# Tesla powered Mercedes Vito



## Yabert (Feb 7, 2010)

Awesome! This sleeper car will surprised ton of person during an acceleration


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

Very nice job!  The battery is well-integrated into the van body. Of course there's no Vito powertrain or chassis left.

For people in North America, this vehicle was not sold here, but it is an earlier generation of the van now offered here as the Metris. It looks like the W639 generation, which ran from 2003 through 2014.


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

*Terminology*

It would be nice if someone fixed whatever online translation tool is turning the words for electric motor in various languages into "engine" so that it produces "motor" instead.  If you use Google Translate to translate "electric motor" from English to Swedish, it says "elektrisk motor"... but if you use the same tool to translate "elektrisk motor" from Swedish to English, it says "electric engine"!  It's a Tesla drive unit, consisting of a motor, transmission with differential, and inverter.


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

*Questions*

Will there be any storage space under the hood in the front, or will that space all be taken by the charger, DC-to-DC converter, and other equipment?

I assume that to complete the battery packaging, there will be a metal box built around the modules, to enclose them and to provide a load floor inside.


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

Yabert, hope that  In sweden its a typical " craftsman car" people doesn´t expect sportscar performance. But the reason I build it, it´s because I want to build a car I can use.

Brian_thank you ! I will try to improve my english 

It will all be covered with aluplates. Tearing it all apart now for painting, also making a box over the motor for all electrical equipment. Using Tesla original cables, best position to make it fit was on top of motor. 

No plans for original engine compartment, maybe put in a REX 

BR Pär


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

Steel said:


> I will try to improve my english


No problem; your English is far better than my Swedish!  The only problem is with those online translation tools... but I suppose I shouldn't complain about something that is offered free of charge.


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

Steel said:


> ... also making a box over the motor for all electrical equipment. Using Tesla original cables, best position to make it fit was on top of motor.


I assumed that equipment would be in front in a Tesla - is it normally in the back, or is this a Tesla front motor? 

It would be nice to keep a flat load floor in the van, rather than having a box above the rest of the floor level.


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

Hello, I agree brian_, a box on top of the motor is not the best. But if I want to use original cables it had to be like that. And I had to make some sort of hood over motor anyway and also some box for electronics. Now it will be " två flugor i en smäll " translate that in google 

It´s a rear drive unit from Tesla, normally high junction box and charger lies under rear seat in a Tesla.

BR Pär


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

Steel said:


> Now it will be " två flugor i en smäll " translate that in google






Steel said:


> Hello, I agree brian_, a box on top of the motor is not the best. But if I want to use original cables it had to be like that. And I had to make some sort of hood over motor anyway and also some box for electronics. Now it will be " två flugor i en smäll " translate that in google
> 
> It´s a rear drive unit from Tesla, normally high junction box and charger lies under rear seat in a Tesla.


Thanks 
That's one of those details that the Tesla fans forget to mention when they brag about the clean and simple "skateboard" design.


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

_brian.

I´m designing box for Charger, HJVB, BMS and VCU. Not the best for loading , as _brian mentioned, but it must be like this when I want to use original cables. Also charger and HJVB is not IP65 protected, must be in a inclosured enviroment. Found a nice box for VCU and BMS also.


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

Hello, finished box today. Used wooden plate to bolt everything in place. 
Tomorrow I`m going abroad to pick up some nice conversion parts in a land blessed with EV´s.


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## tylerwatts (Feb 9, 2012)

That is looking very smart. It will perform very well I think.

May I suggest you build the lid on the box all the way out to the sides of the van so you have a full flat surface to load stuff on etc. If there is a step in front on the box it is not a big problem but having a small space all round the box will be awkward for loading in the van etc.


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

tylerwatts, I agree, must make something, not smart to have small space all round. Things will get stuck and be missing. 

Home again from my 900 km trip to Norway picking up EV OEM conversion parts.
Went to Grönvolds Bildemontering in Brumundal and made business with Tom Grönvold. Very nice guy, told me he was selling Tesla parts all over Europe but mostly to Nederlands and Germany. 
Picked up a Tesla EU chargingport and HJVB. But also a BMW I3 motor, driveshafts and batterypack But thats for my next projekt, Fox Reliant !

