Seat Ibiza EV

Today has been an interesting day.  We went and had a look at a Seat Ibiza electric vehicle which is in the final stages.  It has an Impulse9 (slightly smaller brother to the Warp9) by Netgain, a 1000Amp Logisystems/Netgain controller, Zivan charger, 120V of Thundersky 160Ah lithium batteries with EVWorks BMS.  It has no clutch, has crash inertia switch, circuit breaker with emergency disconnect and fuses as backup. It is a 4 seater but may be a 3 seater depending on weight.  It has power steering AND airconditioning.  As you can see by the photos the workmanship under the bonnet looks very, very good.

We went for a quick zip around the block and I couldn't believe how much torque it had.  Unlike the Curtiss controllers it was quieter than a church mouse, when we got out of the car Connor said it was just soooo cool and can't wait to get the X7 on the road.  Seeing this car has given us that extra boost and confidence in what we are trying to achieve.  When Steve started the project he approached me to sling a few ideas around but really I learnt way more off him as he has done some thorough research via talking to people who have real experience in converting an EV and indepth internet searches.  It was through our discussions that I decided to go for the Logisystems controller, Iota DC/DC converter, Zivan battery charger, opting for an aluminium batt box in the front and he put me on to Google Sketch which has been handy.  Thanks for your help Steve and I hope the car does well for you.  It certainly looks good!

Front Battery Box

I've done a lot of procastination for the front battery box.  A lot has to do with the price of batteries, initially I want 160Ah Thunderskys at 144V to give good top speed and distance.  As I've changed jobs money is a bit tighter than it used to be so I've been looking at alternatives.  There are now 90Ah, 100Ah, and 120Ah to choose from either Thundersky or Sky Energy.  Packaging is similar in size and I've compromised from my original 160Ah to go for the 120Ah from Sky.  The height of the batteries is the same as the 160Ah but have the same footprint as the 90Ah also they are 3.4V as opposed to 3.2V.  This should give me a range of 80-100km with a top speed of 120km+.

Now I can organise my front battery box to suit.  I'll have 12 batteries in one long string.  The box cost me AUS$250 to get made and I'm now working out suitable mounting.  I'll use the existing mounts at the front where the radiator was and look at mounting through the chassis rails, to do this I'll need to drill a hole then sleeve it so when the bolt is tightened up it doesn't deform the rail.

New Controller

I've just got the controller from Cloud Electric in the USA. It is a Logisystems 144V 750Amp. I've recently heard that Logisystems have teamed up with Netgain Motors and the new controllers are red in colour, same as the motors.

One thing to watch out for is the throttle pot as the standard ones don't have a fine enough control at low speed so the motor would be jerky. The new logisystems controllers come with the proper pot as part of the price. Here's some photos when I unpacked it and then when I fixed the cooling fans to it.

Car Show

Again I've had to put the project aside for awhile for personal matters. However I did go to the car show at the local PCYC and they did have some beautiful vehicles there. You just can't go past the Mustangs and Corvettes and I fell in love with the T-Bucket hot rods. I reckon a bucket would be a beaut EV, look at the room at the back for batteries! (Do I have a blue theme?)

I couldn't get the X7 there so was very disapointed. Definitely next year. There was the Suzuki hatch from Suzi Autos that I saw at a previous show.

Plug Arrangement - finished

A quick post.

Just finished off the plug recepticle, covered the hole where the petrol filler used to be. Quite neat with plenty of room.

Plug arrangement

This is NOT the inlet (left)! I've been mulling over the plug arrangement for some time now. A lot of EV's use a caravan type plug/socket, similar to the one to the left. In fact I bought this one for the job. This inlet has an IP32 rating for weather protection, it's not waterproof but the socket is angled downwards to let water run off it instead of into it. This is why it must be fitted vertically. Unfortunately the area at the back of the petrol fill recess doesn't have a flat surface and there's not much room.

To add to things I need a 15amp inlet due to the traction pack (160Ah needs a bigger charger hence 15A instead of 10A). I reckon I've found an elegant solution to my dilemma.

This is what I found at Jaycar's, it has a 16A rating, compact and solidly connected. It even has a locking tab so the plug cannot fall out of the socket. The Jaycar catalogue numbers are:
IEC panel mount male plug 16A - Cat PP-4182 ($6.95)
IEC locking mains lead (2mtr) 16A - Cat No PS-4180 ($22.95)
or if you need 10A
IEC panel mount male plug 10A - Cat No PP-4174 ($4.95)
IEC locking mains lead (2mtr) 10A - Cat No PS-4170 (16.95)

The plug/lead is 2 meters long, I will chop off the 3 pin plug and fit a new one that has a watertight rating, this I will plug into a long extension lead that has a watertight socket.

Looking at the photo on the left you can see that it is angled downwards and fully recessed there is no way water can ingress unless you hit it with a hose! If it wasn't for the lead I could shut the flap, if I could notch the flap without damaging the paint I would have the flap shut while charging. I know, what about the limit switch for the flap to show that it is charging? I am looking at having a relay powered by the plug that will lock out the 'start' circuit. Next I have to fit a plate to cover the holes where the old petrol filler used to be.

