Q: How fast will it go?

A: I have finally come far enough along to answer this. The top speed is 54 mph. This is limited mainly by the fact that it is a 72 volt system. Keep in mind, this is the top speed which can only be achieved on flat ground with plenty of time and generally should not be taken to this speed. 45 mph should be considered the top speed to expect to drive in regular traffic. The steep hills in the Kennedale area (where I live) are also a problem and can easily drop the speed to 30 mph or below until you reach the crest. Smaller hills in Neighboring Arlington area are not a problem. Accelleration is slow and full throttle will accellerate the car about how you were taught in driver's ed class in a gas car, where they told you to pretend you have an egg between your foot and the gas pedal. Do keep in mind that this is not indicative of all electric cars, just mine and other 72-volt or less systems.

Q: How far will it go on a charge?

A:I have never tested this completely. The more I drive it, the more I'll be able to answer this question. Currently, it appears my daily commute of 14 miles brings the car just about to 50% depth-of-discharge. This is pretty much right where I want to be. On occasion, I could probably drive it 20 miles if neccessary, which would drop it down to 80% discharged.

Q: How long does it take to recharge?

A:When the car is drained to 50%, it takes about 3.25 hours to completely top it off. However, I use smart-chargers so the majority of the recharging takes place during the first hour. So if I get home from my daily drive to work and my daughter's school, I can plug it in for an hour or so and go do some more errands around town if I need to.

Q: Can you recharge at work?

A:I have asked the big boss about it in an email, but have yet to receive an answer. It won't be neccessary as I designed the car to at least meet my daily round-trip needs. But recharging at work would prolong my battery life and allow me to go other places after work instead of straight home. Also once I get an electric heater, power steering, power brakes, etc. These comforts may eat my batteries more. I will design them to be switched on and off as needed, but I'll feel more comfortable turning them on if I know I can recharge at work.

Q: How can you shift without a clutch?

A: I get this a lot. Remember that a clutch is only neccessary in a gas engine for two reasons. Reason #1 - The engine has to keep idling when the car comes to a stop. Reason #2 - The engine creates drag and binds the gears up when trying to shift. Both of these problems are solved with an electric motor. The motor can come to a stop when the car stops, and the motor will spin freely when not engaged. Changing gears is easy without a clutch, just let off of the accellerator pedal.

Q: Does your car have air-conditioning?

A: Originally, it was going to have it. However, the A/C system in the car was dead when I got it and I would have had to troubleshoot the leaking refridgerant and other repairs before I could even begin to convert it to electric. I decided just to remove all A/C equipment from the car since I work so close to home, it isn't really neccessary. Based on my hot Summer experience with my gas-powered car, it is cool in the mornings and the vent or the windows is sufficient. In the evenings, the car is usually so hot that I have to roll the windows down. I live so close that usually by the time the car's A/C can start to cool it down, I'm already home.

Q: Will your car have a heater?

A: I do plan to investigate putting an electric heater in the car. Since the car will be garaged, a heater isn't terribly neccessary, but it also shouldn't be that difficult to add one. In fact, it would be much easier than adding air-conditioning. A heater is sort of useful for defrosting the windshield. I may also look into carrying a hair-dryer in the car duing the winter and running it from the 72-volt pack for emergency situations.

Q: You have no engine vacuum, What about Power Brakes?

A: I have purchased a small electric vacuum pump that automatically switches on if more vacuum is needed. At the time of this writing, it hasn't been installed yet. But the problem is one of the easier things to solve. I have driven the car several times without power brakes, and I can stop the car, but it requires a lot of pressure from my foot. Stopping in an emergency might present a dangerous situation.. So power brakes will be installed for sure.

Q: What about Power Steering?

A:Believe it or not, after the front was made lighter and the tires pumped up to 44 psi, steering the car is very easy. Maybe a little stiffer than a car with power steering, but it isn't hard to steer. It is definitely stiff when the car is setting still, but I can still steer it without much trouble. Nevertheless, I am working on a power steering system from a small 24V scooter motor. It will couple directly to the power steering pump and drive it. I will install a switch under the stereo system which will allow me to turn it on and off.

Q: What? No DC-DC converter for you?

A: Those converters are expensive (usually several hundred Dollars) and I didn't see the need. I have a 12V AGM battery that runs the lights and accessories. It is recharged seperately from the main pack with a 12V charger. The way I see it, with my limited range, the main traction battery would give up well before the accessory battery will. Also, I've bought LED lights to replace all the usual lights (except headlights) so that really brought the power-drain down.

Q: Why did you go with a 72 volt system, everyone else uses 120 - 144 volts!

A: This was mainly done for two reasons. As I mentioned before, the intention of this car was in-city driving, not highway driving. The extra voltage will give higher speeds. Also, that would require going with a motor and controller that are considerably more expensive than what I used. So I saved several thousand Dollars by going with a 72 volt system.

Q: Why don't you add an extra battery? Your controller can handle up to 84V!

