# Setup combo - FB1-4001A + Z1K-HV + D34M



## Heretic (May 8, 2008)

My brain can't compute my combo, but wondering if someone else can work out if its a good combination for all out acceleration. Battery price is a bit expensive, but space to house them is restrictive at best, and the batteries selected a noticeably smaller than others of similar power and weight

Car weight without motor and batteries: under 800lb

Motor: Advanced DC FB1-4001A
- 22.9kw/h @ 144VDC

Controller: Zilla Z1K-HV
- Maximum motor current at 50°C heatsink temperature: 1000 Amps
- Maximum Battery Current at 200V: 950 Amps
- Continuous motor current @ 50°C coolant temp & 100% Duty Cycle: 300 Amps
- Peak Power: 320,000 Watts

Battery: Optima D34M Blue Top (deep cycle 12v)
- Capacity: 55 Ah
- [email protected]°F: 750 Amps
- [email protected]°F: 870 Amps
- Type: AGM Sealed Lead Acid
- Weight: 45lb
- Reserve capacity: 120 Minutes


----------



## Qer (May 7, 2008)

I'm leaning towards a similar combination, but I thought it was the Optima Yellow Top that was the preferred choice for EV's. Why did you hoose Blue Top?

Not saying you're wrong, I'm just curious what the reason was since I'm, as I said, in a similar planning stage.


----------



## Heretic (May 8, 2008)

Just an example I think - I have read about other people using the blue top with their setups, but could not find the info I was looking for about them. From what I read on the Optima site, among other things, it is designed for use with electric tolling motors ... sounds good to me


----------



## ronin4sale (Jan 29, 2008)

Looks fine to me. How many batteries are you going with? I'm assuming you are making a racing car and not a daily driver? if you went with 12 batteries that would only be 7.9 kwh which would only take you 25 miles or so. Though if its for racing I would think you would want much lower total kwh so that you can get down on weight?


----------



## Heretic (May 8, 2008)

Yes, the idea would be 12 batteries to get my 144 volts . Car won't really be for long distances, more for a bit of fun with quarter mile and car club days. What sort of battery should I look at to get the weight down but keep the amps up, without costing stupid amounts of money? If its small enough, I would buy multiple sets for quick changes between races


----------



## ronin4sale (Jan 29, 2008)

I don't have experience nor have done real research with making 1/4 mile type cars so I won't even begin to guess, but logically you would only need a small amount of total power with a high voltage and low amps, thus lowering your weight while boosting your top speed. I just wanted to make sure you werent expecting to get a long range out of the battery pack you picked. 

Might want to look at the possibility of going with the zilla 2k and the warp 11 or 13 if you want a kickass 1/4 mile. Maybe even consider moving up to the 24v battery with a lower amp hr. But as I said at the beginning, im just speculating and I would consult someone who does racing for what works best. Keep in mind the amp rating you normally see is the amp hr and the zilla 1k for instance only can handle 1000 amps at any given time, so there is no real worry with not being able to hit that with any battery.

A seasoned EV builder who is making a racing EV is doing this build... He took an EV which was for range and is converting it for racing.

*16 Genesis XE60 pure lead AGM batteries* to increase voltage from 120v to 192v but about half the total KwH of the original pack.The big advantage of pure lead is their ability to charge and discharge rapidly without damaging the batteries
an *EV Source Cluster Charge Management System* to optimized charging and leveling of the battery pack
a liquid-cooled *Zilla 1k controller* providing 1000 amps of power vs. 500 amps of the original Curtis 1231c controller
a *Netgain Warp 9" motor* for more low end torque
a *Manzanita Micro PFC-30 charger* for quicker charging (necessary for solo racing)
Might be helpful.


----------



## Mastiff (Jan 11, 2008)

My advice, just make sure you set your Zilla controller to limit the amperage to the maximum Cranking amps of your batteries, otherwise you'll pull 1000 amps out of a 700 cranking amp battery, which will kill the batteries quickly.


----------



## mattW (Sep 14, 2007)

There is no reason to go with the HV if you are going to run the motor at 144V, just go with the LV and save $700. Go with Yellow tops not the blue tops, yellows are deep cycle (EV friendly) and will last much longer, sealed Lead acid give great power (cranking amps ~13C) though you might also want to check out the thread on lifebatts, 18C is insane, a 55Ah pack could give 1000A for ~10secs, light but very pricey.


----------



## Wirecutter (Jul 26, 2007)

Regarding Optima batteries:

Yellow tops are commonly known as deep cycle.
Blue tops are commonly known as marine batteries, and often called starting _and_ deep cycle.

From Optima's own web site:


> YellowTop Type: D51 & D51R - D35 - D75/25 - D34 - D34/78
> These batteries are dual-purpose. They are designed for engine start and cyclic applications and for use in vehicles with large accessory loads.
> 
> YellowTop Type: D31A & D31T
> ...


 Somewhere else, I read that blue tops and yellow tops were internally identical. The difference was in the types of terminal posts available. But reading above, we see that:

1. Red tops are definitely out.
2. Blue top 34M is out. (unless the site is in error?)
3. Blue tops other than the 34M are ok.
4. Yellow tops are ok.

I use Yellow top D34/78 batteries, which have standard automotive posts on top and standard side lugs, too. IIRC, the Blue tops have posts on top, with the marine style "wing nut" lugs adjacent to them. When I get more, if I can find them, I'll go for the Yellow top D34, which doesn't have the unneeded (and possible safety hazard) side terminals.

Note that when Optima says "D34/78" they're talking about one type of battery, not two. It's the one with two different terminals. The "/" is part of the part number, not a choice between two numbers. 

-Mark


----------

