.
• We could 'jam' batteries into narrow spaces next to the motor and behind the bumper.

We did use some of those space for electronics - the DC-DC converter and some relays. We'd have to relocate those things in a whole ripple....

I don't know if we can find a single gear in the transmission that gives decent performance across the board. If we can, then I want to put a single, fixed planetary speed reducer gear in place of the tranny, and can move the electric motor back into the transmission hump. If that's possible - viola! - space problems solved and I could probably even put more batteries in. Maybe 12 in the rear / middle and 10-12 in the front and improve range.

I'm not kidding myself that we'll be able to find a gear that works with good performance across the board. A two-speed gearbox would be ideal. Low gear for starting and lower speed driving, and a high gear for highway. I plan to test performance, including range, in each gear. The Tesla had to abandon their planned two-speed gearbox because they couldn't perfect one in time that would work they way they want it to. Owners will get a voucher to have the final solution installed when it's perfected. But the Tesla is trying to achieve an outrageous performance goal. I just want the car to be reasonable to drive around. This is a learning experience. We've already taken a gamble by deleting the clutch and having the motor directly connected to the transmission (We can put the clutch back in if need be). And a gamble on the batteries in the back. And a gamble that the trailer range extender will be sufficient to make a long trip feasible. That's probably enough gambles for the time being....

I didn't get as much time to work on the car today as I hoped. Installed the vacuum pump for the power brakes, began running the battery cables, and sat all the batteries in the racks. It wasn't as bad as we originally thought it might be. Front ride height is only 1/2" lower than original. Rear ride height is down 2 1/2 " Ron's working on spacers to block up the springs to return the ride height to normal, but there's plenty of spring movement left.

Rear batteries:


Batteries behind the seats, showing the opening through to the trunk:



Another view of the seat batteries:



We found one rear shock was bad, and I'm ordering new adjustable shocks. Next work session we'll finish the battery wiring, and start connecting the wiring harness to the controller. I'm also working on mounting the lilliput on the dash and will post progress on that in the next day or two.

This thread is like crack!
I gotta have more man, don't hold out on me.
Come on dude, you got me hooked on it

Merry Christmas Everyone!

From my incredibly thoughtful wife and daughter for me & Ron. What a cool surprise on Christmas morning:

Awesome. Now lets see some more pics!

No, it's not rolling yet. It's about 90 miles from my house. Ron has done nearly all the mechanical work, and the wiring is my part. I'll try to get up there tomorrow and at least one day next week. Should be able to get most, if not all the wiring done by the end of next week. Interior and carputer and instrumentation will take a bit longer, but I hope we can get it motive in the next week.

Here's my first attempt at a little film about it.

EX-7 Smaller.wmv (33 MB)

• Began Control Wiring (75% Done).
• Installed the relays and other HW Components
• Connected most of the wiring harnesses to the relays
• Connected the controls to the DC/DC Converter
• Ran Flex Conduit for High Power Wiring and pulled the 2 gauge wires through it
• Finished Installing the Battery Charger
• Installed Trailer Lights Connector
• Reinstalled most off the vehicle wiring and ensured Headlights & Wipers Work
• Began Connecting DC/DC Converter
• Received the new KYB adjustable gas shocks that will go in today.
• Realized how much more needs to be done

I've been spending time over the holidays setting up the computer. Loaded RideRunner and the DFX skin. Installed the DaqFactory SW. Ran assorted Windows updates. Installed a wireless Network Adapter (An old Netgear USB Wireless G dongle I had laying around), set up bluetooth, etc.

I'm waiting for MP3CAR to get the BoomzBox HD Radios in and for my Sirius SCC-1 to arrive. Once the car is drivable, I'll start integrating all the audio, phone, etc. stuff into it.

I also received a new center console facade for the RX-7 and installed the Lilliput Monitor in it. Looks good so far. Pics to follow in a day or so.

I got a Motorola Droid Android phone for Christmas. It is AMAZING! Among it's many features, it has by far the best speakerphone capability of any phone I've ever owned. One might be tempted to throw away their Garmin or TomTom, Ipod, old cell phone, etc.

I spent some time pairing the Droid with the car computer, and found an app that lets the android handset act as a keyboard & mouse for a PC. Perfect for car computing! The Android OS may be the most fully integrated Mobile OS ever developed. I understand it's been ported to PC platforms - I can foresee it as moving to a be a preferred OS for car computers.

That's all for now. Working on the car again tomorrow. It's possible that the wheels will spin tomorrow, but we still have a lot to do.

Love the thread. And it's a hoot to see you chose Reddy Kilowatt as your Avatar. Haven't seen him in a long time . . .

I think it is awesome you are doing/almost finished an EV conversion. If I wasn't such a mechanical woose I would do it too.

I am concerned as others have mentioned with your choice of SLA batteries and lots of them. That gets really really really heavy and innefficient. Also I dont see these as deep cell either? Are they really average everyday walmart special SLA? I would start a li-poly fund to be cashed in sometime next year or the year after.