1996 Land Cruiser EV Conversion - EVJ80 Project (1 Viewer)

[artech]

Took me two days but I just finished reading all 20 pages of this thread. What an absolutely fantastic build! So now I have a couple of questions, sorry if they were already covered and I just missed the answers.

Would making the front axle into a part time unit help with extending the range at all? Is there any other way to reduce some of the driveline drag or is it just the weight and poor aerodynamics of the 80 that are hurting the range so much? Would changing the diff gears help any? Or maybe the transfer case gears? I know there are different gear sets available for the 80 but I don't know what you would want for gearing when using an electric motor. And is the motor you are using unique in some way that is not readily apparent to a non-ev-wrencher like myself or would most ev motors have the same issue?

I know just a bit less than nothing about electric vehicles but I have been very, very impressed by the performance that some of them provide. The Lucid Air cars are simply insane, and their motors weigh about as much as my spare tire, which seems almost impossible but there it is. And I'm reading about some new battery technologies (such as the sulfur battery) on the horizon that may help with some of the lithium battery problems we currently are seeing. Very cool stuff! Great promise for the near future!

It seems like the limited range is really the only significant downside to a conversion project like this, everything else seems like it's pretty practical and 'livable-with.' What a great project!

 

[PIP]

Took me two days but I just finished reading all 20 pages of this thread. What an absolutely fantastic build! So now I have a couple of questions, sorry if they were already covered and I just missed the answers.

Would making the front axle into a part time unit help with extending the range at all? Is there any other way to reduce some of the driveline drag or is it just the weight and poor aerodynamics of the 80 that are hurting the range so much? Would changing the diff gears help any? Or maybe the transfer case gears? I know there are different gear sets available for the 80 but I don't know what you would want for gearing when using an electric motor. And is the motor you are using unique in some way that is not readily apparent to a non-ev-wrencher like myself or would most ev motors have the same issue?

I know just a bit less than nothing about electric vehicles but I have been very, very impressed by the performance that some of them provide. The Lucid Air cars are simply insane, and their motors weigh about as much as my spare tire, which seems almost impossible but there it is. And I'm reading about some new battery technologies (such as the sulfur battery) on the horizon that may help with some of the lithium battery problems we currently are seeing. Very cool stuff! Great promise for the near future!

It seems like the limited range is really the only significant downside to a conversion project like this, everything else seems like it's pretty practical and 'livable-with.' What a great project!

Iirc the op used a small capacity battery. His battery has the power equivalent of a half gallon of gasoline or thereabouts.

 

[J1000]

Took me two days but I just finished reading all 20 pages of this thread. What an absolutely fantastic build! So now I have a couple of questions, sorry if they were already covered and I just missed the answers.

Would making the front axle into a part time unit help with extending the range at all? Is there any other way to reduce some of the driveline drag or is it just the weight and poor aerodynamics of the 80 that are hurting the range so much? Would changing the diff gears help any? Or maybe the transfer case gears? I know there are different gear sets available for the 80 but I don't know what you would want for gearing when using an electric motor. And is the motor you are using unique in some way that is not readily apparent to a non-ev-wrencher like myself or would most ev motors have the same issue?

I know just a bit less than nothing about electric vehicles but I have been very, very impressed by the performance that some of them provide. The Lucid Air cars are simply insane, and their motors weigh about as much as my spare tire, which seems almost impossible but there it is. And I'm reading about some new battery technologies (such as the sulfur battery) on the horizon that may help with some of the lithium battery problems we currently are seeing. Very cool stuff! Great promise for the near future!

It seems like the limited range is really the only significant downside to a conversion project like this, everything else seems like it's pretty practical and 'livable-with.' What a great project!

Thanks! Part time would probably help a little bit, but nothing significant. Less than 5% improvement in range I would guess.

I am thinking of getting the underdrive t-case gear sets. As it runs now I think it's not quite in the efficiency zone for the motor for most of the driving in the 20-40 MPH range. The LEAF motor gets best efficiency above 3000 RPM and mine is running below that at lower speeds. I've also noticed the motor will start building heat if I drive a lot under 20 MPH in high range. But if I drive faster than that then the motor runs cool. Under 3000 RPM the motor is about 80% efficient but above that RPM the number climbs up into the mid 90%s.

Modern electric motors are really amazing. There is not a lot of room for improvement in that area. I am looking forward to the new battery technology. Not just because new batteries with improve performance, but more that when new chemistry comes out like sulfur or graphene, then the existing lithium batteries will plummet in cost.

I have been really impressed with it all-around. I thought I would have more problems or issues crop up, but really it just goes. Just jump in and go driving. The only downside is range but that can be fixed with $$$.

 

[J1000]

Yesterday I went out and really pushed the truck to the limits of the battery. I climbed up about 4,700 vertical feet and did a total distance of 42 miles (21 out and 21 back). At the very top of the mountain I was at 12,150 ft elevation and my battery lowest percentage was 18%. When I made it back down into town my battery was at 30%. This included a few miles of driving on the interstate and mountain roads before getting to the trailhead. My efficiency is about 2.1 miles/kwh which is about the same as what the Rivian and Hummer EV get.

I went out with our 4x4 club and met with the nonprofit Stay the Trail and the US Forest Service Rangers. Our club sponsors Kingston Peak trail so every year we go and clean the trail of trash and complete any service projects the Forest Service has for us. This year due to tons of snow the trail was not open yet. We went and opened the gates with the rangers and cleared out some snow drifts so that the trail could be officially opened. The ranger districts are really low on staff, there is only a handful of Rangers for tens of thousands of acres of land. They need all the help that they can get and our club is dedicated to keeping the trails open. Stay the Trail is dedicated to educating new OHV users about the legal 4x4 trails and conservation. In CO going off trail is illegal and results in the closing down of 4x4 routes and other bad stuff. The mountain wildlife is very delicate especially above tree-line.

