# BMW 318ti Conversion to "EMW"



## bblocher (Jul 30, 2008)

Hey Philip. All of your goals here are easily obtainable and well under 15k in my opinion.

I'll keep an eye on your blog. Good luck and have fun!


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## RKM (Jun 9, 2008)

Phillip,

Welcome.

Your conversion is very practical and doable (coming from a first timer). Very reasonable expectations. I look forward to watching your progress. I'd like to do a three series sometime.

Rob


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## PatricioIN (Jun 13, 2008)

I have to agree.. based on your goals, you should be able to do this. The cost of the donor seems a bit high for that mileage (and considering it needs some work) but hey... be careful with spending and you should still be able to keep to your budget. I'd suggest at least a 120v system with flooded 6v batts. Will get you the speed you need easily enough and in the South's weather, the range as well.

Keep up the blog! We like pics. We're EV porn nuts. 

I'm sure you have already, but check out lots of other people's conversion stats/sites/blogs. There is some GREAT info out there - if only to see other's struggles and sucesses. Good luck!


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## Thaniel (May 25, 2008)

Sharp looking car. However I'm partial to the sedans. 

Looked at your site. FYI you can remove the e-brake cables by removing the nuts from the e-brake handle on the inside of the car and pulling them out underneath the car (at least on the 325i). I did this when removing the rear control arms and hubs as an assy.

Thaniel


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## ARti (Oct 27, 2008)

Is there anything [useful] you can do with a starter motor? I was wondering if it can be used to run the power steering or drive the AC compressor. There's no nameplate, so I don't have any feel for what the duty cycle or RPM are. I'd guess that it probably has plenty of torque though.

Just wondering,
Phillip


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## TheSGC (Nov 15, 2007)

Starter Motors usually have a useful duty cycle of 20 seconds, or less. I have heard them used as a bicycle motor, but it would most likely burn out if used as an accesory motor in an EV.


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## ARti (Oct 27, 2008)

Motor has arrived at fab shop. Weather permitting, I'll take the transmission over tomorrow and get a look at the motor (ADC 9Inch).

I updated the blog (mpkwh.blogspot.com) with some more verbage, and a copy of my Google SketchUp 3D animation of the layout. It's a sedan instead of the ti, but you get the idea of what's where. It's no coupling drawing from Thaniel, but it works for curious friends and family.

Have good days,
Phillip


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## TelnetManta (Jun 5, 2008)

Phillip,

Looks similar to my 3 Series install but I fit a LOT more batteries up front 

The battery racks were pretty complicated for the front I must say. Keep up the good work! Can't wait to see another # Series on the road!


Ben


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## ARti (Oct 27, 2008)

Update: I finished the removal through February, sold off a bunch of parts, started cleaning things. In early March, we moved the 318ti to my buddy's steel fab shop. They finally got through some of their other "charity" jobs and started thinking about adapters and couplings. 

We'd talked about creative approaches to cutting down the rotating mass on the flywheel, but decided things would go faster if we just used the stock flywheel...for now. Here's a couple of shots of the coupling test fit on the motor

Oh yeah, we've also pulled the floor out of the trunk so that we can start the rear battery box ("Yabba Dabba Do")


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## ARti (Oct 27, 2008)

Other selections made since my last post:
Power Steering: 2002 MR2 Pump (salvage yard in NC, $120) Very clean, haven't run it yet.
Batteries: Enersys Odyssey PC2150 Group 31 AGM, 12V 100Ah (x12).
Charger: PFC1500 programmed for AGM with either 120 or 240 VAC and temp probe.
Heater: I managed to get the core out without removing the dash, so I'm going electric.

Still trying to decide whether or not to go with a BMS. Any thoughts out there?

Getting very itchy to get this thing going.


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## neanderthal (Jul 24, 2008)

I am using agm batteries too I found it imposible to keep from overcharging a few batteries without a bms I'm using powercheq modules I love them


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## ARti (Oct 27, 2008)

neanderthal said:


> I am using agm batteries too I found it imposible to keep from overcharging a few batteries without a bms I'm using powercheq modules I love them


Neanderthal,
Some of the info I've read on the Powercheq indicated that there might be issues in packs with widely varying lead lengths. Is your battery pack split into a couple of groups? If so, did you have to do anything to work around the issue? I'm going with 6+6 config, or maybe 4+2+6.

