Model LS V8

[TesTowne]

How do you intend on "tune-ing" a Tesla?

Above and beyond the fact that an LS4, a Trans, and a Diff wont fit, just straight up its not going to fit... if you can get it to fit you'll encounter such issues as:

Weight distribution, an LS4 + transmission weighs more than the front unit that comes in D variants
Say you do get it in, you'll need a way to free hub the front like an AWD truck so your rear motor isnt pushing your v8 around
Cabin noise. You're going to put side pipes and their associated resonance inside a literal tin can. Enjoy that

I don't have enough time to list the ways that trying to get tesla's firm&software to interact with a foreign engine wouldn't work.

All in, I'd bet you 30k you CANT do it for 30k. What do I think its worth? Nothing because it would be incredibly unserviceable, there are maybe a handful of people outside of Tesla who are capable of doing what you're asking to do. I'd be a slave to whoever built or helped build it.

Your post was fun to think about, but you keep coming back to fight the nay-sayers and all I see when you respond to a post is "i dont actually understand teslas inner workings, but thats ok i have 30k and a dream." Good luck I guess.

I can tune the LS4 in the Tesla.

An LS4 is a compact FWD package that should fit nicely in between the strut towers. I've done the research. Feel free to do your own and prove me wrong.

How much are you willing to bet? To be fair I should let you know that I have rebuilt 60 in my driveway that is nearly done and I have about $12k total into it.

I'm betting I know more about the internal workings of a Tesla than you!

That being said, you are not contributing anything constructive or any facts. Just speculation. Naysayer you are.

 

[Zuikkis]

Wouldn't it be easier to start from a RWD Tesla? You could add the LS4 to front and keep most of Tesla systems untouched.

 

[wooter]

How much are you willing to bet?

All in, I'd bet you 30k you CANT do it for 30k.

This is basic reading comprehension.

 

[TesTowne]

Wouldn't it be easier to start from a RWD Tesla? You could add the LS4 to front and keep most of Tesla systems untouched.

I thought about that, but then I would have to replace the front frame rails to accommodate drive train. That's all there for a front wheel drive. I'm pretty sure I can hack the a D drive Tesla into thinking it's a single drive

 

[TesTowne]

This is basic reading comprehension.

Ah, lets see. Insults, speculation, and negativity. Sorry if I'm really not digging into your replies.

 

[demundus]

I can tune the LS4 in the Tesla.

An LS4 is a compact FWD package that should fit nicely in between the strut towers. I've done the research. Feel free to do your own and prove me wrong.

How much are you willing to bet? To be fair I should let you know that I have rebuilt 60 in my driveway that is nearly done and I have about $12k total into it.

I'm betting I know more about the internal workings of a Tesla than you!

That being said, you are not contributing anything constructive or any facts. Just speculation. Naysayer you are.

Naysayer I am, I've been around this for quite awhile. You conveniently glossed over how you'd tune the TESLA, not the LS4. Tuning the LS4 is easy, tuning the Tesla to work with or even around the LS4 is likely impossible.

Fit and weight are a different issue. Where does the trans sit? How do you plan on getting the converter to put power to the front wheels? What axle are you going to use that has the same stance and can hold the weight of a tesla? I don't need to research anything, I know it can't be done without extensive custom fabrication and even then you're rolling the dice that the cars systems would work together.

What do you mean "rebuilt"? 12k into a rebuild is nothing, thats like a door skin a hood a bumper and some paint. Ever dropped the battery? Do you have access to toolbox or someone who can root and provide you toolbox?

Unfortunately your post reads like a teenager, so I'm not sure how serious you really are. I could tell you endless facts about the workings of this vehicle, I've been dealing with the nightmare that is my 2013 Tesla for far too long. I've had it apart countless times, bricked in my garage for weeks, 3+ DU failures, rooted for many years, door handles, DCDC converters, a T-bone wreck, machined my own arms to correct rear camber. I'd trust maybe 3-4 people on the planet currently to do a swap like you're talking about, one of them is doing HALF of it on youtube already. The other person did the other half (gas to tesla EV).

I don't believe what you want to do is feasible. So by all means, go do it and stop asking what people would pay for it.

 

[ElectricIAC]

Wouldn't it be easier to start from a RWD Tesla? You could add the LS4 to front and keep most of Tesla systems untouched.

Hybrid Tesla. I like it.

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

You don't have any confidence problems do you? You and I are both speculating here, but I believe you are wrong. Granted there will have to be some calibration with the throttle, but I believe the both systems will see this as nothing more than accelerating down a steep hill, and react accordingly. Our a steep hill in recharge mode.

If you have anything besides speculation to back up your point, I would love to hear it.