A: Adding an extra battery wouldn't help that much. In fact, there is only a slight noticeable difference when I am operating the car on 48V, which I have done several times. But the main reasons are because 1) I'd have to build an entirely new battery rack in the rear. and 2) I'd need to find a new charger, because my chargers are smart-chargers and they are designed to operate at the exact voltage of my pack. And one more thing - When my batteries are fully charged, the pack operates at 78V. If I add another 8V battery, I'd be running at over 86V. I don't think my controller would like that being that its max is 84V.

Q: Why didn't you use Lithium Ion or Ni-Mh batteries? They are so much better!

A: I won't argue with that, they are better. But it all comes down to price. I saved several thousand Dollars by going with lead-acid batteries. It was hard to justify $12,000 for a battery-pack on a car that only cost $750 to begin with.

Q: How heavy is your car now?

A: I haven't officially weighed it. However, with the new drive-train and 3 batteries up front, the front of the car should be about the same weight it was when it was a gas car. The cargo area will probably be about 300 lbs heavier than it used to be, which is well within spec for the car. However, should I ever want to add more batteries, I would probably need to modify the suspension to handle the extra weight.

Q: Wow! Your motor is very small, how powerful is it?

A: It is true that my motor is much smaller than all of the other EVs I've looked at under the hood. However, it has plenty of torque to move the car. My main limitation for speed is my low voltage (72 volts) not the size of my motor. Again, this was a cost consideration because this motor cost $800, whereas most people spend about $2,500 on a motor. However, in retrospect I wish I had gone with a slightly larger motor, with about 30% more power than this one. This would probably help some when climbing steep hills.

Q: Why are you using two seperate chargers?

A: The front 3 batteries (24 volts together) are responsible for operating the main contactor coil and the power steering. These things don't draw enough power to significantly reduce my range, but over time they would cause an unbalanced battery pack. When I looked at buying a seperate 24V charger for the front and a 48V charger for the rear, I discovered it was actually cheaper this way than buying a single 72 Volt charger. So, it just made sense to me. Incidently, if you include the little charger for the 12V battery, it really has 3 chargers.

Q: Why not remove the back seat, then you could fit a lot more batteries?

A: One could definatly do that. However, one of my original design goals was that me and my wife and daughter would be able to get into the car and go places. That means I must have a rear seat. I have sacrificed about 70% of the cargo area when viewed top-down. However, I plan on designing a carpeted covering for the batteries that will allow me to stack things on top, such as groceries and stuff. So the cargo area will still have some usefullness. After all, if the car can't be used for family activities, then I'll be having to use the gas car, and won't save any money on gas.

Q: Won't you spend a lot of money on electricity?

A: I'm sure my electric bill will go up. But it shouldn't be anywhere near as much as I'd spend on gas for my daily commute. However, with this particular kind of setup, I won't be saving a fortune in gas because once you calculate in the battery replacements every 3 to 4 years and the electricity, it about evens out.

Q: So if it isn't saving you a bunch of money, why do it?

A: I like to build things. Besides that, there are numerous advantages. Lets start with the fact that I never have to take a trip to the gas station anymore. Don't forget the zero-emmisions, I won't be polluting anymore. It should be more reliable than a gas car, and even if it breaks, repair will be much easier and simpler. But I think the most important reason is that it is just cool. - (update) - Let me clarify something here. I'm not personally saving money because I already have a gasoline car that works just fine, and because I only drive 14 miles per day. However, if I were going out to purchase a $6,000 car, and I picked the EV over the gas, then that would be different. Also, if I drove more than 14 miles per day the high cost of gasoline would be much more offset. So driving an EV definatly can save somebody money, just not me.

Stupid Questions I get Asked often..

Q: Why don't you put a generator or alternator on it so you can recharge the car while it is driving? (or add windmills, etc..)

A: Yes, believe it or not, I get asked this question a lot. They are not talking about regenerative breaking either. I hear "Toyota Prius" as part of this question a lot. THis comes from a general misunderstanding of how the Prius generates its power. First and foremost, all of the Prius's power comes from gasoline. That is why the system can generate power to make electricity, to use later when needed. An electric car like mine would need to exert force from the batteries to compensate for the extra drag of an alternator, windmill, etc. In the end, it would use more power than it would generate. There is no logic in this, except for flawed logic. Have I tried it? No. I don't have to. After all, if it worked, then we'd all have free energy and everybody would be driving electric cars that never needed to be charged. And the laws of physics would have to be re-written.

Q: Aren't you just moving the pollution to the power plant?

A: Yes I am. But not all power plants make pollution, as much of our power is nuclear, and more and more is comming from renewable sources. Even so, the efficiency of an electric car is much greater than gasoline. Not only in production but in transportation to my vehicle (over the power grid, vs. in an 18-wheeler with a tank on the back) So I am generating far less pollution than your gas powered car, even your nice hybrid. It is also easier to control pollution at one source than at thousands of them.

A: Water isn't really a very good conducter of electricity, despite what you may have heard. This is especially true of rainwater as it has no salt or other electrolytes in it. The only component in the car that is even at risk is the electric motor itself, but the fear isn't of shorting out, rather the risk of rusting internally.

A:My stereo is just using regular 6x9 speakers. No sub-woofers, no amplifiers, etc. The amount of power it draws is inconsequential, as well as it is operating from the 12V system which is a seperate battery from the drive train.

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