# 2009 Nap Car 3000 Chinese electric upgrade with pics



## Tonymunn (Nov 26, 2013)

Received quantity (6) 106RE 100Ah batteries yesterday. Time to make up my #4AWG wire kit and mount all of the electronic components to a 15.5" X 8.75" aluminum plate. Attached is a picture of the old 48V, 265A assembly that is being replaced by the 72V 400A and the location it is being installed.

I may use the 48V set up for a go cart?


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## RIPPERTON (Jan 26, 2010)

Nice project, really does look like a SmartCar
wish we could get those things down here they would make great commuters.


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## Tonymunn (Nov 26, 2013)

This car is 1 of 4 imported to the US from China in 2009. It had the performance of an overloaded golf cart. I am hoping to change that. Perfomance was quoted as 40MPH and a 30 mile range. Ha! ha! In dreams only. When my wife purchased is for $800US with 48V and 265A peak controller, I could only see 26MPH maximum and a range of <8 miles with a string of 4 used 100Ah gelled electrolyte outdoor UPS batteries.


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## Tonymunn (Nov 26, 2013)

Sourced all of the wires I wil need for the upgrade to 400 amps at 72 volts. #4AWG is the recommended size but, I went larger with #2AWG. I love working for an electronics manufacturing company. The scrap wire bins are a treasure. I also cut out an aluminum plate to mount the contoller and the contactors. Last night I got under the car and popped the motor off of the differential to see how it interfaced to the car. I may want to go bigger in the future. The wife says' "let's see what it'll do first before you go improving it". The motors label says 3000 watts, @ 48V and 2800 RPM. The rear diff ratio appears to be 4.11:1. The tires are 175-70R-12. I calculate a speed of 43.8MPH if we can actually spin the motor to 2800 RPM. That should be attainable with the higher voltage and current.


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## Tonymunn (Nov 26, 2013)

Modifying the battey tray to hold the increased battery capacity. The tray currently holds 4-100Ah 12V AGM group 31 batteries. I am modifying it to hold 6-105Ah 12V AGM batteries. I am picking up some new angle-iron on the way home. The sawzall and cutoff wheel made easy work of removal. Welding it up should be fun. I feel that proper preparation makes things go smoother.


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## Tonymunn (Nov 26, 2013)

Finished modifying the battery tray to accommodate 6-Alpha Technologies 106RE AlphaCell batteries. Primed and painted with black gloss Rustoleum. Bumped up the voltage from 48 to 72Vdc.


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## Tonymunn (Nov 26, 2013)

Wired up the charger and all the other pertinent electronics. Looking good so far.


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## rmay635703 (Oct 23, 2008)

Tonymunn said:


> Received quantity (6) 106RE 100Ah batteries yesterday. Time to make up my #4AWG wire kit and mount all of the electronic components to a 15.5" X 8.75" aluminum plate. Attached is a picture of the old 48V, 265A assembly that is being replaced by the 72V 400A and the location it is being installed.
> 
> I may use the 48V set up for a go cart?


That car weighs what? 1500lbs?

It SHOULD go about 35mph stock. So the real question is why not? It could be bad batteries, bad contacts, bad controller, bad brushes, bad alignment, bad bearings, dragging brakes or any other multitude of things.

So check the BASIC old car stuff first, then worry about electronics, what you don't want to do is upgrade to 96v, gain a top speed of 25mph and keep the same 10 mile range because brakes and alignment scrub too much.

As an example My Miles zx40 (48v/275amp controller) weighs roughly 2500lbs and stock will go about 28mph, your car should do better.

Cheers


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## Tonymunn (Nov 26, 2013)

The initial stock assessment was done with questionable batteries low tire pressure, poor alignment... Since the upgrade, it has gone on a few test drives of greater than 13 miles and it is able to maintain about 35mph on the flat. Initially the extra weight of the additional batteries caused extreme toe out in the steering geometry. That has been corrected and it is now a dream to drive. All electronic components and 2AWG wiring are brand new. Car rolls freely. Really needed/wanted to do the upgrade because of the extreme hills here in Bellingham, WA. Going up hills at 15-25 mph in a 35mph zone was unacceptable to my wife. The extra current and voltage has remedied that problem. Did your Miles ZX40 have the AC motor and Curtis controller? If so the hill climbing ability of that combo greatly exceeds that of my 48V, 3000W, 4hp motor. Thank you for your input.


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## rmay635703 (Oct 23, 2008)

Tonymunn said:


> Did your Miles ZX40 have the AC motor and Curtis controller? If so the hill climbing ability of that combo greatly exceeds that of my 48V, 3000W, 4hp motor. Thank you for your input.


Its a 48v 2005 Miles ZX40 with a 5kw motor, with field reduction I get up to about 35mph, glacial acceleration and 15mph hill climbs if the car isn't already going.

I can understand if you live around hills why you need the extra go power.


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## Mark C (Jun 25, 2010)

I just have to ask. Do either of you ever, for any reason, take the vehicles on roads above 35 MPH posted limits? 

I ask this because I live just far enough out of town to need to drive 6/10ths of a mile in a 45 zone before it drops to 35 MPH where an NEV would be legal. I would dearly like to know if you have and then if you've been pulled over for having an NEV in a 45 zone? {I drove a Zenn and liked it a lot, and they are often modded to go 35 MPH.}


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## rmay635703 (Oct 23, 2008)

Mark C said:


> I just have to ask. Do either of you ever, for any reason, take the vehicles on roads above 35 MPH posted limits?
> 
> I ask this because I live just far enough out of town to need to drive 6/10ths of a mile in a 45 zone before it drops to 35 MPH where an NEV would be legal. I would dearly like to know if you have and then if you've been pulled over for having an NEV in a 45 zone? {I drove a Zenn and liked it a lot, and they are often modded to go 35 MPH.}


I have the exact same situation, yes my father drives roughly 6/10s of a mile on 40mph roads every day to work in and out.

My folks also drive 18 miles one way on 45/55mph rural highway many days all summer, its easy for folks to pass and traffic is minimal, just using common sense to get out of the way if an issue occurs. Basically they use the van for going to somewhat local parks, lakes and campgrounds with the grill and all during the summer (so long as the round trip is 40miles or less)

Law in our state is if you stay as far to the right as possible and display a slow moving vehicle sign you are legal, you see the amish buggies doing this around here fairly often.

Cheers
Ryan


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## Mark C (Jun 25, 2010)

Thanks! I kinda thought it might be that way, so long as it wasn't a Gem Car that looks too much like a LSV and invite too much attention.


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