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Drop In Motor Converts Car To EV
With the latest craze of electric vehicles, it might be tempting to take an old project car and convert it from gas to electric. On the surface, it sounds simple, but the reality is there are a number of pitfalls. It would be nice if you could find a drop in engine replacement that was ready to go. According to Swindon Powertrain, you’ll be able to soon.
Based on their existing powertrain that can convert a Mini to EV, the transverse powertrain weighs 70 kg and if it can fit in a Mini, it can probably fit in nearly anything. Specifically, it’s 60 cm wide and 44 cm deep — that means it could fit easily in a roughly two foot box. The height can be as little as 28 cm. The company talks about fitting it on a quad bike or even a loading platform. It can be thought of as sort of an electric “crate engine” — a common term for a ready to install powerplant that, as the name implies, arrives in a crate.
The powertrain with a single-speed transmission, cooling system, and inverter weighs in at 154 pounds and generates up to 110 horsepower. We aren’t sure what the expected battery pack is, but presumably, it will be somewhat flexible.
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Thursday October 31 2019, @01:26AM (1 child)
I have a 14-year-old Toyota Camry. The garage figures I can use it for another ten years before it'll need a new engine. I'd like the new engine to be electric.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 31 2019, @01:40AM
Do you use your Camry with no drama -- turn the key and go places? This works because of a massive system engineering effort during the design and development stages, before production. In addition to some obvious things, there is a great deal of subtlety as well. For example, various rubber mounted parts including the engine and suspension are tuned to make sure that their resonant frequencies don't overlap. To maintain power steering and brakes will require either a change to electric boost, or electric motors to provide hydraulics and vacuum.
There is no way an individual can duplicate this effort with a conversion (unless you have enough money to hire one of the firms that have the correct staff in place = $millions). Even given that electric drive is much simpler than ICE, any conversion is going to need special treatment and almost certainly some ongoing work to keep it running. If you enjoy a project (instead of a car that works like a tool), this is fine. But you should be aware of this in advance.
On the other hand, if you install a rebuild engine of the original type (and assuming the rest of the car isn't rusted or otherwise worn out), things will go on smoothly as they are now.