Thanks!
ARti


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## dimitri (May 16, 2008)

ARti,

I just posted a comment on your blog, then I realized this is same build thread here 

I've been in your boat with my first build and discovered how wrong I was about range estimations. Granted I am not very familiar with AGMs, but how do you figure 40 miles range from 100Ah batteries? Is 100Ah rating for 1 hour or more typical 20 hour?

I think your budget puts you close to LiFePo4 cells, I'm sure you have considered those. Maintenance of AGM and LiFePo4 is not that different.


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## judebert (Apr 16, 2008)

ARti said:


> Batteries: Enersys Odyssey PC2150 Group 31 AGM, 12V 100Ah (x12).
> 
> Still trying to decide whether or not to go with a BMS. Any thoughts out there?


AGMs practically require a BMS. Unless you want to replace them regularly. 

Since you're already using a PFC charger, why not use the Rudman regs from the same guy? They work pretty well on my Optimas.


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## dimitri (May 16, 2008)

ARti,

Just checked Odyssey data chart, its nice of them to post high discharge rates, no guessing required.

So, based on my experience, you should expect about 25 miles range at 80% DoD with these batteries, and that is assuming flat roads and normal temperatures.

I don't want to go into details, I'm sure you probably already know all this, but if you want to discuss, please ask questions.

If 25 miles still works for you, then good luck with great project. I just wanted to make sure you have real expectations, because I was pretty upset when I didn't meet mine with my first EV. Which was probably a blessing in disguise since I am now on my 2nd EV project 

hope this helps


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## ARti (Oct 27, 2008)

Thanks Dimitri,
The comments are always welcome. It's a healthy review process. Regarding your earlier comment about approaching LiFePo4 setups: Based on my local quote, I figure with BMS, I'm approaching $350x12 for the AGMs. I realize that the lithiums would have benefits around cycle life, recharge time, and getting full use of the capacity, but where can I find approx 100Ah for approx $4500?


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## dimitri (May 16, 2008)

ARti,

current price at Elite Power is $1.65 Ah. You need minimum 100Ah cells for your car, preferrably more, but not less. That puts you at $165 per 3.2V nominal cell. So, $4950 buys you 96V pack. I know its not enough for your desired speed and range, but think about longer term. With AGMs you will be buying new pack 2-3 years down the road, with TS it would be 7-9 years ( estimated life, since no one knows yet, but its seems reasonable ). So, but squeezing more $$$ up front ( I know its tough sell for the wife, trust me, been there  ) you will save $$$ long term.

If you even consider TS cells, I suggest to lower you pack voltage to 128V ( 40 cells ). This will reduce the cost, yet still gives you plenty of juice, sine TS cells don't sag as much. 

So, assuming 100Ah x 40 cells = $6600 plus ground shipping from Arizona.

I have to say again, I know its tough, but try to go to next size cell if you can, 100Ah is absolute minimum to maintain healthy life cycles of these cells based on discharge current.

As for mileage, 100Ah TS pack gives you 12.8 KWh , so assuming 250Wh/mile , its 50 miles to 100% DoD, so 40 miles to 80%DoD. Right on your original mark.

Don't forget that its much easier to place these cells in the car, although they must be upright, and they weigh half of your AGM pack, so you may not need suspension upgrade if you play your cards right.

Hope this helps

P.S. Elite Power is at http://www.elitepowersolutions.com/products/ , they don't list larger cells, so Email them for a quote. Also, you may get even better deal at www.junglemotors.com , ignore the Web prices, call them or Emal for a quote.


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## ARti (Oct 27, 2008)

Lots of Progress to report:

Batteries arrived (Odys Group 31, 100AH)
Motor Adapter built and installed
Rear Battery Box Designed, Built, Installed
Motor Mount Fab'd and assembled
Driveline Installed
It's REALLY starting to look like an electric car rather than a salvage project. I've updated the blog (http://mpkwh.blogspot.com), but will attach a bunch of pix here as well.

Open questions: BMS & Layout of auxiliaries. Oh yeah, wiring the whole thing up. I should order some cable sometime soon.
On the BMS front, I'm leaning toward home-grown Zener Regulators and full scale PakTrakr monitoring. For some reason, I just can't come to grips with $450 for PowerCheqs and another $450 for PakTrakr. 

The Battery layout is firming up at 4 down low in the trunk, 4 at the trunk level, right over the axle, two under the rear seat in the cavities vacated by the gas tank lobes, and two in the front under the hood. It's going to be a little rear biased. If it drives too tail heavy, we can relo two more to the front.


