Under the hoodThe rear endE-Meter installationRefueling...Motor bolted to gear boxAC distribution box
OwnerThomas Everth
LocationCoromandel, Coromandel New Zealand map
Email email image
Vehicle1990 Toyota Starlet
conversion for local driving (90% of my rides) in the Coromandel township.
MotorD&D Motor Systems, Inc. ES-15-6 Series Wound DC
Converted from SepEx to Serial DC in May 2013. From 2008 to 2013 SepEx motor.
Got the new Serial motor through EVDrives.com in the USA. Great Service!

For the first 4 years of the car I had a SepEx D&D-ES-32-50 Motor. I found SepEx to complex and blowing up controllers due to the high voltage when regen braking. Especially down hill. I do not recommend SepEx due to the limited choice of controllers, none of them worked well.
DrivetrainManual gearbox, front drive, 5 gears
ControllerAlltrax SPM72500
Great controller. Noticeably more power and higher top speed than old SepEx system.
Got the new controller also from Evdrives.com Great Service!

I started with Sevcon Power Pak SepEx on my old SepEx motor. Blew two controllers from them in the first two years. Company did not respond to warranty requests!!!
I then used a Navitas TSX-500-72 controller. Again SepEx. But this is definitely unsuitable. Has no brake power reduction when the voltage rises, instead pulls the contactor under full brake load and systematically blows itself up!! But company returned my money as clearly their controller was not fit for the road.

Now after converting to Serial Wound motor and controller, the car is operating really well. SepEx was a waste of money and the energy returned from braking not worth the struggle! My advice, stay away from SepEx!
Batteries6 Trojan T-1275, 12.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, Flooded
150 AH deep cycle 12 Volt. Pack weight about 222Kg

System Voltage72 Volts
Charger Wellforces, Auckland
Bought 3 chargers at 24V 12.5A for about $150 each. Friendly company. Made in China I believe but looking good.
Site: WebPage
HeaterHat and mittens...!
DC/DC Converter Wellforces, Auckland
DC/DC converter 72 to 96V in, 12V 30A max output used to top up small 12V auxiliary battery.
Site: WebPage
InstrumentationXantrex Link Pro
Top Speed50 MPH (80 KPH)
Since conversion to Serial Motor and controller capable of up to 90Km/hr on flat road.
Will easily flow with all traffic in urban driving.
AccelerationVery powerful to about 50Km/hr. I use 2nd gear to 40Km/hr then 3rd gear and later 4th gear. Motor torque is great at low motor revs, hence acceleration gets better when switching gears up as you accelerate.
Range20 Miles (32 Kilometers)
First test of full battery discharge was 20 miles. But on the same drive I also repeatedly went for max speed and had a few climbs. So actual range at 35MPH on flat land should be a lot better.
Watt Hours/Mile400 Wh/Mile
Used 90KWhr AC charging for 400Km. That is 0.24 KWhr / Km or 24KWhr per 100Km or at NZ power prices of about NZ$0.16/KWhr that is NZ$3.84 / 100Km of driving.
EV Miles
Current: Miles (0 Kilometers)
Seating Capacity4 adults
Curb Weight2,028 Pounds (921 Kilograms)
After conversion = 920Kg total
Front Axle = 530Kg
Rear Axle = 390Kg

Before conversion = 840KG

Weight gain = 80Kg


Tires4
Conversion TimeMany days so far....
Conversion CostAbout NZ$11,000 including the base car, a $2100 Trademe purchase.
On Fuel savings: 100Km in the base car at 6L/100Km at $2 per Liter = $12 for fuel. Now: About 20Kwhr charging per 100Km at $0.16/KWhr = $3.20 or a saving of $8.80 per 100Km or 75%.
At 15,000 Km / year the savings are $1320, a return on my investment of well over 10%!
Additional Features3 batteries under hood, three in battery well sunken where the spare wheel once was. Will carry no spare wheel.
Full seating for 4 adults.
I started the car as an EV in Oct. 2008 with a SepEx motor and controller. But in four years blew four controllers.
Now I converted to Serial Wound motor and controller and not only is the performance much better, its now also a lot safer.
The high voltages during regen braking are destructive to the controllers.
In the last year I drove a Navitas controller with regen turned off. But nevertheless the controller would occasionally without any obvious reason go into full electric braking and then blow itself up. Not recommended.

My observation is that SepEx is not worth the trouble. There are not enough powerful controllers out there to choose from plus the controllers that are there are prone to blow up when braking.
I live on a hill. So in the morning I would drive down with a full battery. This setting is entirely unsuitable for Navitas and Sevcon sepex controllers as the combination of a full battery + braking is causing them particular problems.

My current Alltrax SPM72500 controller seems awesome, powerful and safe. Plus its very easy to connect with minimal fuss. Its build in USB connection plug makes programming as easy as possible. Great controller.
On the Alltrax website they show the controller working fully submerged in a bucket of water and also frozen in a block of ice. Seems bullet proof plus internal fan means no need to have bulky external cooling.





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