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EV tech for the future

Agree, no way that batteries can match gas in volume or weight. But I can't help but wonder how much gas a trail rig uses sitting still and waiting.
Have you read about graphene batteries?

If it comes to fruition there will be a lot more electric cars in driveways. BUT, i dont think our grid is capable of the instantaneous draws these batteries charging will do.

Multiple articles liken them to a cross between a supercapacitor and a battery. Ive reading updates about it for a few years now.

Also in for the read.

I want to convert a classic to electric but i feel like we are in the 1980s light duty diesel era for electrics (think buick diesel)
 
Have you read about graphene batteries?

If it comes to fruition there will be a lot more electric cars in driveways. BUT, i dont think our grid is capable of the instantaneous draws these batteries charging will do.

Multiple articles liken them to a cross between a supercapacitor and a battery. Ive reading updates about it for a few years now.

Also in for the read.

I want to convert a classic to electric but i feel like we are in the 1980s light duty diesel era for electrics (think buick diesel)
I have. All the new battery stuff, whether graphene, carbon nanotube, air based, seem to be "just a few more years."
 
I have. All the new battery stuff, whether graphene, carbon nanotube, air based, seem to be "just a few more years."
ill agree

I remember about 15 years back they figured out how to make diesel from shit coal, the coal nobody will use. And im gonna guess that it was too expensive on a large scale but it never came to fruition.

I have seen some small graphen batteries or hybrids on a small scale.

But i seem to remember in a article a year or so back talking about how the thought was the battery could take any shape, so you could make components like the base floor of vehicle the actually battery instead of a skid like is in most electrics now. With them being no volatile like LI are its seems like you would get a carbon fiber-esk battery...
 
ill agree

I remember about 15 years back they figured out how to make diesel from shit coal, the coal nobody will use. And im gonna guess that it was too expensive on a large scale but it never came to fruition.

I have seen some small graphen batteries or hybrids on a small scale.

But i seem to remember in a article a year or so back talking about how the thought was the battery could take any shape, so you could make components like the base floor of vehicle the actually battery instead of a skid like is in most electrics now. With them being no volatile like LI are its seems like you would get a carbon fiber-esk battery...
I've seen some batteries that have graphene in them for sale in the last few years, but I don't think I have seen any graphene based ones yet.

I haven't seen anything about any shape, but it makes sense that they are trying for it. I have seen that they are trying to develop structural batteries with not much success.

Either way, this stuff is all still in the lab and is not feasible for anyone with any sort of budget.
 
I've seen some batteries that have graphene in them for sale in the last few years, but I don't think I have seen any graphene based ones yet.

I haven't seen anything about any shape, but it makes sense that they are trying for it. I have seen that they are trying to develop structural batteries with not much success.

Either way, this stuff is all still in the lab and is not feasible for anyone with any sort of budget.
ill agree with all that.

i think electric is the future, but we havent put alot of time into it. just pure harnessing energy from the sun, we are in the teens of productivity on a solar cell and ive seen very few that convert the heat along with the photovoltaic

I think alot of people switch for environmental currently, even though in my area its all coal powered and hydro electric so or its more a localized polution fix but the people buying is pushing the market to innovate and im really excited to see it go further.
 
I am building an electric Land Cruiser 80 series EVJ80. Has a Nissan LEAF motor battery etc and two transfer cases. Will be used for trails, crawling, etc. I don't think range will be very good but it should at least be fun. Will tow it to trailhead.

You can follow me on YouTube I just posted the first episode a few weeks ago but the build is pretty far along now.



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It always seemed to me, the way to build one would be to have a diesel engine run a generator and four seperate "wheel motors". A diesel likes to run at one speed and you could drive in two wheel drive and switch to 4x4 on demand.

That way you have good range. I guess you could have some batteries also for emergency if the motor/generator failed to get off the road or trail.
 
I have some insight and opinions into where electric is going and its practicality as I work at an independent test facility that is getting into EV powertrain testing.

We know how to build electric motors, that's not a problem. We know pretty well how to control them for driver experience. We even have some idea how to make it durable in many conditions. There are a few problems with our "electric future" that the government is pushing though.

1) Battery technology needs another 'leap' to get to the point where they can be charged in under 10 minutes, won't be affected by ambient temperature, has a power density closer to petroleum (read: weight of batteries is closer to weight of similar range of current liquid fuel), and won't cause uncontrollable fires.

2) Coupled with the battery, charging technology needs to make a giant leap to get to the point where recharging is under 10 minutes and power is available within 20 minutes of everywhere.

3) Electrical grid will need to be completely revamped, and production increased 50% or more. Will also need a way to store power closer to the point of use (or even at all as our current grid has 7 seconds of storage capacity, not my number, look it up).

Ultimately, here's what I think.
With current levels of technology, many people in the major population centers roughly south of I70 in the US could switch their commuter over tomorrow, as long as there was a corresponding increase in production and infrastructure in those areas.
I said north of I70 because for 4 months of the year, current battery technology degrades performance and range below 40F. There's also the corrosion issues with the electronics that we haven't fully explored in areas that use salt by the truckload on road surfaces.
3/4 ton and up pickup trucks are not going electric anytime soon, unless they are exclusively used in major cities by contractors or businesses. Medium and heavy-duty trucks will be able to switch over ONLY if they run dedicated routes of under 300mi/day with a consistent off-hour parking space. Also doesn't take into account how rough the driving day that the batteries/motors/wiring may be subjected to.
For an off-road rig-probably okay on private property measured in acres, not square miles, and east of the Mississippi and west of the Sierra Nevada's. Probably a dumb idea if not in the near to medium-term.

