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I am looking to convert a 1991 Buick LeSabre to electric, any suggestions?

I want to convert my 1991 Buick LeSabre to electric propulsion and ditch the 3.8L Gas engine, even though it runs great and gets me 36MPG, I prefer electric because its cleaner and cheaper. to charge then refuel with gasoline. I have my conversion planned out for the most part, but I want your input on recommendations keeping in mind I do want to keep at least the same power I have now and want to build it as cheap as possible and am looking for alternative build Ideas. I wont list what I plan to use here because there are too many details involved and If I find better alternatives here, I plan to use them instead anyways. So any input is welcome and the best answer overall gets extra points! Lets hear what you got... By the way, Although I do want the cost cut as much as possible, I am planning on spending a serious chunk of change on the car and I will be using Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries and Probably use the warp 9 motor by netgain motors running it at 144VDC with an appropriate controller with regen. Another note: I will also be building a 3kw solar array at home to recharge it. I will be doing it with some 200 watt panels I can buy for $1.36 a watt through a company I know over in Florida, I build solar systems and buy them in bulk is how I get them at that price. And to respond to your answers, I plan to ditch the automatic for an experimental infinite speed transmission I have been designing that is always engaged and doesn't need a clutch to operate It itself will be fully automatic but wont disengage from the motor so that I can use the motor for braking and regen.

Public Comments

1. It depends on how much money you want to spend on the conversion. Usually, it's not worth the investment for the return of better fuel economy/costs for electricity. EV's still emit emissions albeit at the coal, gas or oil-fired power plant unless power is derived from hydro, solar, wind or nuclear...depending on what state you live in, EV emissions...via power plants... can still be quite high. The next generation of batteries called Lithium Titanates are more expensive but offer much better results than Lithium-Ion or older technology such as Ni-Cad or lead-acid. Lithium titanates can recharge in as little as 5-10 minutes, recharge over 18,000 times versus 2,000 for Li-ion which reduces replacement costs, produce more energy per weight and have fewer issues with overheating. More info... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn1GjfiUkkw http://www.atbatt.com/blog/65.asp Are you using a single motor or motor in hub design? RWD or FWD? Another alternative which many people don't know about is hydraulic hybrid vehicles or HHV's. The transmission/driveline is removed or not used and a hydraulic or hydrostatic system of pumps/lines/tanks is installed between the engine and axle and used to capture braking energy just as some electrics do in regenerative braking.., the system stores hydraulic fluid/gas in a pressurized accumulator and reuses it for takeoff and lowspeed driving which can increase fuel economy by triple in some settings and lowers emissions. The standard engine powers the car through the hydrostatic drive when the braking energy is depleted. Probably not a good setup for a FWD /transaxle car though...mostly designed for RWD cars and trucks. Ford, Chrysler, BMW and others are working on systems that could be out in 2015? UPS and Waste Mangement already have prototypes in use. Some companies offer to retrofit existing vehicles although prices are high right now and some rebates apply. If mass produced, costs would be lower than HEV's and not require expensive battery replacements. For even cleaner results, some propose a combination of hydraulics and battery powered motors to power the hydraulic system although it adds complexity and battery costs. Perhaps Lithium titanate batteries powering a motor which drives the hydraulic system and it stil captures braking energy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPSob1gH_wk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7MGV5SLv-A&feature=related http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/02/60_mpg_ford_f15.php Retrofit company... http://lightninghybrids.com/hydraulic-hybrids
2. Well you certainly don't want to use the transmission/differential that the car came with, because it's automatic. You don't use automatic transmissions with electric, it's a complete waste since the electric motor can start up from zero rpm. Being a front wheel drive car to begin with, you want to keep it that way. Driving the rear wheels would introduce stresses that the car was not designed to deal with. It might be perfectly okay, it would have to be analyzed before you could decide on that. I would keep the half shafts and drive the portion of them that slides into the transmission (the one that you will throw away). Drive each one with it's own motor (two motors total). I would use netgain warp 9 motors. Weld or bolt on a bracket to the chassis that holds a wheel bearing that the half shaft can slide into, and mount a pulley on the opposite side of the wheel bearing (where a wheel is supposed to bolt on). Drive the pulley through about a 3.7 to 1 reduction. Use 144 volts with a 800 amp controller for each motor. That will give you about the same to slightly better power than stock, up to around 75 mph. Acceleration will not be quite as fast off the line as the stock car, because you don't have the super low gearing that the transmission gives you, but it will be smooth and constant up to around 45mph, which should take around 6 seconds. 0-60 should go by in a little under 9 seconds. Top speed would be around 115mph and it should be perfectly happy cruising at 75 mph, where it would have an 90 mile range using thunder sky 400 amp hour batteries. Range with mixed driving would be over 150 miles. Conversion cost will be around $40,000 because of the cost of the batteries. You could always use smaller batteries and save money while sacrificing range. It's really up to you, I'm just telling you how to get the best possible car.
3. Umm, don't? The car is too big to run with any reasonable efficiency on electricity. A Yugo or Geo or even a small toyota would be a much better option.
4. you can do it but to work properly you need to lose the weight of metal to get good ratio. its better if the gas motor is connected to an electric generator and that is a big difference. and you must change the wheels axes cause you need electric motors at the end of them. that's a hell of a 4 wheel drive you'll have! it will run much more whit just a gallon
5. don't go for conversion by a new car because its a big and heavy car there isn't any motor available to properly power this vehicle.