dieselkiki Posted April 1, 2011 Posted April 1, 2011 (edited) Hello guys, There's almost 3 years that smart say they will intriduce an electric smart car on the market. So, my brother want one but he wait and wait but now it's enought. smart said the smart ED will be introduce in 2010, after in 2011 and now it's suposed to be in 2012. It's sooooooo long! Anyway, we are tired to wait. It's the reason why he buy a 2005 smart CDI to convert it to be an electric car. The project is already start. Just for your fun, I'll show you some pictures of the projet. It's not a small one but it's a feasible one!! So, enjoy!! That's is the muffler. One of the thing we will dont need anymore and the thing by which no more poison gaz will be release!! Now, the car is inside the garage to my brother workplace. We have removed the rear pannel and the rear bumper to revoved the diesel engine. After I must removed the wheels, drain the coolant line, the engine block and unplugs all sensors, connectors and hoses likes fuel lines, air filter box, ECM, starter, alternator, glowplug relay, transmission harness etc... After this, we unscrewed all motor mount to removed the complete powertrain. We did had the right tool to revoved the powertrain but... when you are resouceful, there's always a way to do the job!! We have used 2 hydrolic floor jack to take out the engine. It'was'nt easy but we did it! Now we can see the place we got to put an electric power train! So, after the powertrain removing, we had reassemble the car without the engine because for the rest of the project the car could'nt stay at my brother workplace. The car was now reassemble but humm... how to take it back home??? A towing is very expensive between southshore of Montréal and St-Jean-sur-Richelieu. DAMN!! At the same time my brother say: "DOM!!! I have an idea!! I will make a tool to tow the car. Do you think that your car can tow mine?" Hé-hé-hé!!! OF COURSE!! Hahhah! Take a look at next pictures guys! My brother is a genius!! After 1h and half of working and metal tubbing cutting... He make "IT" the right tool!! The "PERFECT" tool!! So, we drived it up to home with the cruise ctrl at 100km/h and we made a little stop to the TimHorton after a busy evening! I'll post you more pictures when the project has evolved. Have a good weekend! Dom Edited December 7, 2012 by dieselkiki Quote
TO Ed Posted April 1, 2011 Posted April 1, 2011 I'm impressed with the iniative and the towing bar!Are you going to be selling the used parts? If yes, I may be interested in the muffler depending on the price. My brother lives in Brossard. He makes regular trips to TO. So I could arrange pick up and delivery without too much difficulty.Thanks for the great photos! Quote
fordnut71 Posted April 1, 2011 Posted April 1, 2011 awsome. looking forward to your build project. Quote
FlossyTheSmart Posted April 2, 2011 Posted April 2, 2011 The hitched smart looks like an April fools joke! "smart introduces a new way to travel in groups! Introducing the smart train kit!" Quote
dieselkiki Posted April 2, 2011 Author Posted April 2, 2011 The hitched smart looks like an April fools joke! "smart introduces a new way to travel in groups! Introducing the smart train kit!"Smart train kit.... MOUAHAHHHAAHHAHA!! It's not an april fools joke. It's a great tool to tow a 450 smart fortwo at low cost! So, now we have the battery!!! This is Lithium-ion batteries. Good for +/- 400 cycles of charging. The main part of the new powertrain, the electric motor: This motor is a 40HP. Same thing than a smart CDI exept that this electric motor can push up to 135HP during a short time. Hé-hé!! The next part are the thing who dispatch the power from the batteries to the motor according the driver demand, the D/C controler: The electric smart project begins to take shape!! Quote
bilgladstone Posted April 2, 2011 Posted April 2, 2011 What a great project! I will follow this with great relish.dieselkiki, do you know what will be the total weight of the battery pack?And what is your budget for this conversion?Bil Quote
dieselkiki Posted April 2, 2011 Author Posted April 2, 2011 What a great project! I will follow this with great relish. dieselkiki, do you know what will be the total weight of the battery pack? And what is your budget for this conversion? Bil I dont have the exact weight of the battery pack but the budget for this project is around 12000$ My brother is desinging a battery pack who's supposed to take the place under the car (fuel tank, fuel filter compartment). It's supposed to look like this. Quote
MikeT Posted April 2, 2011 Posted April 2, 2011 Very interesting project....but only 400 cycles on the batteries are possible? That's not too many, enough for a daily charge for just more than a year? Quote
Graham Posted April 2, 2011 Posted April 2, 2011 Mike,Battery manufacturers quote numbers in that range, based on full discharge between charges. But it depends on how the batteries are used. If normal use is such that battery is discharged to say 50% of capacity between charges, the number of cycles increases to perhaps 1500 (5 years?)It would be interesting to know what the expected life is of the new smart or Leaf batteries. Quote
lebikerboy Posted April 2, 2011 Posted April 2, 2011 According to what I've read 400 hundred is the minimum and 1200 the maximum... Quote
