My Electric (BEV) Mehran Project

[usman_kh1]

@ frk2

gr8 proj man love it keep it up ,,,,

a few things, fiberglass body not really that cheep,,,,

battries r a issue,, unless we could find some good china option under 60-70k,

as for the AC try using a deep freezer compressor which takes 120-200W at max, with a larger condenser, and the fact that u dont have a engine and so very little heat under the hood it should work better then a mehran ac, a friend of mine tried to do so with a normal mehran but we couldent find a suitable place for the compressor as u got no CNG and fule tank, the space is no issue,,

2nd option for ac,

go to ship breaking yard( Gadani ) get ur self a cabin ac it works on 120 volt and is half tonn takes abt 550W its smaller then the internel unit of ur split ac and its not split (single piece the size of internel unit of 1 tonn) , these things work gr8, a cousen used to have 2 of those in his room (15 X 15 ft aprox) and it was chilling, try 2 split it in parts to fit in the car,, costs around 4-5k max

i would go 4 first 1, its cheep normal ac parts will do and the compressor being on 220v means u can run the AC on home electric suply b4 leaving (a chilled car ready to roll)

[frk2]

usman_khi thats a great idea. Have you used the half ton A/C in a car? The expensive bit is not the A/C but the DC-AC Invertor that I would need. However 550w is really not that much - you sure it can cool down a car? The mehran's own internal A/c is something like 2000w.

How long does that cabin A/C take to cool the room down? How big is the cabin? Are there windows in the cabin that sunlight can come in (big problem with a car!)

But its definitely worth investigating. I can also simply put a .75 tonne room air conditioner compressor and stuff. Should work (technically) - I dont know how much it would cool the car though.

Everything now depends on those batteries. The 60-70k batteries are a pipe dream and dont exist Lithium is really the only viable option for durability- nobody wants to change 240kg of lead batteries every 2-3 years.

For comparison sake, heres the low-down on pricing:

Good lead acid AGM Deep Cycle chinese batteries cost : $220 per peice in bulk, $1320 for the full pack. They would weigh roughly 260kg

Awesome LiFePo4 Chinese batteries would cost $2300 for the equivalent (and long lasting) pack and would weigh 65kg.

[Storm]

this thread has my complete attention (one of the few i'm subscribed to),... it's great to know that PW isn't just about civics and corollas with bodykits and engine swaps.

eagerly awaiting more info/data (Y)

[frk2]

@storm - thanks man. I really appreciate the interest and feedback everybody is providing - honestly I didnt expect it from such a radical idea. Pakwheels definitely has brains behind it!!! Its great to see!

I would be putting a website up with a blog and all relevant technical information, pics and videos by tonight hopefully.

[frk2]

Guys- due to growing interest by friends, acquaintances and others I am launching a blog dedicated to the electric car. My girlfriend chose the name 'elektra' which I think is pretty nice

http://www.elektraautomotive.com

Check it out. I would be updating the blog with information as I progress along on this project.

[Proverbial_Slang]

That is a nice name

@frk2, I been busy as I became a mamoon yesterday :D. Lemme get back to u with my input regarding the selling points of the car in a short while.
Take Care.

[frk2]

congrats ! Please let me know - would be excellent to hear good feedback

[frk2]

Guys - I'll be posting further updates to my blog only - easier to manage there! so check it out if you havent already!!!

There are a couple of polls which you can help answer as well!!!

its at www.elektraautomotive.com

[130246]

good to hear about someone doing creative work. if your test results come out good. i cud help lighten your project car or maybe do a lightweight kit for an exxisting car my . i know a thing or two about working with glass fibre. when you are done testing give me a call on 0300 539 4200.

[frk2]

will do for sure. Can you possiblly put a comment with your number on my blog? would be easier to remember there. thanks!

[usman_kh1]

@frk2

sorry for late reply,,,

well mehran ac is not made to be vey efficient, i think even a 200W fridge compressor can do a good job with a big codenser, also the 12v dc to 220v ac 1000w converter costs 2k but these cabin ac.s r 110 v so if u can find 1 hich is 220 that can work,

the cabin that they r made for is 10X10 usually, the room my cousen had 2 of them in was 15X15 and it got noticably cool in 10 min by an hour past it got so chill u hav to use a blanket,

as for the tnnage of ac u can go as big as u want but its gona cost u alot of energy, a 1.5 ton ac that takes abt 1800w will be taking more energy then the drieving moter,, so the car's coverable distance will decrease alot, thats y i think its better not to go above 550-600w

as for the 2300$ LiFePo4 batteries they r definatly worth it if they can be used for 250000-300000 km as by that a normal mehran engine would of had,

80-100 oil + oil filter change=1050 * 100=105000

2 engine rebuilts=15000 *2=30000

60-80 air filters=130 * 80 = 10400

30 tuneups including plugs and point changing=600 * 30=18000

alot of cng settings and atleast 5 cng services=5000

still not including belts and other stuff like cooling system expensis(coolent+radiator service+waterbody )

it goes up to aprox 170000=2100$ and alot of time

[frk2]

Quick question: Does anybody on this thread know which new Suzuki cars are being made with a separate CHASSIS? i.e. not a monocoque design. This excludes alto, swift, liana, etc. I want to know if the Ravi and/or the bolan are made on a separate chassis (body can be screwed off).

I wish to use a chassis for my car and put a fiber body on top - however I wish to use a modern chassis from a suzuki so that I can procure parts easily and cost-effectively.

Thanks!

[OwaisYunus1]

Ravi has a seperate chassis. You can use that chassis to build your body on.

[frk2]

Thats good- what about the bolan? The ravi seems too tiny in all dimensions. bolan is good.

[frk2]

This sucks even the Ravi is partial monocoque (the front is monocoque). I think my only choice is a older VW

[syncview]

What about some old Toyota? Don't know.. but a Starlet or an old Corolla?

[frk2]

Hmm the starlet does sound like a good option- was it a FWD? I want to keep the setup as close to a mehran/alto as possible for swappable parts.

The corolla chassis is setup for RWD so its not a very good option. If I get too fed up I'll simply make a chassis from rectangular steel tubing

[syncview]

Why not RWD? What year corolla you talking about? why not the 1988 to 1992 ones..

[syncview]

btw, starlets from 1984 to 1990 I think were FWD, the older ones were RWD, dont know about the rest.. that said, starlet is a light car.. and already very nimble.. so not much of a loss, or is it?

[frk2]

syncview, the final car would be a FWD so I wanted the prototype to be a FWD car. No point if your prototype is radically different from what you want to produce also RWD cars are quite energy wasteful (too much stuff to move - big differentials, heavy driveshaft, etc). Very good for 4x4 and sports cars, not good for small efficient vehicles!

I will look into the starlet for sure - anybody got a chassis to donate?