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## bblocher (Jul 30, 2008)

ARti said:


> Open questions: BMS & Layout of auxiliaries. Oh yeah, wiring the whole thing up. I should order some cable sometime soon.On the BMS front, I'm leaning toward home-grown Zener Regulators and full scale PakTrakr monitoring. For some reason, I just can't come to grips with $450 for PowerCheqs and another $450 for PakTrakr.


Since you plan on some DIY for your shunts, and trying to keep cost low, you might want to look at my Volt Blochers. I've done a few setups for guys using LA. I can set the shunt voltage at any level you want, but recommend 14.5v for 12v batteries, this allows for full charge but begins shunting when the cells exceed this.


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## Thaniel (May 25, 2008)

Looking good!. Perhpas I missed it. Where are you getting the batteries from. I'll be shopping for some soon.

You may want to add up the weight of all the rear batteries and ensure you are not over loading the rear. A tail heavy car can be a handling nightmare.


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## ARti (Oct 27, 2008)

Thaniel,
A friend of mine is a sales rep for a regional battery dealer, http://www.batteryoutfitters.com/ . I suspect that it may be handy to have a local dealer to drop off and pick up these bricks from time to time, so I didn't burn a lot of cycles looking for the absolute lowest internet price.

They weren't cheap, but were a smidge less than I see on eBay this morning.

Now I've got to start working on him to pick up a line of LiFePo4s.

Phillip


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## ARti (Oct 27, 2008)

*Flurries in August?*

Big flurry of activity over the last week. The guys at VisionSteel have been busy with their day jobs, but put together the rest of the "bracketry" and the front battery box. 

Here's the Big Picture
 
There are four batteries up front (in addition to the eight in the rear). My contribution to manufacturing so far has been to cut the plywood for the control board. It will reside over the motor. Clearance for contactors, fuses, and the controller should be a lot easier in this rear position. For the first pass, I'm using plywood. once the layout is proven out, I'll probably go with a plastic board, similar to a chopping block.

It's tricky to get the batteries in here, but we came up with a combo layout:


 

two upright on the bottom, tall & narrow
two sideways on top, flat and wide.
This picture shows how the front box fits in, just behind the AC evaporator. There's still good clearance between the batteries and the ODE shaft where the belt driving the AC Compressor will spin. 


Here's where we put the aux pumps: 

 
The 12V vacuum pump (replacing manifold vacuum) for the brakes is on the left toward the rear. The Power Steering pump, also 12V, on the right, just over the steering box. It was salvaged off a 2002ish Toyota MR2 and has the reservoir built right onto the pump unit. Additionally, this unit has a speed input so that the boost varies inversely to the speed. 

I've finally ordered the cabling/lugs & connectors. I did pick up some 3/4" flex conduit to run from the rear battery box to the front. That was interesting. I stopped by the electrical section of the local Lowe's, priced the fancy purpose built UL conduit, and went on thinking that I'd wind up with normal clear vinyl tubing. On to the plumbing section to price the normal household tubing, and it was twice as much! So, I'll have the robust, UL listed stuff like I wanted. Schweet.

It's been great working with James, Dave, (and now William) at VisionSteel. They've really tried to make sure that the structural parts are robust, but haven't lost sight of the craftsmanship. Go back to the May 12th post, and check out the picture of the rear battery box. Even though these batteries aren't wet, I still wanted to minimize the chance of battery stuff coming forward in the event of a rear-ender. After all, that's where the cuties ride. We'd discussed putting a plate across the front of the box, just behind the rear seatbacks. Check out the picture below of the flashy cover they came up with to address the issue:









So, Progress Continues, if slowly.

ARti


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## ARti (Oct 27, 2008)

Working on battery cables.

Does anyone have any thoughts or concerns about alternating the placement of batteries in the racks so I can minimize cable lengths? In other words, for my 8 in the back, I've got two rows of 4, sideways, alternating the posts, so that the + winds up next to the - on the battery next to it. This helps me keeps the cables short and eliminate bends and associated stress on the connections.

I can't think of any huge issues. I just don't want to mess up the "flux-capacitance" of my battery set.

Batteries are Odyssey AGMs, PC2050s.

Thanks,
Phillip


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## ARti (Oct 27, 2008)

I've made a lot of progress over the last week or so. I got two or three good days of work in during the holidays. Last week I was able to take care of both power cables and control wiring on the control board.