BR Pär


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## Ada Diamonds (Feb 9, 2018)

Really impressive project!

What are the goals for the finished project? What are the interior plans?


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

Ada Diamonds : First of all make it street legal throu SFRO a Swedish organization formed to help amateurs to build cars and get them legal. Outside spoilers and paint. Inside no plan so far. 

Unloaded parts yesterday, I3 motor, batterypack, driveshafts and gearshifter.

For Vito projekt EU chargeport, cables and HJVB. 

BR Pär


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

Hello, put the chargingport i place. Also prepared some cable mangement and mounting plate for HJVB. I intend to weld all mounting plates etc before tearing apart and paint. 
Must find some gromits for cable and vaterhoses.

BR Pär


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## Kevin Sharpe (Jul 4, 2011)

Steel said:


> Also prepared some cable mangement and mounting plate for HJVB.


Are you aware that you're missing the box that switches between 1 and 3 phase AC? It's fitted to the HVJB on the opposite side to the Charger. You can see it in the attached photo.

I have one on route to me and will produce a schematic in a week or so. You may want to review the HVJB schematic (here) before turning on the power


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

Thank you, Kevin Sharpe ! I was not aware of that. I assumed it was split up in HVJB. 
It means that 3 phase charging is an option.
I bought charging port, cables and HVJB as a complete set and thought I was fine with that. 

If I want to look for one box, what is i called ??

BR Pär


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## Kevin Sharpe (Jul 4, 2011)

Steel said:


> If I want to look for one box, what is i called ??


I can find no reference to the 'box' in the Tesla service manuals and parts lists... I'll publish the part number when it arrives. I also need to understand how Tesla supported both 1 phase and 3 phase charging on the dual charger setup (afaik the 'box' only supports a single charger )


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

Thanks ! Would be nice, otherwise it will be some slow charging. 

Yes, it´s a bit strange, I also got a chargingcable in package and it got full 3 phase connection, but it perhaps for the supercharging mode.

Plastic piece where small box supposed to be.


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

Starting to tear apart Corvette C5 suspension, setup without antidive and anti squat.

BR Pär


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

Steel said:


> Starting to tear apart Corvette C5 suspension, setup without antidive and anti squat.


There is normally anti-dive/anti-squat in the stock geometry of a C5, right? Why would you set it up without anti-dive/anti-squat?


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

Brian, first of all I`m inspired by Göran Malmberg and his " Zero Car": Dont build in angles and characteristics into a suspension who you have no idea about. Now the car is neutral.
Weightdistrubution in the Elvito is problably not the same as in the Corvette. 
The coilovers I´m using has very likely not the same setup as the Corvettes.
I also had a long discussion in a swedish forum with people who is racing with their Super Sevens and all ended up in this setup 

BR Pär


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

Steel said:


> Brian, first of all I`m inspired by Göran Malmberg and his " Zero Car": Dont build in angles and characteristics into a suspension who you have no idea about. Now the car is neutral.


Okay, but wouldn't it also make sense to not _modify_ geometry which you don't have any idea about? The suspension still has camber change, caster, and kingpin inclination (as it should)... you haven't zeroed those out. Why is anti-dive/anti-squat different?



Steel said:


> Weight distrubution in the Elvito is problably not the same as in the Corvette.
> The coilovers I´m using has very likely not the same setup as the Corvettes.


Right - the Vito is taller and heavier than a Corvette, so it likely needs more anti-dive and anti-squat. Springs are springs, whether they're coiled-up steel wire or flat composite strips; you have presumably increased spring rates to match the higher mass, and have chosen stabilizer bars for the taller vehicle but perhaps more moderate cornering expectations. Did you determine spring rates specifically to work with zero anti-dive and anti-squat?



