Ok I'm buying a second fiero from a junkyard, its repairable but the engine may have seized up. That being the case I'm pretty set on making it an electric vehicle. I'm looking for information and advice, I also have questions, which electric motor is most energy efficient but can still run at 70mph, which battery pack would last longest with the need to be replaced, are there, for lack of a better term, plug-n-play battery packs so I can carry a spare pack if needed, is it better to keep the 3 speed automatic or ditch it? These questions and any other info would be appreciated. I realize electric conversion is expensive and I'm ok with that.
Please only useful info, if you think electric cars suck, that's fine but I don't want to hear it on my thread.
Check out Curtis controllers. The best thing would be find an old electric fork lift, it would have the motor controller and if it's a newer one re-gen braking circuits. Just ditch the lead-acid and go li-on.
The broad power band of electric motors reduces or eliminates the requirement to shift gears while traveling. Torque converters are also not required. Conservation of energy is however a high priority with an EV. Thus retaining the automatic transmission is counterproductive.
A higher efficiency manual transmission is the only way to go if you wish to retain a transmission.
The Fiero is not the lightest frame out there to electrify. I'd consider starting with something else.
Carry a spare battery pack?? If indeed you had a second battery pack along for the ride, why wouldn't you have it hooked up already? Also clearly you don't realize how foolish your idea sounds. 10 car batteries (you will need double that) at 40 lb each means your 'spare' battery pack will weight at least 400 lbs. Not something you are going to keep in the back seat of your Fiero.
You will need to be packing batteries into hard to reach places (gas tank location between the seats) so again that makes the idea of a swappable battery pack unreasonable.
[This message has been edited by phonedawgz (edited 10-11-2014).]
If you can find one, GM did sell some of the S10 EV's to the government, and they pop up for sale once in a while. This would be the ideal drivetrain for an EV Fiero (the EV1 drivetrain). Repair manuals are out there, too.
Building a pack out of lithium cells like the Tesla uses would be interesting. It's been done
Back in the 90's I helped as an advisor at a local community college to build an electric Fiero. If I remember right they bought an adapter plate that connected the electric motor to the manual transmission. They had lead acid batteries everywhere and they weigh a ton. It worked and worked well, but with the advancement in technology today it would pay to go with LioN batteries instead of the Lead Acid ones. It will reduce weight and size along with giving you more power.
The most efficient drive/motor combinations are now AC drives. You can do a google search to find components for this type of swap.
You depending on how good your mechanical skills are can decide to get rid of the current drive train and stick in a regular differential with the motor going up into the gas tank area. There is already one built like that the is extremely fast. 9 second quarter mile fast. You might want to look that one up here on Pennocks.
About 10 years ago there was an electric Fiero displayed at GM/Fieros at Carlisle. I believe that it was built by a man from Pottsville, PA and his son (Back on Holiday???? maybe) was once an avid poster on this forum. In any event I spoke to the owner and he used the car for short 10 mile commutes to work and IIRC the batteries lasted for only 35 miles before recharging became necessary. The car used lead acid golf car traction batteries so it probably weighed a ton. It was an impractical curiosity but it was well built, it did drive but was trailered to the show. Until high capacity deep cycle batteries are developed that are lightweight, powerful, have a high reserve capacity, recharge quickly and are cost effective, it probably doesn't pay to build an electric Fiero. Heck even the Chevy Volt didn't have it right.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Powerlog manifold, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Flotech Afterburner Exhaust, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
I watched something about this on television yesterday about a racing Miata . I must say I was amazed.
Quote: Metric’s Miata ran a newly-installed 333-volt lithium-ion battery pack with two Zilla controllers and a park of forklift motors driving the rear wheels. While the team initially planned to only run 900 amps down the track, Metric raised the power level to 1100 amps, intent on flexing his new battery pack.
And flex he did, ripping off an incredible 9.12 second quarter mile at a blistering 145 mph. That parachute ain’t just for looks people. Incredible, Metric laid down a 1.3 second 60-foot time, and the 9.12 second run was enough to set a new NEDRA XS/A2 class record. This is one of the fastest production-body electric cars out there, and there’s still plenty of juice left to play with.
It won’t be long now before John Metric and his electric Miata make a run for the 8s.
I have been drooling over this idea for a while. I hope some day to have the budget to do this to my 88 formula. Still seems high priced to get performance and distance but check out the link below. Also, they use 18650 cells just like tesla and claim to be able to make your battery any size and shape. They also have range extenders that fit in the spare tire well and charge as you drive. Manual trans is a must and I think the Fiero is a perfect platform even tho its slightly on the heavy side. Look at some of the HP and TQ numbers of these pakages!
Google hybrid fiero or 2900 challenge. He used the S10 EV to drive the front wheels. He also used some Prius batteries.
A while back someone did an electric Fiero with lead-acid batteries, but that required suspension and brake upgrades and even cooling for the batteries. Besides not being needed even a manual transmission is hard to shift without the sound of the engine as a cue.
If I were doing this I would minimize the batteries, i.e. just enough for my longest trip on a cold or hot day (assuming A/C). If you're not trying to sell it to people what do you care how far it can go, as long as it's convenient for you? Less batteries means less cost and weight.
It seems to me the way to go would be more hybrid. Put an electric motor in place of the transaxle and mount a generator in the left over space. The motor and controller would be the hardest part. Controlling the speed of an electric motor used to be a big problem, but now there are controllers readily available for several hundred dollars new. They use them like candy at work. They're about the size of a miniature speaker box.
You could also use hydraulic or air motors from industrial equipment like forklifts. Maybe you could put an engine driven compressor in the engine compartment and use an air motor to drive the transaxle. The tank would be your battery. All you need to do is mount and plumb. Now you got me thinking....
If we wait a few minutes someone will do the calculations. Am I right?