I also placed all the batteries and finished the battery cables. 

I fired up the vacuum pump today to see whether or not the switch was wired correctly. Apparently I've got some leaks; it wouldn't pull more than 5-Inches, and when shut off, didn't even hold that much. So I'll have to chase that down. I'm pretty sure I heard some hissing coming from my tank. Not surprising given that it's three pieces of PVC all glued together plus the fitting.


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## ARti (Oct 27, 2008)

Here's the requisite shot of the charger cord in the fuel door. Nice work by the Vision Steel guys on the tread-plate backer. You can see the Elcon charger on the rack in the rear-battery box pic above.


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## ARti (Oct 27, 2008)

*Low Rider*

...and here's the first picture of the fully loaded car. Well, all the batteries and major components. The seats are still out, and I'm not sitting in there with my 200+ libbies. According to my original calculations, it should still come in under the GVWR. Just pushing on the four corners, it's not down on the stops yet, but it's pretty soft. I had originally budgeted for sport springs for this and it looks like I'll need them. The good news is that I shouldn't have to look too far to find someone with stiffer springs for a BMW right?


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## ARti (Oct 27, 2008)

One more thought this evening. As Thaniel mentioned in his post yesterday ( http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/showthread.php/and-so-begins-17727.html )

, this whole thing has taken longer than I'd hoped it would. I guess that's okay; at least I am moving forward. But now I REALLY need to get this thing done:

We closed on a new house last week and will spend the spring working on an addition and rehab projects.
My Dad bought a mid 90's Ranger for me to convert when I'm finished with the EMW.
Too many people have a vague fuzzy recollection that I was doing this project and are asking me "whatever happened to that car project?" And when I say that I'm still working on it, they assume that's code for "I gave up".
The good news on the new place is that it's got a nice 40x40 workshop where I can work on the Ranger and a three car garage so the EMW can stay inside where it's warm.


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## Thaniel (May 25, 2008)

*Re: Low Rider*



ARti said:


> The good news is that I shouldn't have to look too far to find someone with stiffer springs for a BMW right?


Yes stiffer springs are very easy to come by. Be carful to not get TOO stiff. Seems many of the aftermarket springs have a really harsh ride. Perhaps with the added weight it won't be so bad?

Congrats on the nice work space at your new house. I'd love to have an out bulding.

Oh and the short test drive is great for those asking about my project. I say "want to see the video of it moving" . Their response is always


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## ARti (Oct 27, 2008)

*Signs of Life*

Here's a video of a quick test of the control wiring. I've got the house battery wired up so that the 12V circuits are live, and the donor circuits are live too. The video shows me getting in, turning the key [closing first contactor, firing up vacuum pump and drive cooling fan], testing the heat [fan on full then manual heat switch closed triggering contactor], then getting out and diddling the potbox to check the second contactor. Works like a dream. Now I'm only a few hours of work away from charging and testing the power side.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVNG7vNXsao


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## ARti (Oct 27, 2008)

*It's ALIVE*



Not much time this evening to document everything, but I did want to at least post that we had the first test drive(s) this afternoon. I've definitely got the "EV Grin" that I've read so much about on the web forums. 



It was a beautiful day, and I just couldn't think of any reason not to go ahead with the drive. Last night I hooked up the all the batteries and re-did the original BMW battery connectors to fit my smaller 12V house battery. I applied the heat sink goo to the controller and tightened all the electrical connections. There wasn't much else to use as an excuse for putting off the first tests. So, this afternoon after work, I went down to the workshop and we rolled it out.



There's a few issues to be cleared up. The power steering pump never came on. I'd guess that one or more of the flimsy pins in my fancy radio-shack connector pushed out instead of making contact. I'll check that out over the next couple of days. Additionally, we've got to do a better job of bleeding the hydraulic clutch; today it didn't really ever seem to release. 



The driving was great though. Great pick-up, very smooth, no mechanical noises indicating misalignment of the motor shaft with the transmission. The brakes worked fine. I could hear the vacuum pump coming on and shutting off periodically as expected. 


We drew quite a crowd at the shop this afternoon. The registration on the car has expired and the insurance suspended (on purpose....) so we couldn't head out on the roads. However, the parking lot between warehouses allowed for plenty of zipping back and forth. Several of the guys who've been watching were very surprised by the pickup. Several of them took turns getting behind the wheel, and everyone came out grinning. It's definitely an odd feeling.