Greenfest

Last weekend Brisbane had 'Greenfest' a three day festival. All sorts of environmental and energy friendly stuff but due to other commitments I could only pop into Greenfest for about half an hour. Saw the only TESLA in Australia which sure looks good (in that untouchable drooling sort of way!).

Also had a look at a 1994 Suzuki hatch that was put together by SuziAuto from Springwood (Brisbane, Queensland). They have on offer to the public converted Suzuki's for a reasonable price (considering for a pro shop), they'll even convert your own car just have a yak to them and discuss what you've got. They're passionate about Suzi's (converted or not) and are friendly sort of blokes. I reckon it's great to see somebody doing something about offering EV's to the public now with a real product instead of just talking about it. Good on ya blokes (and blokessess too), now where is that government assistance?

Thought I'd take another photo as the X7 is now, I do love the wheels. Has a front windscreen now but yet to install the surround (nothing to do about conversions just RX7 restoration stuff).

Change web address

I'm changing the address to www.electric-rx7.blogspot.com as this will make it easier for people interested in EV conversions to find.

Sorry for any inconvenience!

Brett

Carpets

Managed to purchase front and back carpets in good condition today.... and at a great price. Thanks Lenny and it was good talking to you.
It's a bit hard to see in the photo but the wife noticed that the handbrake is on the left hand side of the tranny tunnel. Was this originally a left hand drive or is that normal for all RX7's? Will have to check that out.
I'd like to say a big hi to Tosh as he's been following this blog from the start ..... I will finish it one day Tosh!

Motor Mount

I've had a few days between changing jobs and I've finally got the motor mounting plate welded and fixed to the rubber mounts. Feels pretty strong, maybe a bit overkill but I like it.


I've put a little gusset to add strength to the tabs. For the future I can attach stuff to the plate such as a rev sensor that I can use as an over rev limiter.

New Tyres

I am a happy man. I've gone to reknown tyre franchises looking for new tyres - 185/70R13's to be exact. They tell me you can't get them as they are not made any more so I was going to go for 205's which mean a wider tyre so more rolling resistance. I took one more shot and went to a small tyre shop and they had them as they sell ALL tyre brands, the other shops only sell THEIR brands. At $89 per tyre fitted and balanced I was very pleased. I also managed to find wheel bolts that where longer to suit the mags. So $356 (tyres) + $56 (bolts) + $100 (mags) = $512 all up, very nice!

Conversion or Restoration?

Okay, I've been back into the X7 again and it's driving me crazy!!! The conversion is relatively easy but the restoration side of things is an absolute pain in the butt. It takes so much time to source gear and even more ensuring it is the correct bit that will fit. Anybody doing a conversion ....... my advice is to find a car that has all it's pieces AND basic stuff like brakes etc in full working order. Don't get me wrong, this is going to be a great sexy looking and performing car but the restoring is tough. Conversion is a cinch!

I've posted a few photos of installing the motor/gearbox in to the engine bay. Went very, very easy with just my youngest son and myself! Using the hoist and a small trolley jack under the gearbox we mounted the unit with no hassles.

I saw on Ebay a set of 4 mags that suit a Series 1 RX7, I believe that they are limited edition for the Series 1. I bought them and they look great (thanks Keven!). I will eventually change out the Mazda logo in the center hub and will look into getting blanks made with with "X7" etched into them as I don't want Mazda on the vehicle but X7. I've had a few probs with tyres, unfortunately I've found that it is extreamely hard to find tyres of the original size (185/70R13) so went for the Ebay rims which fit 205/65R13, no go. Looks like we can get 205/60R13's which will do okay, $95 fitted and balanced each. So all up A$500 which isn't too bad. I now need to find wheel bolts (they don't have studs) to suit the rims.

Next is fitting and welding the adapter plate. That I'll report on that next.

Help - Trailer needed for car show!

Help!!! ............................
Just around the corner from us is the Police Citizens Youth Club (PCYC) is holding a car show on July 5th at Logan Central. I want to put the X7 in it to promote electric vehicles but I don't think it will be on the road by then. Does anyone have a car trailer for lend in Brisbane??? Here's the poster for the show, I'd really like to have the X7 there.

It's been awhile since the last post as the family has been busy and I've been slack. I am now back on the mission. We sent the X7 away for a paint job, the wife said green so green is what we got, tree frog green! Our official name for the car is the "X7" but it seems that a pet name has arisen due to the colour - the "Golblin", after the Green Goblin of Spiderman fame. A number plate may reflect this in the future.


I've posted a photo of the X7 arriving back home and a couple sitting in the garage. I actually like the series one bumper arrangement with the black matching the green, I'll try to keep the black when we install the front windscreen surround.

Next we'll look at the brakes as the car being nearly 30 years old and only 108,000kms I suspect that it has spent a great deal of time sitting doing nothing. So we'll pull the wheel hubs apart and check the bearings and brakes, replace if need be. I've already discovered that the brake master cylinder is siezed and will need to source another one.