OwnerNeville Harlick
LocationMt Maunganui, Bay of Plenty New Zealand map
Email email image
Vehicle1988 BMW 318i
BMW 318 4-door Model E30
MotorAdvanced DC 2 x L91 Series Wound DC
Two L91 motors longitudinally mounted in the
transmission tunnel. Electrically in series, but
did try parallel early on - gave higher top
speed (130 kph) but less starting torque.
DrivetrainDirect drive using existing differential and
drive shaft. No gearbox or clutch.
Controller Cougar
Self built 144V, 500A
Batteries135 CALB/Skyenergy SE40AH, 3.20 Volt, Lithium Iron Phosphate
Three cells connected in parallel to make a
single 120 AHr battery and 45 such batteries
wired in series. I actually measured the
capacity of one battery as 138AHr (down to
2.0V) so I have a usable capacity of 110 AHrs
at 80% DOD. That's about 16 units of
electricity.
System Voltage144 Volts
ChargerProtech
Made by Protech (NZ) ltd, this is a 5.4 kw unit
designed for charging either LiFePO4 or Pb-A
cells. Running from 230v, single phase (at home)
I get a CC charging rate of 15.5A with the CV
mode set at 162V.
HeaterNone as yet. Hope to fit reverse cycle air con
one day.
DC/DC ConverterMeanwell HRG-600-12
InstrumentationSpeedometer, Tachometer, Battery current and
voltage, Motor temperature. BMS showing
individual cell voltages.
Cougar controller has RS232 output to my
Netbook running RTD Explorer which gives a
whole heap of data
Top Speed70 MPH (112 KPH)
110 kph
Acceleration0-80 kph in around 10 secs. Takes a while to get
to 110 kph!
Range80 Miles (128 Kilometers)
Running around town at 40-60 kph, battery drops
to 3.0v per cell at about 100 kms. CALB (was Sky
Energy) allow them to go down to 2.0V/cell and
the one time I did that gave me just on 130 kms.
I don't normally allow them to go that low.
Watt Hours/MileLooks like about 16 units of electricity takes
me 100 kms - 160 watt-hrs per km.
EV Miles
Current:530 Miles (852 Kilometers)
 
    As of 9/30/2019
Seating Capacity4 adults
Curb Weight2,730 Pounds (1,240 Kilograms)
Original car weighed just on 1100 kg and it now
turns the scales at 1240 kg
Tires185x70x14
Conversion TimeTook me about 18 months elapsed time once I
actually started work! Hard to know the actual
hours as I didn't keep a log - deliberately! Its
a hobby after all.
Conversion CostPaid $US400 for the car!
Cougar controller $US600, Advanced motors, 2 x
$US750, Batteries $US7700
Other stuff around $US1000 for a total of
$US11200
Additional FeaturesStill has a very usable boot (trunk?)
Been a very interesting and challenging project and it is heaps of
fun to drive. I have just now completed the process needed to be able
to drive it legally on the road and once that happens I will start
logging some data to see just how good it is.

code by jerry