Graham Posted April 2, 2011 Posted April 2, 2011 (edited) According to what I've read 400 hundred is the minimum and 1200 the maximum...For what type of battery? Any links?Uusable cycles before battery capacity drops apparently varies greatly, depending on the degree of discharge between charges. It also depends on other factors like temperature. And, not all "Lithium" batteries are the same. Many manufacturers, including Nissan have proprietary chemistry.This link is mainly concerned with laptop batteries, but is quite comprehensive and the principles should be the same:http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article...based_batteriesIf dieselkiki's project uses say 50-60% of the battery pack' capacity between charges, it should last for a long time and towards the end, it will still work but will range will be reduced. It's not like the battery just stops working at end of it's estimated cycle life. But, I am sure d-k and his brother have looked at this - What sort of life are you hoping for d-k? Looks like you have 240 cells? What is expected range of car with that pack? Edited April 2, 2011 by Graham Quote
David_18 Posted April 2, 2011 Posted April 2, 2011 I do not think Dieselkiki wants to make a every day car, but more like a "show car". Quote
FlossyTheSmart Posted April 2, 2011 Posted April 2, 2011 So, about 3.5 years at the top end then?Sounds a lot like the original engine Quote
mrtransmission Posted April 3, 2011 Posted April 3, 2011 If someone bought up the tooling for the Roadster and built it using a setup like this, I'd be first in line. A $25,000 Tesla for the masses. If I ever hit the LottoMax, that's where I'd be spending it.But if this works, which I have faith it will, it would make an interesting option for cars that have popped a motor. I bet in 5 years we'll see a lot of this kind of conversion. Quote
Graham Posted April 3, 2011 Posted April 3, 2011 Some guys in Brockville, Ont did a conversion for $997.60! Not exactly a first class job, but as you say, many will be tempted to try as gas (and smart engines) become even more expensive , http://forkenswift.com/ Quote
Huronlad Posted April 4, 2011 Posted April 4, 2011 Do you mind sharing the specs on the controller and motor? Are you able to keep the ESP functional? I have been thinking about doing one of these but as I have access to VFD's I would go with an AC motor for better efficiency. Quote
Fedon Posted April 4, 2011 Posted April 4, 2011 Awesome project! I can't wait to see the finished product. I thought about doing an electric conversion as well but got into making bio diesel so I'll wait till the Cdi dies to rip it out. It may be a while considering she's only got 19000km on it but hopefully the price of batteries will be a lot cheaper by then since it's the most expensive part of the conversion. Was the motor still functioning before the conversion? Quote
dieselkiki Posted April 12, 2011 Author Posted April 12, 2011 The ESP will not running but we will try to keep the ABS. Yes, the engine still running when we removed it. It's a fact, an A/C motor could be more efficient but more $$$$ too!! At this time we choose the D/C motor, less expensive. Now, my brother try to fit a transmission capable to transmit the high output power of the electric engine to the wheel. The original Getrag transmission can't resist at the engine torque. We'll searching for a kind of transmission that can resist to all that torque, with diff/lock, but small enought to fit in the engine compartment. That was not easy. Now, my brother have find a VW transmission with limit slip diff. The next challenge will be to fit both togheter! Yeap! Quote
42pilot Posted April 12, 2011 Posted April 12, 2011 Great project! Best of luck & please keep us all up to date. It sounds like a few of us have had the same idea, you jumped first! This like may be of interest http://evalbum.com/3612 It has another link on the page to a German company doing this very thing (I think) but the page is in German. Quote
flyingnut40 Posted April 25, 2011 Posted April 25, 2011 Please PM me if you are interested in selling the old transmission.Best Regards, Dennis Quote
dieselkiki Posted May 6, 2011 Author Posted May 6, 2011 So, the project is almost complete!! This evening we put the new electric power plant in the smart! This is the motor flywheel adaptor. The CV joint must be modified to fit between the VW transmission flange and on the wheel hub of the smart. Engineering of the adaptor part between the VW transmission and the electric motor. Must grooved the electric motor housing to left space for the CV joint rotation. The complete power plant!! Motor mount measurment and conception. It's not an easy thing to do it right as a perfect bolt on fit! So, the complete power plant is now ready to be put inside! That is what we did this evening. There are only the battery pack and the controler to instal. I look foward to take the fist ride!!! Quote
bilgladstone Posted May 6, 2011 Posted May 6, 2011 Well done, sir! Excellent project - excellent designing. Quote
smart142 Posted May 6, 2011 Posted May 6, 2011 Good for you! Very well done! I hope the test drive goes well! Bon chance! Quote
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