Converting an ICE to an EV

[ThosEM]

Here's an idea that's taking root in my mind: pick out an ICE car that you wish was electric and *make it so*. It won't be as easy as ordering a Tesla online, and may take nearly as long to complete, but imagine the good it will do to support independent conversion shops that can tackle converting most any vehicle.

 

[daniel]

Here's an idea that's taking root in my mind: pick out an ICE car that you wish was electric and *make it so*. It won't be as easy as ordering a Tesla online, and may take nearly as long to complete, but imagine the good it will do to support independent conversion shops that can tackle converting most any vehicle.

This was the only way to get an electric car for a very long time. Nissan pretty much killed backyard EV conversions by offering a car that by any possible metric was far better than any conversion car, for a fraction of the price. Before the Leaf, before the Tesla Roadster, I tried to go that route, and it was a disaster, as the conversion shop (which seemed to have good references) effectively destroyed the car, turning it into a death trap and with a damaged battery pack to boot.

If you have the skills to do the conversion yourself, and if this kind of work is your idea of fun, go for it and have fun. But you are not going to end up with a car that can hold a candle to the value:cost ratio you'll get with any EV on the market from any established car maker today.

 

[augkuo]

If you liked your Acura, why not the Honda EV roadster?

Honda Teases New Electric Sports Car Concept for Tokyo

 

[daniel]

If you liked your Acura, why not the Honda EV roadster?

Honda Teases New Electric Sports Car Concept for Tokyo

Maybe because it doesn't exist! And who is the above comment addressed to? My post was immediately above yours, and I've never owned an Acura. If the Honda EV Roadster actually existed, which it does not, and if I was in the market for another Roadster, which I am not, and if the price was competitive, which we don't know, then I would certainly look at and consider it.

 

[ecarfan]

That is a shockingly ugly concept car. I find it nearly incomprehensible that Honda will ever offer for sale anything that looks like that.

If you liked your Acura, why not the Honda EV roadster?

Honda Teases New Electric Sports Car Concept for Tokyo

 

[augkuo]

Maybe because it doesn't exist! And who is the above comment addressed to? My post was immediately above yours, and I've never owned an Acura. If the Honda EV Roadster actually existed, which it does not, and if I was in the market for another Roadster, which I am not, and if the price was competitive, which we don't know, then I would certainly look at and consider it.

That was for the OP sorry -

 

[daniel]

That is a shockingly ugly concept car. I find it nearly incomprehensible that Honda will ever offer for sale anything that looks like that.

I don't much care what a car looks like (though I do like the looks of my Roadster). What I do care about is that it actually exists. I'm sick and tired of "concept cars" that never go anywhere. When I was driving my Zap Xebra, which I loved, but which was dreadfully underpowered, taking about half a minute to accelerate from zero to 35 mph, which was its top speed, Zap announced a car called the Obvio. Keep in mind, this was before the Tesla Roadster. The Obvio was going to be this really cute little all-electric sports car. I thought the pictures of it looked like the car Roger Rabbit would have driven, and I really wanted one. Of course, it was never made.

Spare me all these stupid concept cars.

 

[gregd]

Maybe because it doesn't exist! And who is the above comment addressed to? My post was immediately above yours, and I've never owned an Acura. If the Honda EV Roadster actually existed, which it does not, and if I was in the market for another Roadster, which I am not, and if the price was competitive, which we don't know, then I would certainly look at and consider it.

So I have owned an Acura, but that doesn't make me want this concept any more than it would otherwise. Which is to say that I would not. It's like all the other concept cars with laughingly cartoon-ish features (headlights, esp). Why do they all do that? The VW bus is similar. Really, guys?

 

[Merrill]

So far the only company that makes a nice looking bev is Tesla, not sure why BMW, MBZ, Toyota and all the others choose ugly designs for there electric cars. Why not take the BMW 3 series and use that design or use the Chevy Cruze body. Someone told me that they purposely want there all electric cars to stand out so when you drive it you know it is electric, not sure I buy that excuse. Or maybe they really do not want people to buy them!

 

[ecarfan]

. Someone told me that they purposely want there all electric cars to stand out so when you drive it you know it is electric, not sure I buy that excuse. Or maybe they really do not want people to buy them!

I think it’s both of those explanations.

 

[plug]

Here's an idea that's taking root in my mind: pick out an ICE car that you wish was electric and *make it so*. It won't be as easy as ordering a Tesla online, and may take nearly as long to complete, but imagine the good it will do to support independent conversion shops that can tackle converting most any vehicle.

I would love to have my old BMW M3 converted into a performance electric car, but I'd want a turnkey installation. If anyone knows a shop that would do it, please let me know.

 

[daniel]

I would love to have my old BMW M3 converted into a performance electric car, but I'd want a turnkey installation. If anyone knows a shop that would do it, please let me know.

You're not going to get a performance car conversion for less money than you could buy a Performance Model S. Because of economies of scale, Tesla (and other car makers) can get the components so much cheaper than you can, and frankly, you're not likely to find a shop that can turn out the quality of work that a car maker can. To my pain, I can tell you that there are shops that will destroy your car in the process of converting it into a very sub-standard EV.

Getting performance out of an electric car requires a very large battery, very sophisticated components, and electronic management. You're not going to get that from a conversion shop. For not terribly much money you can convert an old junker into an EV with 20 miles of range and a top speed of 50 mph that'll do zero to 30 in ten seconds or so. Before the Nissan Leaf, there were people all over the place making these sorts of conversions. But if you want performance, stick with Tesla. They know how to do it right.

