| Owner | Greg Fordyce | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owner's Other EVs | 1990 Fiat 126 1999 Daewoo Matiz | ||||||
| Location | Galashiels, Scotland United Kingdom map | ||||||
| Web/Email | WebPage | ||||||
| Vehicle | 1994 Volvo 440 5 door hatchback. Similar size to a Ford Escort maybe slightly larger. | ||||||
| Motor | Netgain Impulse 9 Series Wound DC This motor is a very good choice for smaller front wheel drive vehicles were the length of a Warp 9" or Advance DC 9" motor can be to long. It is a 9" diameter motor that is the same length and mounting pattern as most popular 8" motors. | ||||||
| Drivetrain | Front wheel drive 5spd manual. No clutch, motor directly coupled to gearbox. | ||||||
| Controller | Curtis 1231C-8601 Popular controller that whines on low throttle positions, personally I think it gives pedestrians some warning when you start to pull away although Curtis says in their manual that it provides better control at low speeds. | ||||||
| Batteries | 12 other SEC Industrial Battery Company 12FTG 100ah, 12.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, Gel SEC Industrial Battery Company was very helpful in advising on types of batteries. I chose these batteries not because they were the best option but because they had 17 old stock that they sold me cheap. They are a front terminal battery designed to go into 19" equipment racks for back up power supplies. I try not to pull more than 300 amps from them because the voltage drops quite a lot at that level, but the good news is that the car doesn't need to pull much more than 200 amps even climbing hills at 50mph. Their website is www.secbattery.com | ||||||
| System Voltage | 144 Volts | ||||||
| Charger | Zivan NG3 I have replaced my 13 Ring RSC16 Smart Chargers with a Zivan NG3. This charger works great and has improved my watt hours/mile by about 80 watts due to it being more efficient. The Ring chargers were disappointing, they have a soft start feature that wouldn't always start on very cold days and overheated and shut down in the Scottish summer, which is not very hot. I was intending mount these permanently in the car, 1 for each battery but had to return 5 chargers after they failed. | ||||||
| Heater | None yet, although it does have heated seats! On my to do list (I have ordered a unit off of ebay)b. | ||||||
| DC/DC Converter | none Since I have some spare 12v 100ah batteries I am using one for the 12 volt system and recharging along with the traction pack using one of the Ring Smart Chargers. | ||||||
| Instrumentation | PakTrakr, This is a good unit for telling you of any problems with the batteries but using as an amp gauge or fuel gauge has been less successful. I also have a watt/hour meter to measure electricity used to recharge. | ||||||
| Top Speed | 80 MPH (128 KPH) The speed limit on our local roads is 60mph which the car will do quite happily. I usually cruise at 50-55mph but it has power to overtake slower vehicles if required. I have had it to 80 breifly, it draws a lot of amps at that speed but could still go faster. | ||||||
| Acceleration | Very brisk, surprises most people who drive it. | ||||||
| Range | 24 Miles (38 Kilometers) This area is rural and hilly. My commute to work is 11 miles one way. I can charge at work or home which will be handy in the winter, cold batteries mean less range so I have to charge both ends of the journey. | ||||||
| Watt Hours/Mile | 420 Wh/Mile This figure has been calculated using a electric meter mounted in the car and takes into account losses due to charging the batteries. Changing the battery charger has made the biggest improvement to my Whr/Mile figure, removing roof bars and mud gaurds and having the tracking set has helped maybe 20 watts/mile. However putting a christmas tree on the roof to take to the recycling centre after christmas returned a Whr/Mile of over 900 watts! Streamlining does matter after all. | ||||||
| EV Miles |
| ||||||
| Seating Capacity | 5. All the original seats are intact. | ||||||
| Curb Weight | 3,040 Pounds (1,381 Kilograms) The car had a curb weight of 2,200 lbs according to the owners handbook. After removing engine and related bits the car weighed 1,590lbs. The GVWR of the car is 3,480lbs leaving a payload capacity of 440lbs. | ||||||
| Tires | What was on the car when I got it. | ||||||
| Conversion Time | 3 months approx. | ||||||
| Conversion Cost | Haven't looked yet. | ||||||
| Additional Features | Vacuum pump for the brakes was sourced from Volkswagen (part number 8E0 927 317B). This is quite a compact unit but doesn't have a vacuum switch so it is temporarily wired to the stop light circuit. I will probably add a timer circuit so that it only runs for a few seconds at a time. |
1994 Volvo 440
“The Invisible Car”
Last Updated 03-10-2012
Copyright © 1997-2024 by Mike Chancey