On my first drive I noticed that the ride was very rough, almost wobbly. On my second pass, someone posed the question "Did anyone tigthen the lug nuts since we had the wheels off?" Sure enough, two wheels were very loose. See, some problems do have simple solutions.

Here's a link to the vide of the very first drive:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ35INlX_Os
and another:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nfum0k7xur8


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## DavidDymaxion (Dec 1, 2008)

*Re: It's ALIVE*

Awesome! Great looking car, too.


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## RKM (Jun 9, 2008)

Congratulations!! Its a great feeling!

Pretty car. Looking forward to hearing more about it.

Rob


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## Thaniel (May 25, 2008)

*Re: It's ALIVE*

Great progress. Get the plates and insurance and start endurance testing 



ARti said:


> Additionally, we've got to do a better job of bleeding the hydraulic clutch; today it didn't really ever seem to release.


You probably already know but since it's not intuitive I'll mention that the manual states to removed the slave cyl from the trans when bleading the clutch. (seems like it was also done by pumping the slave cyl and not the pedal) I could not get mine bled properly without doing it "by the book".

Congrats on getting it going.


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## ARti (Oct 27, 2008)

I stopped by the workshop today to plug in the charger and see what happens. Again, no sparks. The blinky lights on the charger (PFC 1500) made sense, so I left it going for the day. If he gets time, James is going to bleed the hydraulic clutch today (thanks for the tip Thaniel!), and I plan to bring it back home.



Remaining ToDos:

Install Battery monitor leads 
Install Battery overcharging shunts 
Fix the Power Steering pump wiring
Finish Heater element and core 
Reassemble interior 
Drive back to the landscaping rock yard and run it across the scales 
Locate pre-tear-down height measurements and take it to a local spring shop to see what options I have for stiffening the rear suspension 
Assemble Lexan water shield for control board (so that in the future I won't have to wait for sunny days like today to drive) 
Have the Vision Steel guys form some sort of under-motor-splash-guard (see above) 
Replace Windshield
 
A little further out:



Take care of the paint job (rust on leading edges of hood)
Polish or replace headlight units (Angel Eyes anyone?)
Set up onboard data logger (CarPC or Arduino with WiFi interface, TBD) and touchscreen display
Rework control board; pull everything off the plywood and replace with HDPE (like a big white butcher block)
Install Tach sensor and wire to BMW Instrument Cluster Tach
Figure out Air Conditioning (we mounted the original compressor near the stub-shaft so that we could drive it off a pulley later on if I wanted to). I may go with a bucket of ice or one of those neck-cooler things the mall-kiosk people peddle instead.


Way Way Out:

Scheme up some sort of removable force-air motor cooling system for parade duty
Scheme up some sort of custom 144VDC-120VAC inverter so that I can use the car as a backup _*power supply in case an ice storm or tailgate party breaks out*_


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## ARti (Oct 27, 2008)

*Revisiting the scales*

I stopped by the municipal garbage transfer station last week and weighed the car. The GVWR on the door nameplate is 3740lbs. I'm just sneaking by. Here's the original weights:
Front: 1580
Rear: 1408
Total: 2988

and the converted weights:
Front: 1780
Rear: 1880
Total: 3660

In both cases, that includes 230 lbs of me. The only variable was that I went different places for the weigh-ins. The first was a landscape rock yard and the second was a trash transfer station with a longer scale table. Whatever. I'm still going to drive it.

Here's the measurements on the ride height:
Wheel: Orig: Converted:
FrRt 25 7/8 24 7/8
RrRt 24 5/8 23 1/4
FrLt 25 3/4 25
RrLt 25 23 1/4

I do anticipate some stiffer springs in the rear. It's too soft going over railroad tracks.

By the way, that trip down to the scales was also my longest run to date, 16 miles at an average of 35-40mph. That route also included a 1/2 mile 10% grade (up) at mile 12. The car did great, started the hill at 45mph, then watched the ammeter all the way up, trying to keep it between 300 & 400A, and got to the top at 35 mph. 

I definitely have a lot to learn about how to drive this thing. I still haven't taken the time to run it all the way down in an endurance test. I need to so that I'll have a little more peace of mind about running it on errands.

I have the Toyota connectors and pigtails to make better connections for the PS pump. The car is headed back to the shop for a couple of things:

Change out the control mounting board for a plastic butcher-block panel instead of plywood
Paint the front battery box
Rewire the PS pump connections
Move the PakTrakr CT from the control board back to the rear battery string (liberate space on the control board and easier running of CT wiring back to PakTrakr)
Splash shield for Commutator end of motor
It's a journey, not a destination right?