Steel said:


> I also had a long discussion in a swedish forum with people who is racing with their Super Sevens and all ended up in this setup


Does the van with Corvette suspension seem more like a stock Corvette, or more like a racing Lotus Super 7? My guess is that those little cars set up for racing are very stiffly sprung for their mass, and although short are extremely low, so will dive and squat very little even without anti-dive/anti-squat geometry. Is the Elvito racing-stiff... and isn't it a couple of metres tall?


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

Brian, I have only zeored out anti-squat and anti-dive, all other parameters are the same. Anti-dive and anti-squat lock up the suspension to make the travelling comfortable. If you have race ambitions and wants to brake before a sharp curve, you dont want the suspension to lock up, you still want it to function to get the best grip and keep the speed up.

The Vito will not be heavier than the Corvette, se enclosed document ( in swedish of course). I have been weighted every part I removed from Elvito and weighted every part i put on. Next step will be plastic side windows etc.
Also I lowered the center of gravity, batterypack is under the floor, motor in center of wheels and so on. Only thing which is high is roof. Dont forget Volvo 855 in BTCC back in the days 

My coilovers is quite stiff, problaby requires testing.

Starting to disamble car for painting. Isolation matt inside torpedo wall 5 kg, removed. 

Invalid file....hmm odt document.

BR Pär


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

Steel said:


> Anti-dive and anti-squat lock up the suspension to make the travelling comfortable. If you have race ambitions and wants to brake before a sharp curve, you dont want the suspension to lock up, you still want it to function to get the best grip and keep the speed up.


No, that's not true at all. Anti-dive and anti-squat produce a vertical component of longitudinal force (upward force at the front in response to braking force; downward force at the rear in response to drive force) to reduce the suspension movement required to handle the load shift required. It doesn't interfere with suspension movement at all. Locking up suspension travel would never help ride comfort, and this isn't really for ride comfort anyway - it is to improve the speed of response.

The degree of anti-dive/anti-squat chosen for a stock street vehicle may not be appropriate in a race applications, due to lower centre of mass and much stiffer springing typical of a race car. You may not need anti-dive/anti-squat, but understanding what you are changing might be a good idea.



Steel said:


> The Vito will not be heavier than the Corvette, se enclosed document ( in swedish of course). I have been weighted every part I removed from Elvito and weighted every part i put on. Next step will be plastic side windows etc.
> Also I lowered the center of gravity, batterypack is under the floor, motor in center of wheels and so on. Only thing which is high is roof.


The suspension, wheels, tires, and brakes are the same (and thus at the same height) in the Corvette and Elvito. The transaxle of a Corvette is the same height as the Tesla motor. the Corvette engine is almost as low as the battery of the Elvito. The Vito body - which is a significant part of the vehicle mass - is higher, so the overall result will probably have a higher centre of mass.


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

Brian, thank you for the lesson ! Must admit I have jumped to conlusion. Built this Super V8 and there I used Corvette suspension and had all the discussions about anti-dive and anti-squat to be or not. Then when I started the Elvito projekt I just transformed the " knowledge" into Elvito suspension setup assuming it was the best. Now I´m a bit confused.

When I wrote lowering the center of gravity I was comparing the original MB Vito not with Corvette. 

BR Pär


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

Steel said:


> Must admit I have jumped to conlusion. Built this Super V8 and there I used Corvette suspension and had all the discussions about anti-dive and anti-squat to be or not. Then when I started the Elvito projekt I just transformed the " knowledge" into Elvito suspension setup assuming it was the best. Now I´m a bit confused.


Ah, that makes a lot more sense! 

You can just complete the Elvito project to the running state with the geometry as-is. If that works well, celebrate! If it dives and squats more than you want, you can then modify the mounting points.



Steel said:


> When I wrote lowering the center of gravity I was comparing the original MB Vito not with Corvette.


Sorry, I missed that; yes, the Elvito will definitely have a lower centre of mass than the original Vito. I was comparing to the Corvette, because of the Corvette suspension.


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

Steel said:


> Built this Super V8 and there I used Corvette suspension...


That's quite that extreme machine! 
C4 suspension, right?


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

Yes C4 suspension dana 44, Ford Mustang GT 2003 4,6 l engine, edis 8 and Megasquirt 

BR Pär


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## tylerwatts (Feb 9, 2012)

Very cool cars!