Tl;dr- If you have a commute to a fixed point, are a local contractor/business that operates within a certain radius, and the off-use parking area is consistent, then all-electric can make sense in the near to medium-term future. If your criteria doesn't meet the above, then stay away until the technology/electrical production/electric grid improves greatly. If you want to off-road electric do your homework and don't wander the desert with one.

my $0.02
 
I tested my EV Land Cruiser for the first time today. It works!

The posts from yesterday got deleted, so I didn't see if you answered or not, but which leaf motor and battery pack are you using? Google tells me that the first gens came with a 110HP 210FtLbs motor and either a 24 or 30kWhr battery while the second gens had a 147HP 236 FtLbs with a 40kWhr battery or an optional 215HP motor with a 62kWhr battery pack. Also, are you using the built-in ~8:1 gear reduction on the motor, or do you have it directly coupled to the T-case? Seems like your final drive ratio is going to be too low with the differential gearing if you kept the 8:1 reduction, or too high if you removed it unless you are planning on running one of your reduction boxes in low on the street.

I assume you divorced the drivetrain from the motor because it was cheaper and easier than custom building and adapter housing and spud shaft? Where did you mount your batteries? Do you have any idea what theweight difference is from when it was gas-powered?

Also, your crossmember for your forward motor mount looks like it will be dangerously close to your driveshaft at full compression. I look forward to hearing how it performs after you've put some miles on it!
 
The posts from yesterday got deleted, so I didn't see if you answered or not, but which leaf motor and battery pack are you using? Google tells me that the first gens came with a 110HP 210FtLbs motor and either a 24 or 30kWhr battery while the second gens had a 147HP 236 FtLbs with a 40kWhr battery or an optional 215HP motor with a 62kWhr battery pack. Also, are you using the built-in ~8:1 gear reduction on the motor, or do you have it directly coupled to the T-case? Seems like your final drive ratio is going to be too low with the differential gearing if you kept the 8:1 reduction, or too high if you removed it unless you are planning on running one of your reduction boxes in low on the street.

I assume you divorced the drivetrain from the motor because it was cheaper and easier than custom building and adapter housing and spud shaft? Where did you mount your batteries? Do you have any idea what theweight difference is from when it was gas-powered?

Also, your crossmember for your forward motor mount looks like it will be dangerously close to your driveshaft at full compression. I look forward to hearing how it performs after you've put some miles on it!
Yes, yes, and yes, lol. I thought of all this stuff believe it or not :emb: it is first gen 80kw with 2015 24kwh battery. Upgrades in the future after it actually works.

I have a Blackbox-C "doubler" which bolts on to my stock FZJ80 t-case and gives me an additional 2.7:1 reduction. So I have double reduction. Check out the photos that will answer if I kept the LEAF gearbox or not :D. No is the answer. It is direct drive.

Check out the episode I posted, I take it to the certified scales and get an accurate weight of the vehicle stock. I will do it again after the conversion. Subscribe because Episode 2 is coming this week and will answer more of your questions.




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I remember about 15 years back they figured out how to make diesel from shit coal, the coal nobody will use. And im gonna guess that it was too expensive on a large scale but it never came to fruition.

Welcome to WW2, the nazi's made diesel from coal as they had a lot of it and there oil supply chain was weak.
 
Are you concerned about the input rpm into the black box? Leaf motor is capable of 10,000 rpm, and the bearings in the crawl box are rated for 10,500rpm, but can the planetary hold that?
 
Are you concerned about the input rpm into the black box? Leaf motor is capable of 10,000 rpm, and the bearings in the crawl box are rated for 10,500rpm, but can the planetary hold that?
Bearings aren't "rated" for speed. It's speed vs load vs service life. Pick two.
 
Are you concerned about the input rpm into the black box? Leaf motor is capable of 10,000 rpm, and the bearings in the crawl box are rated for 10,500rpm, but can the planetary hold that?
At 10,000 RPM then it will be going 70+ MPH which is very unlikely for more than a few seconds at a time if ever as that speed would suck the battery down in minutes. It is an experiment nothing is rated for a DIY EV conversion :smokin: There are other reduction options I can check out in the future if this one gets destroyed. I figure that is still a win because it would mean that I got to drive my own EV Land Cruiser!
 
Motors are the cheaper part. Batteries is where they make the money.
I posted in the GCC thread. How much will the supporting hardware and batteries cost? The $3900 price for the motor seems reasonable, but will the rest cost $10k more?
 
Happy New Year! We celebrated the snow day with a drive around the neighborhood in our Electric Land Cruiser!

 
I see Audi is running all electric buggies in the Dakar. One already lost a wheel, control arm twisted like a driveshaft. Sound like the wheel got smashed into the hub and then sized up. Wonder if the torque from the drivetrain is what wrapped up the control arm?
 
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