| Owner | Leslie Grossman | ||||||
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| Location | Knoxville, Tennessee United States map | ||||||
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| Vehicle | 1997 Jeep Wrangler Black, soft top, basic interior | ||||||
| Motor | Netgain Warp 9 Series Wound DC Warp 9". This works well for me, but if you like to race, I'd suggest the 11 inch. | ||||||
| Drivetrain | 5 speed manual transmission clutchless | ||||||
| Controller | Evnetics Solitron Jr. Amazing controller. Has cooling system capeability, which I strongly suggest you use. Regular antifreeze ... keeps it cool when you are flying down the road! | ||||||
| Batteries | 48, 3.60 Volt, Lithium-Ion 48 cells -180ah. 70 mile-per-charge range, if I go very carefully. If not. about 60 miles per charge. The Wrangler is heavy and has the aerodynamics of a brick, but I love it! | ||||||
| System Voltage | 144 Volts | ||||||
| Charger | Zivan | ||||||
| Heater | Yes, but it only knocks off the cold. ... My soft top Jeep doesn't hold heat well. | ||||||
| Instrumentation | Standard dashboard. Replaced old radio with DVD/CD, which displays my battery usage data | ||||||
| Top Speed | 70 MPH (112 KPH) | ||||||
| Acceleration | Fast, even up hills. It is so COOL to drive! | ||||||
| Range | 70 Miles (112 Kilometers) I live in hilly East Tennessee. Sometimes I hit 70 mph on the interstate for brief periods. Most of my interstate driving is 55 mph since that is the speed limit in the Knoxville city/co stretch of I-40 I still try to use surface roads most of the time, since their speed limits are lower, which improves my range | ||||||
| Watt Hours/Mile | 7WH of electricity will drive the Jeep about 17 miles. | ||||||
| EV Miles |
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| Seating Capacity | 2-without back seat; 4-with back seat | ||||||
| Curb Weight | 4,700 Pounds (2,136 Kilograms) Weighed at I-40 truck weigh station in west Knox County. It is about 100 lbs. lighter, post conversion, than stock curb weight | ||||||
| Tires | Large/off road style which came with the car. Will change them to smoother rolling tires when they need replacing. | ||||||
| Conversion Time | 5 months; we had some of the parts already. Delay was in awaiting delivery of component. | ||||||
| Conversion Cost | $24,000 which includes the donor car and 180ah lithium batts. The man you see in the photos is David Hrivnak, the engineer who did my conversion and helped me bring my EV dream to life. | ||||||
| Additional Features | Have installed a RAVELCO anti-theft device, since Jeeps frequently garner the attention of those with less-than-honorable intentions. No one can say this electric car is a wuss! I put my Jeep up against any other Jeep, and I will beat them, hands down, off a dead stop. Such a BLAST to drive! | ||||||
| I waited a long time for this conversion. Found the Jeep in the back of a car lot; it was headed for auction with a blown motor. I had to convince the manager to sell it to me since the motor was to be removed, anyway. He thought I was nuts! When it was finished he was the 1st person I showed it to, since he facilitated this opportunity. In January 2009, I started the Knoxville EV Association so as to find others with similar interests; now we have about 35 members who are scientists, engineers, car nuts and non-scientists/engineers, interested in sharing their expansive knowledge of EVs. Some are like me who have minimal understanding of electricity and/or cars, just learning from our members who ARE in-the-know. If you live in the East Tennessee area and want to learn more, join us at our monthly meeting. Details on WWW.KnoxEV.org MAY, 2015 update - Have now driven 25,000 miles over these 5 years/ post conversion. I AM SO GLAD I am using the 180ah Lithium Iron Phosphate batts. My daily commute is 25-45 miles RT; so I am charging about 5-6 times a week. Keeping the batts "topped off". I only re-charge when I have used more than 20% of my battery storage capacity. My driving habits, while good, are not perfect. Even so, my "range anxiety" has evaporated. I no longer worry. ** Each day before I start driving on a fresh re-charge, I ALWAYS re-set my odometer trip-meter. That has been critical in my ability to quickly see how far I have driven, and helps me learn more about my voltage usage in daily driving. During Halloween and Christmas, I drape LED lights on my Wrangler to celebrate the seasons. Looks cool; I get loads of honks and thumbs up from folks. Nightime illumiation can be seen almost a mile away. Hope to upload images on YouTube. Happy EVing! | |||||||
1997 Jeep Wrangler
“Leslie's Electric Jeep”
Last Updated 05-04-2015
Copyright © 1997-2024 by Mike Chancey