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

Steel said:


> Yes C4 suspension dana 44, Ford Mustang GT 2003 4,6 l engine, edis 8 and Megasquirt


The mix of brands (Ford engine and ignition, Chevy suspension and final drive, aftermarket engine management) would be good preparation for a typical conversion project, which often mixes a battery from one EV OEM with the motor from another and electronics from someone else. Ironically, the Elvito is essentially all-Tesla for the EV components.


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

brian_ said:


> The mix of brands (Ford engine and ignition, Chevy suspension and final drive, aftermarket engine management) would be good preparation for a typical conversion project, which often mixes a battery from one EV OEM with the motor from another and electronics from someone else. Ironically, the Elvito is essentially all-Tesla for the EV components.


Hello, thank you !
Yes, ev conversion is the next step in evolution , built natural aspirated, turbo charged and a car with v8. Now it's time for future [emoji106]

Skickat från min SM-G800F via Tapatalk


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## Kevin Sharpe (Jul 4, 2011)

Steel said:


> Plastic piece where small box supposed to be.


EU HVJB with AC switch box for sale on ebay in Germany;

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1059698-...-Model-S-85D-AWD-04-2015-02-2016/162974191292


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

Thank you, Kevin  Really nice of you, only problem I will have three HJVB:s, but its on the fun-account. 

BR Pär


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

Missed it


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## Kevin Sharpe (Jul 4, 2011)

Steel said:


> Missed it


That's a shame... I'll let you know when I see another.

In the meantime, I have a switch box on route to me that I will produce a schematic for... once that's complete you can build your own box or it's possible the box might be for sale


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

That sounds very nice, Kevin !

I was a bit slow, did not think I had to act that fast. 

For the moment I´m upgrading my solarplant with some more solarcells and rearrange some of them for better outcome during all day.


BR Pär


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## Kevin Sharpe (Jul 4, 2011)

Steel said:


> That sounds very nice, Kevin !


I've made a start 

Hacking the Tesla Model S Rear Junction Box (AC Switching)


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

As you wrote, Kevin: " God damn it... another bloody micro ", and I thought it would be a simple relay or something 

I get back to my grinder...

BR Pär


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

Finally finished with Solarplant, 15,3 kWh installed:


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

Hello, have not gone missing. Been bizzy doing an easier conversion : https://youtu.be/2sNKq0_o9ig

BR Pär


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

Dirtbike finished :
https://youtu.be/MqAQUpxoJ9g

Started another conversion while I am waiting for ordered driveshafts to the Elvito

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmBzo-2OhEI&t

BR Pär


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

Hello, still waiting for driveshafts, made another fun conversion " Electric Snowcross " : https://youtu.be/6QjCW9L2nWM

BR Pär


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

Hello, here is buildmovie : https://youtu.be/dX9Q35Y-OIE


BR Pär


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## Yabert (Feb 7, 2010)

Nice work. Seem to be fun machine.
Do you heat the battery to charge it or do you simply take it inside?


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

Thank you Yabert ! I just take it inside the garage, I have the garage heated.

BR Pär


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

I will also make some improvments on the Snowcross, put a shorter boggie and shorter trackband from 144" to 121", also cut the width on the band from 380mm to 310 mm. It will make it more maneuverable when snow is packed and snowlayer is not that thick.

BR Pär


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

Hello, short update on the Elvito, my daughter got bored with my other Youtube movies now she started to film and edit... : https://youtu.be/l46h_wk6Vqc

BR Pär


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

Hello, test of 28 kW Electric Dirtbike 

https://youtu.be/w9wZ55thrBQ


Finally I got the driveshafts to Elvito !!


BR Pär


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## Steel (Feb 12, 2018)

Hello, finally back on track ! Mounted the rear suspension with new driveshafts from Fixit.

BR Pär


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## grayk (Feb 15, 2021)

How has your experience been with the Advantics VCU? I want to use it but I didnt know if it had a CAN Output stream and throttle control over CAN.


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