This is definitely the furthest I've driven the truck in one go and the lowest I've taken the battery out in the wilderness and the highest elevation I've reached yet. It was all uphill so I knew that at any point I could turn around and coast pretty much all the way back to civilization. I also had buddies with straps in case I needed a tow. In the end I didn't need any of these contingencies and I was able to get all the way to the peak and down the other side to the service project area and then back up and over back to where I started. I had a few nailbiting moments on the way up, but once at the peak my confidence grew.

The truck performed flawlessly as always. Not a single issue cropped up. The Rangers thought it was awesome and we met a lot of hikers who were blown away by it too.

 

[PM240G]

Yeah it's a whole new world to explore!


Agreed. At this point an EV conversion is just something to do because you want to. On paper there are no good reasons to convert a normal car to EV. Maybe in the future that will change if batteries become a lot cheaper or whatever but right now it's just for fun.

DARPA has already developed the next generation of battery technology, with more advancements on the way, and that's just what they can share with the public. Unlike most factory EVs, you have the unique capability to upgrade your custom rigs power supply as they become available!

 

[artech]

Someone should try one of these:

Koenigsegg's Tiny Electric Motor Makes 335 HP and 443 LB-FT of Torque

Dubbed the Quark, the motor weighs just 63 pounds.

www.roadandtrack.com

 

[J1000]

DARPA has already developed the next generation of battery technology, with more advancements on the way, and that's just what they can share with the public. Unlike most factory EVs, you have the unique capability to upgrade your custom rigs power supply as they become available!

I can't wait to see what's coming, I know there are several promising technologies but we'll have to wait and see. Lithium Ion batteries were invented in the 80s but it took until the 2000s to start being produced for consumers. Hopefully it won't take that long for the next gen tech.

Someone should try one of these:

Koenigsegg's Tiny Electric Motor Makes 335 HP and 443 LB-FT of Torque

Dubbed the Quark, the motor weighs just 63 pounds.

www.roadandtrack.com

I'm drooling over just about everything Koenigsegg does. It's amazing the power density of electric motors, but you have to realize a battery big enough to supply that bad boy with enough power is going to be big and heavy!

 

[Kernal]

Stack four of those in a row and you'd have a beast.

 

[haulin auss]

@J1000 - What does your overall drive ratio end up being for around town driving? Isn’t the LEAF like 9:1?

 

[J1000]

@J1000 - What does your overall drive ratio end up being for around town driving? Isn’t the LEAF like 9:1?

In hi range my total ratio is 11:1 (4.11x2.7) and in low range it is 26.6:1 (4.11x2.7x2.4). And yes the LEAF is 9:1.

So my truck has more mechanical advantage than a LEAF and a lower top speed. LEAFs go 94mph and my truck does about 75mph.

 

[haulin auss]

In hi range my total ratio is 11:1 (4.11x2.7) and in low range it is 26.6:1 (4.11x2.7x2.4). And yes the LEAF is 9:1.

So my truck has more mechanical advantage than a LEAF and a lower top speed. LEAFs go 94mph and my truck does about 75mph.

Awesome. I believe you mentioned the motor hits 90% efficiency around 3k RPM - any idea what cruising speed that puts you at?

 

[J1000]

Awesome. I believe you mentioned the motor hits 90% efficiency around 3k RPM - any idea what cruising speed that puts you at?

I think it's around 35-40 mph. I am really not sure because for some reason I don't have motor RPM in any of my data logging stuff. Just a byproduct of using a mixed up set of parts and controllers. They keep telling me it's coming soon in an update

I think I may try the 10% underdrive gears for the t-case so I can get off the line a little better in hi range and maybe bump up my efficiency at low speeds.

 

[J1000]

Reminder to come out to Ohm on the Range State of Charge EV car show this Saturday 3-7:30pm at Golden High School. Same day as the Golden Cruise!

 

[haulin auss]

I think it's around 35-40 mph. I am really not sure because for some reason I don't have motor RPM in any of my data logging stuff. Just a byproduct of using a mixed up set of parts and controllers. They keep telling me it's coming soon in an update

I think I may try the 10% underdrive gears for the t-case so I can get off the line a little better in hi range and maybe bump up my efficiency at low speeds.

So if I'm tracking this correctly then that would give you power earlier but would drop your theoretical top speed of 75mph to around 68mph, right?

 

[J1000]

So if I'm tracking this correctly then that would give you power earlier but would drop your theoretical top speed of 75mph to around 68mph, right?

Yep. I really don't take it over 60 much because it drains the battery real fast at those speeds. Also it is all over the road cuz it's a lifted 80 with no caster correction

 

[artech]

Bunch of drunk Aussies(are there any other kind?) drove an EV conversion cruiser across the bottom of Darwin harbor underwater for a new world record. It was a 40, but still- one hell of an EV project build!

 

[J1000]

I did see that. It's pretty awesome and the logistics of doing it are nuts. I'd like to know more about the build.

 

[J1000]

I got the chance to drive some amazing EV conversions and also run my 80 through a little autocross course after the State of Charge event last week. Glad I fixed my rear sway bar link!

 

[J1000]

I was featured on EVTuner's podcast The Next Great Car Era. Check it out!

 

[J1000]

I was featured on EVTuner's podcast The Next Great Car Era. Check it out!