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## Thaniel (May 25, 2008)

*Re: Revisiting the scales*



ARti said:


> I stopped by the municipal garbage transfer station last week and weighed the car. The GVWR on the door nameplate is 3740lbs. I'm just sneaking by.


 
My 318i shows 3800 lbs for max GVWR but my 325 says 4300 lbs. Pretty sure the entire unibody brakes, control arms and struts are the same (between the 318i and 325i). Not sure about springs. I wonder if the 318ti has been derated the same way as the 318i. So maybe you have more saftey margin on the weight aspect then the plate would lead us to believe. Just a thought.

Oh and yah its the journey. Well at least if this car building thing is going to be any fun


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## ARti (Oct 27, 2008)

*Range Test*

37 Miles!
So the EMW is back on the road. It spent a couple of months down at the shop getting the fabbed pieces painted and replacing the plywood control board with butcher block (and a brace). I also rewired the MR2 Power Steering pump with official Toyota connectors. I put in VoltBlochers to protect the Odyssey AGMs from overcharging. I also installed the sensor wires for one of the two PakTrakr strings, but haven't run them up to the monitor yet. 

However, the PS still isn't working, and somehow the clutch needs to be bled again. I'll have to keep an eye on the brake fluid reservoir level. It looks like the tap for the clutch is shamefully near the top of the tank-let.

However, in the eternal quest for a bright side, at least it gave me good exposure to clutchless driving. While it would probably workout fine over the long haul, I'll be glad when I have the option of clutching again. There were times when it just didn't want to go into gear.

So the 37 miles. I'd originally hoped for 30-40 miles (see initial posting, 1/12/09). I'm very pleased with the 37. I was running a 3 mile rectangle on the edge of Fayetteville. There were some hills; think of holding two diagonally opposite corners of a piece of paper up about an inch and then running around the edge. So, even though there was coasting, there was also pulling, so I'm calling it roughly similar to daily driving. Two stops per loop; pulled out in 2nd gear. Then a clutchless shift into 3rd for most of the next straight. Two rolling right angle turns; pulled both of those in 3rd. Average speed was probably 35-40mph. 

The pack voltage started out around 155V (12x12V Odyssey PC2150 105AH). In general, when the drive is on, the pack voltage drops 10-15V. On that last lap, the open circuit voltage (one of the contactors opens when coasting) was around 135. When I stomped on the pedal coming out of one of the corners, the voltage sank rather than current spiking. If I was more gentle, it would hold up. It was definitely time to limp home. 

So, now I know what the range can be, and I know how to recognize when its time to head home. I'll avoid getting so deep into the capacity for the most part. I don't have any budget for replacement batteries.


Here's my current punchlist:

Bleed the Clutch
Troubleshoot the PSteering some more
Rain shield for DC/DC Converter and Commutator end of motor
Connect PakTrakr monitor, 2nd battery string, and Pack current CT
Finish and install electric heater core
Reassemble Interior (dash, console, rear seat)
Settle on some sort of Radio/GPS/MonitorDashboard device
By the way, I'm still trying to find the right nickname for the car. EMW doesn't really ring. e3 is okay. Then there's 'eemer'. If I left it to the kids, it would wind up with an "ey" on the end; something like "Shockey", "Chargey", or "Beemey". Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Phillip


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## Thaniel (May 25, 2008)

*Re: Range Test*



ARti said:


> By the way, I'm still trying to find the right nickname for the car. EMW doesn't really ring. e3 is okay. Then there's 'eemer'. If I left it to the kids, it would wind up with an "ey" on the end; something like "Shockey", "Chargey", or "Beemey". Any suggestions?


Well As I'm sure you knonw the model number is 3 for 3 series then the displacment of the engine. Then letters for various things i for injected e for I forget...anyway so I'm thinking 300tEV. Kind of boring though. Maybe 3EV. Mostly at my house we call the car "blue car" to differentiate from my other BMW the "black car". We are not very creative I guess. So no. I have no suggestions. Just filling space in your thread I guess.

COngrats on the range 37miles seems like a good range.

Thaniel.


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## CrunchTime (Feb 13, 2009)

*Re: Range Test*

I'm going with 3Ev for mine - the BMW fan boys at work reckon that we can even make a boot tag from real BMW ones - a 3 (got one on my 328), a reversed 3, and a "v" off a V12 (or is it a V8). I'll have to see what it looks like first, though...