F / R you need balance in TC or it will think it's spinning on one end and you'll just need to pull stability and ABS fuse. probably would take car of that issue. but then it's a 60D? so you'll have a heavy car with weak rear power compared to the front. so it'll be terrible balance. get an old Prius if you want that

 

[TesTowne]

F / R you need balance in TC or it will think it's spinning on one end and you'll just need to pull stability and ABS fuse. probably would take car of that issue. but then it's a 60D? so you'll have a heavy car with weak rear power compared to the front. so it'll be terrible balance. get an old Prius if you want that

Well, I really think traction control on the ICE is going to be manual. Which sounds like fun to be honest. I've considered that the Tesla system might give more power to the rear wheels if senses the front wheels spinning faster. That could be interesting! I think the stability control will simply act on the gyro and acceleration and be fine.

 

[wws]

Sounds like an episode of "Roadkill Garage". Where are Freiburger and Dulcich?

 

[TesTowne]

I've traveled 1,000 miles in a day in my Model S 85 several times. 400 miles in a day is easy.

Yea, it's possible, but again, I don't like being tethered to a charger. It's not just the time to charge its also the time to get to and from a supercharger. 1000 miles doesn't even seem possible.

 

[ElectricIAC]

Yea, it's possible, but again, I don't like being tethered to a charger. It's not just the time to charge its also the time to get to and from a supercharger. 1000 miles doesn't even seem possible.

1K miles is a piece of cake in a Tesla.

 

[DavidB]

The key to long distance traveling in an electric car is to NOT charge the car to full at every stop. Only charge enough to reach the next charger (with a small margin extra).

 

[dannycamps]

Yea, it's possible, but again, I don't like being tethered to a charger. It's not just the time to charge its also the time to get to and from a supercharger. 1000 miles doesn't even seem possible.

What about something akin to the Voltec powertrain where the purpose of the gas engine is primarily to spin a generator to put power back into the batteries once they are depleted? The gas engine could also power/drive the wheels directly if needed but it's not the primary purpose.

 

[DavidB]

What about something akin to the Voltec powertrain where the purpose of the gas engine is primarily to spin a generator to put power back into the batteries once they are depleted? The gas engine could also power/drive the wheels directly if needed but it's not the primary purpose.

Powering a generator would be doable! Don't even try to connect the gas engine to the wheels—just generate electricity. In fact, I think this concept has already been done (towing a generator behind the Tesla).

 

[TesTowne]

What about something akin to the Voltec powertrain where the purpose of the gas engine is primarily to spin a generator to put power back into the batteries once they are depleted? The gas engine could also power/drive the wheels directly if needed but it's not the primary purpose.

I thought about that, but I think Teslas systems wouldnt like the additional power being added to the system. The voltec system rarely drives the wheels, so you are limited to the power of the electric motor. The volt could've been a much quicker car if the ICE drive the wheels directly all the time.

 

[TesTowne]

Powering a generator would be doable! Don't even try to connect the gas engine to the wheels—just generate electricity. In fact, I think this concept has already been done (towing a generator behind the Tesla).

If this actually powers the car while driving, I would be very interested as to how they did it.

 

[gavine]

Yea, it's possible, but again, I don't like being tethered to a charger. It's not just the time to charge its also the time to get to and from a supercharger. 1000 miles doesn't even seem possible.

While I applaud your courage to take-on this project and jealous that you have the means to do it, it sounds like time is very valuable to you. They say "time is money". How about you pay yourself an hourly wage whenever you have to sit at a charger. At $100/hour, the $30K project cost would afford you 300 hours of charge time which is about 75,000 miles. Now, add the time you'll be spending on the project (500 hours?) That's another 125,000 miles. And this would only be for long trips where you need to supercharge.

On the 400 miles in one day, if you start with a full charge, you should only need to supercharge for 15 to 20 minutes to complete the round trip.

In summary, the project sounds fun, but the justification around time spent charging is not there. Range anxiety really isn't a thing with Tesla. Maybe before you own the car, but once you have it, the anxiety goes-away very quickly.

 

[TesTowne]

While I applaud your courage to take-on this project and jealous that you have the means to do it, it sounds like time is very valuable to you. They say "time is money". How about you pay yourself an hourly wage whenever you have to sit at a charger. At $100/hour, the $30K project cost would afford you 300 hours of charge time which is about 75,000 miles. Now, add the time you'll be spending on the project (500 hours?) That's another 125,000 miles. And this would only be for long trips where you need to supercharge.

On the 400 miles in one day, if you start with a full charge, you should only need to supercharge for 15 to 20 minutes to complete the round trip.

In summary, the project sounds fun, but the justification around time spent charging is not there. Range anxiety really isn't a thing with Tesla. Maybe before you own the car, but once you have it, the anxiety goes-away very quickly.

It's not just the charging time, it's the time getting to the charger. And if im going out of my way 45 minutes for a charger, I'm gonna get a full charge. For me to cover 400 miles a day in an 85 would likely be 1.5 hours out of my way and 1.5 hours of charging at least. That's assuming I drive nicely.

There are many advantages here. Cold weather driving. Redundant drive systems. Convenience. Performance. Tunable. Possible increase of top speed. Constant power. 800 mile range. Shock and awe at superchargers. Annoying all the EV purists out there.

The list goes on and on.

 

[father_of_6]

I think you've got this all wrong. Get home charging.