Electric Saturn Test
2,102
Published 2009-10-24
This is a dry run test of the electric drivetrain and the first time the motor has sat in the car. The motor is positioned where it has to be, but is only resting on the frame right now. The transaxle is bolted down to sort of hold things together. The wooden adapter plate and hokey bolts are temporary, but seem to work well enough. The 10ga wires being used to power the motor are also temporary, but I had some fun before filming and they never even got slightly warm.
The transmission no longer has a clutch and the shifting shown here is done completely with the synchos. Very surprised how easy it was. Just push - wait - clunk. Not even a hint of grinding.
CV shafts and support bearing on the right hand side all run smooth so the test is a success. I also turned the wheels from side to side and all was well (not shown here though).
Now I can start planning the mounts to support the motor, and also the final battery box to eventually complete the project.
Donor Vehicle is a base model 1996 saturn SL1 4door sedan. The motor is a brushless DC rated at a little over 50 Hp peak, and the car will be powered by a 30kwh lithium battery (LiFePO4). Hoping for 100 miles per charge on the highway. We shall see!
All Comments (4)
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Nice progress on the car. Glad to see the setup works!
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Thanks Guys I wouldn't recommend using a plywood adapter plate for more than testing, but now I'm curious to see how strong it really is. I might try and figure out a way of putting it under load just to see if it would hold. That would be too funny! The climate is too wet for wood to be used in my car though. It wouldn't last even if it was strong enough and I want this to be an all weather/medium range EV.
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The video showed a chinese motor and controller. Motor was ~10" diameter and weighed 130lbs. Top speed was 60~65 MPH with 20kw of power. I'm now running a warP 9" motor (~160lbs) with Soliton Jr controller and can pass 80 MPH with 35kw of power. A tahoe is not an easy vehicle to convert due to the size, shape and weight. You need a lot of power to get that truck up to speed and keep it there. How fast and far do you want to go? A warP 13" might have the power but the battery would be pricy.