Don't think there's any models that actually have an E, though?

But BMW = Batteries Move Wheels


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## ARti (Oct 27, 2008)

*450 miles*

I'm up to 450 electric miles now. It's starting to feel like no biggie. There's still plenty of work to be done though:

Heater Core build and install
Replace clutch slave cylinder and bleed
Install PakTrakr on front set of batteries
Rainshield DC/DC and motor
I did get the power steering pump to work...makes things a lot more pleasant.
I reinstalled the rear seats and trunk upholstery yesterday. Now I can take the kids to school.
The PakTrakr display works great. I'll have to check out the serial link soon and figure out how labor intensive data logging is going to be. I also haven't installed the monitor on batteries 7-12 yet. That means finding two more holes in the firewall. It's also tricky because batteries 7 & 8 are in the rear, so I had to run an extra cable to the back end for those leads. 

It's really starting to look like a normal car again. Once I get the heater core finished, I'll be able to reassemble the console and dash. Then it'll be entirely stealthy. I'll have to get some green pinstriping or something to get the attention I crave.

I'm starting to get used to the "slammed" look. I don't know if I'm going to follow through with some sort of spring adjustment.

I did take it on another longish trip last week. There's some factory trained independent BMW mechanics a couple of towns away. They're the ones that bought the 4cyl and other parts. It needed a brake job before I started all this so I took it up to them so they could see the finished product. I figured out that their shop is 15 miles away, so I ought to be able to get up and back without getting too close to my current max of 37miles. I forgot about any sort of post-install test ride as well as any drain from the now-functional PS pump. I wound up limping home after a round trip of 34 miles. The next charge was 13.9kWh (out of a max 14.5).

I'm very pleased with the way things are holding together. I'd half expected something to go snap-fooey by now. I keep looking for stuff. The day after the brake job (new pads & rotors), I drove it from the house to the office and noticed a smell. When I got to the office, I raised the hood and felt some of the cables, the controller etc., and sniffed around a little bit. I finally realized that the smell was not any of my stuff, it was the new pads settling in on the new disks. 

I love it when it's the normal things that are issues rather than my conversion work. 

The same thing happened with a noise that popped up about 100 miles ago. I listened hard to determine whether the noise might be the impending breakup of the adapter or one of the other things you read about on these forums. It was road-speed related rather than motor speed, so that's good. So maybe it's a bearing or something on the 207k, 13 year old donor. What about the driveshaft...did we not tighten it right when we put it back? No, while we had it up on the rack for the brake job, we noticed that the noise and heat insulating blanket pieces around the tunnel just behind the transmission had fallen down and were polishing the driveshaft. So, no conversion drama, just simple age. I love it.

This thing's a lot of fun if you're not worried about range. I'm getting more comfortable with goosing it if I know that I'm only headed 10 miles before landing somewhere to charge. When the combination of location and schedule is right, it's quite enjoyable. I suspect though that living with it will always mean more planning than a regular ICE ride.


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## Thaniel (May 25, 2008)

*Re: 450 miles*

Great update and inspiration. 450miles. I'm only at 45. DOH! You've inspired me to finish up some details and put my car in regular service.



ARti said:


> I suspect though that living with it will always mean more planning than a regular ICE ride.


Yes its not a vehicle for people who can't plan ahead. Which from what I've seen of peoples planning means EV's will not become main stream in the short future. 

Thaniel


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## ARti (Oct 27, 2008)

By the way, I'm going to have the windshield replaced soon. I think the only thing holding the current one together is the old Louisiana State Patrol Supporters club sticker prominently displayed on the lower left (do those things ever really get someone out of a ticket?). Anyway. I was looking at the windshield the other day and noticed this sticker in the top left:











I suspect I might have crossed some sort of line here. I'd guess that the "validity of the BMW Limited Warranty" might have been affected.


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## CrunchTime (Feb 13, 2009)

Why? It's only talking about accessories - no mention of replacing the engine


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## ARti (Oct 27, 2008)

*1000 eMiles!*

Over 1000 eMiles!

In fact, last night was not only the crossing over 1k, but it was also the harshest use: 19 mile round trip in the rain at night on the interstate at 55-60mph. 

I mostly drive it to lunch, church, or other errands. It's probably out 3-4 times a week. I always plug it right back in after I get back.

