# First EV Car Build College/Highschool Working Together



## Yabert (Feb 7, 2010)

Hi

Why not rebuild a used forklift motor as school project? You can find motor for few hundred $.
A Warp 9 is only a nice forklift motor with brush advance.
Try to find a 9" motor or bigger for your mid size car (but bigger motor are weighing a lot!).

Stay away of those tiny 6.7" motor... except if you are interesting at a motorcycle project


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## amano001 (Sep 16, 2014)

I have tried a couple forklift places around the Miami area but the all seem to sell the butane forklifts which seem to only carry a small 12v motor for a starter. 

It would be great to try and rebuild one if I can find one but im also afraid it might take longer to get up and running.


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## amano001 (Sep 16, 2014)

Also why did you say the 6.7" are not good for cars over the 9"? Is it just due to the 6.7" weighing less?

Thanks


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## Yabert (Feb 7, 2010)

amano001 said:


> Also why did you say the 6.7" are not good for cars over the 9"? Is it just due to the 6.7" weighing less?


A smaller motor will require a lot more Amps to produce the same output torque compare to a bigger motor. More Amps in a tiny motor will reduce his efficiency and it will overheat quickly.
A smaller motor have smaller brushes and smaller copper section. All this isn't good when it's time to move a mid size car.


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## Markijohn (Feb 7, 2014)

You should have the high school check out this site:

http://www.evchallengekids.org/

There is a Florida school already involved in this. If you contact the organizers (of which I know personally), they can get you in contact with that school and I'm sure they can give you all the help you'd need to get started on a build. I believe the Florida school wins it nearly every year. I forget the name of the school. They have a Nissan 240 with 2 motors in series that is pushing a TON of HP. 

These schools are often known to sell off their old setups to other schools to help them get started. Would be a GREAT way to get your school on the road in a short amount of time. 

There is an event coming up that is kind of an intro even to the EV Challenge competition. It is held in NC, so it would be a trip for you guys, but it would be well worth it if you guys were interested in this at all. See attached PDF.

-Just a thought.


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## jeffcoat (Apr 16, 2012)

First off, I agree with Markijohn that you should consider the EV Challenge - I am an instructor at a NC school that has participated (and done very well) for the last 13 years. Mirimar High School in Florida is the school he was referring to - they build record-setting street-legal electric race cars.

As far as your motor/controller setup, a few things:
1) Higher voltage is always better. The D&D motor is great for an ATV, terrible for a Ford Contour. Sitting in our shop right now is a 1989 Miata that at one time had that motor, the Alltrax 500A controller and 9 8V lead acid batteries. Performance-wise, it topped out at just 45mph; I imagine the 500lb heavier Contour will be even slower, and you run the risk of ruining the electric motor.

2) If at all possible, get a controller capable of >72V; a Curtis controller is considered a good budget buy (especially if you pick one up used), but if buying new I can recommend the Synkromotive for about the same price.

3) Motor diameter is proportional to torque; too small and you will never get the car moving; 9" is right-sized for a mid-sized sedan, as Yabert recommended. Voltage gives you higher top speed, and higher voltage gives less current draw for the same power output. Too much current draw results in great inefficiencies, and possibly things melting/burning up.

If your goal is simply to build an off-road only, ultra slow Ford Contour golf cart, you can purchase the components you suggested. Just don't be surprised to lose a drag race against an actual golf cart.

Let me know if you have any other questions!


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## Markijohn (Feb 7, 2014)

^ - See, lots of information to gain from getting in contact with the EV Challenge peeps 

Jeffcoat - Were you at last years final event? I was one of the electrical judges there. Formally a member of the EcoCAR2 team - the Chevy Malibu we had up there...


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## jeffcoat (Apr 16, 2012)

Markijohn said:


> Jeffcoat - Were you at last years final event? I was one of the electrical judges there. Formally a member of the EcoCAR2 team - the Chevy Malibu we had up there...


Yes, I was there; we had the yellow Ford Ranger, the white Toyota MR2, and the little red small-scale vehicle. One of my students is now part of the EcoCAR2 team.


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## amano001 (Sep 16, 2014)

Thanks guys! I sent an email to the EVchallenge for some more information. I think the highschool would love the 1 year program and it would be great experience for the kids. Also thanks for the motor information, I am looking for some 36-48v forklift motors but still having trouble finding here in Miami. I assume as long as the RPM stay in the sweet spot 4000-5000rpm I can run the 48v motor up to 144v? Also been reading that if I did get a forklift motor I would need to advance the brushes some degrees? 

I am also looking into a used warp 9 motor on ebay that might fit our needs.


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## kickngas (Feb 3, 2011)

Hello Adam, email sent about the EV Challenge program!
www.evchallengekids.org


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