EV Elisemotor instrip down 2Engine outadaptor plate 9kgCoupler
OwnerPaul H (Adelaide)
Owner's Other EV1992 Suzuki Swift GTi
LocationAdelaide, South Australia Australia map
Vehicle2002 Lotus Elise
After converting my Suzuki Swift Gti to
electric, I've now purchased a Lotus Elise
to convert to electric drive.
MotorKostov K10 - 10 inch motor Compound Wound DC
A 10.5 inch motor cabable of 100kW (134HP)
peak easily moves the little Elise. I only
used a 9" 74kW peak motor in the Swift and
that is quite rapid.
DrivetrainIt was a 1.8L 4 cylinder with a 5 speed
manual gearbox.
ControllerEvnetics Soliton 1
I used a Zilla 1k last time, but they are no
longer available. I will use the Soliton 1
as it can handle 1000amps to the motor for a
short time and also has a built in
contactor.
Batteries45 Thunder Sky 100Ah, 3.20 Volt, Lithium Iron Phosphate
Ideal for the job.
System Voltage144 Volts
ChargerZivan NG3
Used it last time and it was great.
HeaterHotstart Tank Heater from EV Works - Average
yearly temperature in Adelaide (Australia)
is 21'C, so don't really need a heater,
although I have to have one to meet the ADR
(Aust Design Rules)
DC/DC ConverterIota DLS-55
I used one last time and it did the job.
InstrumentationStock Lotus Elise with X-Pert PRO HV
battery monitor.
Top Speed110 MPH (176 KPH)
175kph is more than enough top end speed
(not tested!). It will hardly need to drive
over 60kph on my average drive to work
anyway.
AccelerationIt has pretty quick acceleration - not quite
Tesla performance, but more than enough to
surprise a few people. 3rd gear from a
standing start is great!
Range70 Miles (112 Kilometers)
I only travel 12kms a day, so approx 110km
range (70 miles) is more than enough for my
needs. I'd rather have less batteries (less
weight) so that the handling and
acceleration remains great.
Watt Hours/MileTBA
Seating Capacity2 seater roadster
Curb Weight1,870 Pounds (849 Kilograms)
It should weigh approx 850kgs when the
conversion is complete. Gotta love the
light weight Elise!
TiresStandard Elise with Standard Lotus 17" alloy
wheels at the rear and 16" at the front.
Conversion TimeIt was completed in under 6 months
Conversion CostA lot more than my previous Swift GTi
conversion! I wont be cutting any corners.
This will be a top quality conversion with
no expense spared.
Additional FeaturesI want an EV that drives well and has great performance. I
would have bought a GM EV1 if GM still made them and hadn't
crushed them. If you havent seen "Who killed the electric
car", you really need to see it.

Although I would like to buy a Tesla Roadster, (I have driven
one and they are really nice), the price is approximately
$200,000 (2011) in Australia after taxes etc, so I had no option but
to build my own electric sports car. It is still quite quick,
have a range that suits my lifestyle and be great fun to drive!
March 2011 - Purchased Lotus Elise - Series 2.

I'm going to drive it to work for the next couple of weeks to
make sure that it has no problems then I'll park it in my
garage and start removing the no longer needed items, like,
engine, exhaust, fuel tank etc.

Just sending paperwork in to Regency Park to get approval
from Road Transport SA first.

The car has been weighed at an official weighbridge. It
weighed in at 780kg with a full tank of fuel (so about 745kg
with an empty tank). That's lighter than the new 2011 model
by almost 125kg - Great!

March 17 2011 - Project started!!!!

I started stripping the car down last night after dinner. I
am going to remove the front and rear clams to enable better
access.

March 19

Rear clam removed. Driveshafts out. Engine removed. Fuel
tank removed. Gearbox removed from engine.

I've rested the gearbox back in the engine bay with the
engine hoist to measure space (see photo).

The batteries, motor and lots of other components arrived.
I'm just waiting for the controller and the charger.

April 1

Eric came over last night and helped me remove the front
clam. There isn't room in the front for any batteries!

April 7

The motor has arrived and looks huge! - a 10.5" motor in a
car this small looks very big indeed. I took it to the
engineers who is going to make a steel adapter plate and a
coupler from the gearbox to the motor. This time I am going
to retain the spring feature of the clutch centre to reduce
the stress on the gearbox under light acceleration.

I am expecting the adaptor plate and coupler to take
approximately 3 weeks. It's not the cheapest option, but
they will be matched perfectly and a top quality job.

April 8

Last night I cut off the top of the fuel tank and have made
it into a battery box holding 10 of the TS100Ah batteries.
This sits under the car in the original fuel tank position
and would weigh the same as if it was full of fuel - Perfect.

April 16

I've started welding the battery box together which will sit
above the fuel tank centre structure of the car (right behind
the seats). This will hold another 25 x TS100Ah batteries.
This is possble with no cuts or alterations to the original
body.

April 25

The central battery box is almost complete now. I've test
fitted it into the car and it is nice and tight. The adaptor
plate and coupler are almost ready. Next job is to start
planning some wiring for the controller, XPert Pro battery
monitor and heater.

April 30

Today, Eric came over to give me a hand. We ran some cables
from the front dash to the rear of the car. 5 x High voltage
cables in an orange sleeve so they are double isulated and
comply with the standards. Also we ran 14 x 12v cables for
the controller, heater and other items.

The engineer is about to inspect the vehicle to make sure
that it meets the state engineering requirements.


May 8

The engineer (Stuart Croser) came to inspect the car. He is
the ideal guy to check out your car if you are in SA He is
very experienced with EV's. Stuart is happy with the
progress so far and has made some suggestions regarding
holding the batteries in place.

I did some welding and bracket making today. I've just added
photos of the adaptor plate - It is an engineering
masterpiece, made by Hammat Enginering on Marion Rd, Marion.
Look at the quality! I am very pleased with it.

May 21

Eric came over and we cleaned up the adaptor plate and
coupler and sprayed them to stop any rust forming. The motor
and gearbox have been coupled together and are now in the car
(although the engine hoist is still in place until the 'motor
mount' is made.

May 22

I made a cardboard engine mount for the other end of the
motor. This is now being manufactured in steel and will be
ready soon so that I can remove the engine hoist and re-
insert the drive shafts (which have cleaned up great).

June 25

The engine mount is complete and the motor is installed. I am
taking some annual leave and I'm planning a 3 day blitz on
Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The blitz went well and the
car is getting close. The motor turned the wheels using 12
volts and it sounded great (very quiet)! The DC switch is
installed inbetweem the seats. I now need to connect the
controller and the cables to the X-Pert Pro. I'll definitely
be cracking an EV-grin before the end of this month! :)

The car is now completed thanks to many hours of help from
Eric. If you would like to see the car and are in Adelaide,
South Australia, it will be display at Science Alive on 6th
and 7th August 2011. Come over and say hello. I will be
there all weekend.

The car has full engineering certification and Transport SA
(Regency Park) have now given it full approval to be driven
on the road.

It drives really well, has plenty of power and is absolutely
fantastic to drive. It looks pretty good too :)

I'm so pleased that I put the Xpert PRO E-Meter in as that is
a really useful display as it shows, volts, current and % of
battery remaining. That helps a great deal with 'range
confidence'. Overall the car has turned out absolutely
fantastic and I am really pleased with it.

I sold this car to a guy in Victoria.

2016 update. I now drive a Holden Volt and love it!!!!!






code by jerry