Electric 914, Anyone on this board? Options

[BiG bOgGs]

I am close to possibly converting my teener to full electric, and was just wondering if anyone on this board has any direct experience with a conversion. I am considering the Electroautomotive Voltsporsche kit in either the DC or AC version. My daily commute is 50 miles round trip and I would like to have some extra mileage available on days when I need to do more than just get to work and back The Electroautomotive kits claim to get 80-100 miles for the DC version and up to 150 miles for the AC version. Any other conversions that also can produce these ranges will be considered.

Even if you can just direct me to someone who has done a conversion, that would be much appreciated.

Jim

[johannes]

Read this

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=64873

Search for Otmar http://cafeelectric.com/contact.html

[racunniff]

I'm in the middle of my AC Voltsporsche conversion - had a lot of typical (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sawzall-smiley.gif) and (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welder.gif) to do before I begin reassembly (stripped it down to bare metal). Car's going in for paint this week and I'm going to spend 4th of July week putting electrics in.

Lots of good info on another AC VP conversion here: http://914ev.blogspot.com/

[Bartlett 914]

There are 2 members on Roadglue.com that are in the process of completing their electrics.

[racunniff]

Just for fun, I started a blog on my conversion. Not much conversion stuff yet, just body work & paint prep. But if you're curious:

http://volt914.blogspot.com/

[banger]

First and foremost, you will not get 90 miles range or better using lead acid batteries. There is no way to do it, especially in a 914. Look at the Austin ev page on porsches, and you will see that the range is more like 30-40 miles. Here is the LinkAustin Ev You will get more range with an AC system than with a DC system, but the cost will be more as well. You could use an AC system, and start buying up some Prius Nimh batteries. The only way to get 100+ miles is to use Nimh or Lithium Ion batteries. You could also go with the system from AC propulsion. Their system is the best by far, since it runs a 200hp motor, and a lithium ion battery pack. To bad it will run you over $30,000. In the end you might be better off buying a Ranger EV, since it will cost you less than converting a 914 to a DC or AC system. I currently have 2 electric vehicles as daily drivers, one of which be a Ranger EV. If you are mainly doing this to reduce fuel cost, you may want to look at converting the 914 to propane. This is much cheaper and easier to do, and can have some great benefits if you want to build the engine, since it is 115 octane.

[racunniff]

Good points. But in my case, irrelevant - my daily round trip distance is 10 miles, with some days getting to 30, so 30-40 miles would be perfect. Also, the AC systems have regenerative brakes, which should extend the distance somewhat for city driving.

Also, anybody who is doing this as a serious way to avoid high fuel costs is probably doing it for the wrong reason. I expect that I will have put something like $20K into my 914 by the time all is said and done - which would buy around 5000 gallons of gas, which would last over 100,000 miles...

I hope someday to convert to higher-tech batteries. But, for now, lead-acid meet my need just fine.

First and foremost, you will not get 90 miles range or better using lead acid batteries. There is no way to do it, especially in a 914. Look at the Austin ev page on porsches, and you will see that the range is more like 30-40 miles. Here is the LinkAustin Ev You will get more range with an AC system than with a DC system, but the cost will be more as well. You could use an AC system, and start buying up some Prius Nimh batteries. The only way to get 100+ miles is to use Nimh or Lithium Ion batteries. You could also go with the system from AC propulsion. Their system is the best by far, since it runs a 200hp motor, and a lithium ion battery pack. To bad it will run you over $30,000. In the end you might be better off buying a Ranger EV, since it will cost you less than converting a 914 to a DC or AC system. I currently have 2 electric vehicles as daily drivers, one of which be a Ranger EV. If you are mainly doing this to reduce fuel cost, you may want to look at converting the 914 to propane. This is much cheaper and easier to do, and can have some great benefits if you want to build the engine, since it is 115 octane.