Front viewRear viewInterior
OwnerAnts Field
LocationChristchurch, South Island New Zealand map
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Vehicle1988 BMW 318i
MotorAdvanced DC L91 x 2 Series Wound DC
The car is direct drive, two narrow motors
drive nose to tail onto a shortened
driveshaft. It works well, but
acceleration is a bit sluggish from 0 -
20mph.
My previous e-car had a manual gbox and I
do miss it sometimes. To be able to use a
lower gear for around town driving would
make it easier to pull out into fast moving
traffic.
DrivetrainDirect drive.
ControllerOpen ReVolt 500A
Batteries45 CALB/Skyenergy SE40Ahr, 3.20 Volt, Lithium Iron Phosphate
Actually the pack is made of 135 CALB
SE40Ahr batteries. (The batteries are
bolted
together in groups of three in parallel (3
x
40Ahr cells) This was done to make use of
the
low height of the 40's and allows two
battery
boxes under the hood.
The pack is 2/3rds under the bonnet and
1/3rd in the boot.
System Voltage144 Volts
ChargerPowertech BFS-180
Beautiful charger, fully adjustable via LCD
user interface. Can set cell number, cell
voltage,
current, charge profile.....
HeaterNothing at the moment :(
This is my second winter without heating,
but life gets busy and it will happen one
day....

My plan is to use a Cats 110v 2000w engine
block heater connected to the stock heater
core.
DC/DC ConverterMeanwell
Set at 14.2 to charge the 12v lead acid
auxiliary battery.
InstrumentationI plan on converting the original BMW tacho
to be an amp meter. This is tricksy though as
it originally used a 60-2 tooth sprocket on
the crank to give TDC and rpm.
Top Speed65 MPH (104 KPH)
AccelerationModerate
Watt Hours/Mile300 Wh/Mile
Seating Capacity5 adults
Curb Weight2,733 Pounds (1,242 Kilograms)
Car is 1240kg, about 40kg more than stock.
(it was originally an auto)

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