 

[ecarfan]

But if you want performance, stick with Tesla. They know how to do it right.

Not just performance; also reliability.

 

[ecarfan]

But if you want performance, stick with Tesla. They know how to do it right.

Not just performance; also reliability.

 

[daniel]

Not just performance; also reliability.

Yeah. I mentioned quality earlier in the same post.

 

[plug]

You're not going to get a performance car conversion for less money than you could buy a Performance Model S. Because of economies of scale, Tesla (and other car makers) can get the components so much cheaper than you can, and frankly, you're not likely to find a shop that can turn out the quality of work that a car maker can. To my pain, I can tell you that there are shops that will destroy your car in the process of converting it into a very sub-standard EV.

Getting performance out of an electric car requires a very large battery, very sophisticated components, and electronic management. You're not going to get that from a conversion shop. For not terribly much money you can convert an old junker into an EV with 20 miles of range and a top speed of 50 mph that'll do zero to 30 in ten seconds or so. Before the Nissan Leaf, there were people all over the place making these sorts of conversions. But if you want performance, stick with Tesla. They know how to do it right.

That's a very thorough reply - thanks for the great info. I'll wait for a Model 3 and/or Roadster.

 

[ThosEM]

This was the only way to get an electric car for a very long time. Nissan pretty much killed backyard EV conversions by offering a car that by any possible metric was far better than any conversion car, for a fraction of the price. Before the Leaf, before the Tesla Roadster, I tried to go that route, and it was a disaster, as the conversion shop (which seemed to have good references) effectively destroyed the car, turning it into a death trap and with a damaged battery pack to boot.

If you have the skills to do the conversion yourself, and if this kind of work is your idea of fun, go for it and have fun. But you are not going to end up with a car that can hold a candle to the value:cost ratio you'll get with any EV on the market from any established car maker today.

I have to confess to some misgivings about the quality of what would result. On the other hand I don’t really see an alternative that will get me a car comparable to my BMW 328i hardtop cabriolet, at a price I can afford. The new roadster will be way more car than I need, want, or can afford. I’d love to have something like the Jaguar E Tyoe Zero, without its delicacy and age, which converting my current car would get me, if succssful.

Maybe Tesla could get greater market penetration by delivering conversion kits to the aftermarket conversion shops? I’d buy into that in a minute...

 

[daniel]

I have to confess to some misgivings about the quality of what would result. On the other hand I don’t really see an alternative that will get me a car comparable to my BMW 328i hardtop cabriolet, at a price I can afford. The new roadster will be way more car than I need, want, or can afford. I’d love to have something like the Jaguar E Tyoe Zero, without its delicacy and age, which converting my current car would get me, if succssful.

Maybe Tesla could get greater market penetration by delivering conversion kits to the aftermarket conversion shops? I’d buy into that in a minute...

I think you'd find that converting your BMW to electric would cost a lot more than buying a new Tesla Model S, that your conversion would have a small fraction of the range and power, and that your conversion would handle nothing like it did before the conversion. And depending on the conversion shop, you are likely to find that you lose a lot of features that were controlled by the computer that formerly also controlled the engine. In short, the end result would be a pale ghost of what the car had been, and would cost more than a brand new Tesla Model S.

There's no way Tesla would sell conversion kits. For one thing, a kit would have to be individualized for each kind of car unless it was just a pile of loose batteries plus a motor and controller. For another, there's just too small a market, since Tesla can build cars cheaper than conversion shops could make the conversions. And for another, there might be liability issues when the conversion shop makes changes to the car that make it unsafe, as happened when I tried to get a car converted (before the Roadster was available).

Backyard conversion shops led the way. The big auto makers have displaced them. And the cars those shops made were pretty pathetic compared to what you can buy now from Nissan, not to mention Tesla. Typically 20 miles of range and less acceleration than a VW Bug.

 

[Canuck]

I would love to have my old BMW M3 converted into a performance electric car, but I'd want a turnkey installation. If anyone knows a shop that would do it, please let me know.

That's what Tesla is doing, except they scraped the BMW part.

If anyone can take an ICE and turn it into a long range EV, for cheaper than the price of a Model 3 for, I would sure be surprised. The aftermarket batteries alone would eat up a ton of the costs. Then to try to make a performance after market one? -- good luck.

 

[ThosEM]

I think you'd find that converting your BMW to electric would cost a lot more than buying a new Tesla Model S, that your conversion would have a small fraction of the range and power, and that your conversion would handle nothing like it did before the conversion. And depending on the conversion shop, you are likely to find that you lose a lot of features that were controlled by the computer that formerly also controlled the engine. In short, the end result would be a pale ghost of what the car had been, and would cost more than a brand new Tesla Model S.

Backyard conversion shops led the way. The big auto makers have displaced them. And the cars those shops made were pretty pathetic compared to what you can buy now from Nissan, not to mention Tesla. Typically 20 miles of range and less acceleration than a VW Bug.

Now you're losing credibility. The Jaguar E Type Zero lost 50 kg compared with the original, got 170 miles range, and dropped a half second off it's 0-100 kph time. There's a guy here in the DC area who converted a BMW Z3 with pretty good results. Photos here: Conversion – BMW Z3 | Electric Vehicle Association of Greater Washington, DC

A new Model S would not be a convertible and I already have one so, that's a nonstarter. I also have Model 3 on order, but it's for my daughter and also is not a convertible. The old roadster is too small for us six footers, and the new roadster will be too expensive for us mortals, so I really see little choice but to do it ourselves.

Please do alert me to any electric convertibles that you spot as being available.