Looking at the list from 10/11/10, I haven't done much to it. I still have to:


install the Heater Core
Replace clutch slave cylinder and bleed
Install PakTrakr on front set of batteries and re-install on the rear batteries
I did put the lexan shield on the bottom and across the DC/DC converter, so I don't worry about falling rain. I still won't drive on deluge days because I don't know how it would do in standing water.

I had the PakTrakr on the rear bank, but yanked it off last January when I thought it was the source of some battery drain issues. However, I didn't bother putting it back afterwards. I'm not sure it's worthwhile. I'd purchased it because I wanted to log the data for performance tracking and maybe some sort of iPhone app. However, the USB interface kept dropping bits. With enough work in a text editor, I could resurrect the lines of data, but it was far from effortless and certainly not reliable. I've since read that the cables they use aren't shielded and that many people experience similar issues. I'll probably replace it with a standard SOCharge meter at some point.

I made a mistake during the holidays last year and left it sitting unplugged for about 3 weeks when it was really cold. The batteries (Odyssey PC2150 AGMs) drooped down to 4.5V apiece. I had to take them back to the dealer and let them recharge them individually. The Elcon kept erroring out of the charge cycle since it didn't see enough voltage.

Since the trip to the battery dealer, everything's been fine. I suppose I drastically shortened the life of the pack though. I've been much more diligent in keeping it plugged in. I tried to isolate the drainage. I eliminated all my add on circuits. The BMW has a healthy appetite of 3.2A though, even with the key off. I went through the fuse box and couldn't isolate the source. I think there's another distribution box deep in the dash that I haven't bothered with. As I mentioned, I'm just a lot more careful about keeping it plugged in between drives.

It looks like that's the way things are going to be with this project. It runs. It's rewarding. It's not done yet, but it's probably finished. There are a lot of things I should do to tidy it up, but it's usable as is. I've got an active family, a demanding job, and other mountains to climb. I also have a 45% complete electric Ford Ranger sitting in my workshop that I need to complete for my father. Any extra enthusiasm that I have needs to go into working on his instead of beautifying mine.

Anyway, thanks everyone for all the support, and I'll keep updating at milestones and would be glad to answer questions.

Phillip


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## ARti (Oct 27, 2008)

*Summer '14 Update*

*My current question: Is there any new affordable, magic, super-dense energy storage solution (i.e. battery) that I've missed over the last couple of years?
*

I still love this car.
But it mostly sits. 
My first pack of Ody AGMs started to go, so I replaced them with a "bargain" set of blemished Trojan Group 31 AGMs. My range dropped from a comfortable 20 miles to about 8. 

So now, it mostly sits.

My twin kids are almost to driving age. That means we'll actually want a third car soon, So I've explored a couple of different ways to get out of the EV game.

I tried selling it via a couple of EV community forums, but didn't get any serious interest. Some nice questions from nice people, but nothing that would've been win-win.

I contacted the local university ELEG department about donating it so I could get the tax credit. They were interested, but not terribly enthusiastic. Now I'm rethinking that. The best I could do on a tax deduction would be about $3k. That makes it more worthwhile to just park the car and wait for a more affordable range-worthy storage solution. For now we have the space.

I look at the prices for LiPO4, and it still seems like it'll be $6-10k for a 144VDC 100Ah solution. Am I missing something? I haven't been paying attention to the EV scene over the past couple of years. But I'd hoped that with the broader adoption of commercial EVs there would be some trickle down of technology and some serious reduction in prices due to the increases in LiPo production. 

Does anybody have any novel recommendations?

Surplus Li Bus Battery source
Other battery chemistries that are better than Lead/Acid but cheaper than LiPo (NiMH anyone?)
portable coal fired Stirling Engine?
BMW i3 range extender mounted in a CanAm trailer for real time charging
Dr. Emmett Brown Mr. Fusion generator

I'll probably just start saving my spare change to buy lithiums someday.

Recommendations welcome!
Phillip


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## esoneson (Sep 1, 2008)

I have a 1995 BMW 318i in the middle of a conversion. I am considering and will most likely use Chevy Volt pack. Volt gets upwards of 40 miles per charge. Your car is much lighter so you could see more than 40. Which, by your info, would be twice your best range. Cost: $2000-$2500. I'm thinking of jamming two packs in for my commute range of 75 mi. There are a couple of threads here that are a great help in the 'how to' department. Use search for Chevy Volt Battery.


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