| Owner | Dennis | ||||||
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| Location | Greensboro, North Carolina US map | ||||||
| Web/Email | | ||||||
| Vehicle | 1996 Ford Probe SE I'm an NCIS fan, and the above nickname fits on so many levels! ;-) I bought the car on 6/10/08, and I'm having a ball watching the progress -- even if it's a bit slower than I'd like... | ||||||
| Motor | Hitachi Model MT4100-11B Series Wound DC 11-inch from a Nissan forklift -- 10kw at 48 volts... | ||||||
| Drivetrain | The greasy 2.0L four-banger that it came with has finally been removed!! I received my 11-inch Hitachi motor on 7-22-08, and will now be working on having the mounting pieces fabricated to mate it up with the stock 5-speed -- minus the clutch. | ||||||
| Controller | Belktronix 144V Haven't totally settled on this yet, but it looks promising, and it's pretty likely this is what I'll get. If anyone has any stories -- good or bad -- PLEASE share them at the e-mail address above... | ||||||
| Batteries | 12, 12.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, AGM I had planned to use 20 Trojan T-105s for superior range, but if I go with the Belktronix, I have to use AGMs. We'll see what I learn over the coming weeks and months.... | ||||||
| System Voltage | 144 Volts | ||||||
| Charger | Belktronix If I go with this option, I like the simplicity of a fully integrated system. | ||||||
| Heater | Will probably go ceramic. | ||||||
| DC/DC Converter | Belktronix | ||||||
| Top Speed | we'll see!! With the 11-inch motor and 144 Volts, speed and acceleration should be pretty impressive. But I'm striving for a range a bit in excess of my 21-mile commute (each way -- but I can charge while at work). I care about this baseline of range more than I care about speed. We'll see what evolves.... | ||||||
| Range | Obviously, I don't know yet. From what I'm reading and hearing, it sounds like I should be able to expect a range of around 30-40 miles from the 144V system. I hope that proves true. My primary use for this car will be my commute, plus local errands (like runs to the store, etc). So a FUNCTIONAL range of about 21 miles is a MUST. But there are other trips I'd like to be able to use this car for which would ask for a range of around 40-45 miles. This would be a luxury -- not a necessity. We'll see.... | ||||||
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| Seating Capacity | 4 1/2 Currently has seat belts for four, but we have three kids, so I'll add a lap-belt for the middle rear position. Our youngest is small enough to fit there comfortably, and the seat-design is safe for doing this... The whole family riding in this car will happen VERY seldom, but it will be nice to be legal in those rare instances when we want to all go to Burger King or something... | ||||||
| Curb Weight | 2,894 Pounds (1,315 Kilograms) (According to Wikipedia stats.) This, of course, is pre-conversion weight. | ||||||
| Tires | Stock | ||||||
| Conversion Time | As of 7-22-08, I have the ICE comletely out, along with all of its "stuff". I have also acquired the motor. I also think I have settled on the controller/charger/converter system. Unless I discover something discouraging about Belktronix in the meantime, I will probably order that within a month or so. Progress isn't as fast as I'd like, but it's also not as slow as I had originally anticipated! :-) | ||||||
| Conversion Cost | Cost of car: $450. (And that cost is being whittled away just a little by a few bucks here and there I'm getting for some of the ICE-related parts I'm peddling on eBay.) 11-inch Hitachi motor: $500 |
1996 Ford Probe
“Probie”
(under construction)
Last Updated 08-08-2008
Copyright © 1997-2008 by Mike Chancey