Electric / hybrid 240z

[beandip]

As a side note , John told me when he was first starting out with building this car , they used a Z 5 speed and a R-200 diff. They never had one failure on the trans but broke many rear ends. Now they are running direct drive. He needed to invent a controller to handle the Amps. needed to power this monster. The controller , named Zilla as in Godzilla, acts just like any foot throttle. The funny thing is watching him race another car. Like a full blown Vette . The little Datsun sits on the line silent while the vette is all smoke and noise and flames coming out of the exhaust and then all hell brakes loose and the 1200 shoots out in front by about 8 car lengths smoking the tires! Something to see. Gary

[Go240Zags]

If I could go 200 miles on a charge while maintaining highway/freeway speeds -- with a little extra for passing etc. I think I would seriously consider finding a good shell to do this to, especially if it took only an hour to recharge. That would mean adding an hour to a five hour, 250 or so trip for me to Seattle. I'd just have to plan my recharge around lunch/dinner so we could both fuel up at the same time. If the conversion cost was the same as say a used Prius it would be well worth it. Right now whenever I drive to Seattle and back I know I'm looking at about 100 bucks just for gas.

[Zs-ondabrain]

Apon reading as much as possible on the site, Your looking at this equasion....

156000watts / 750 watts/hp *.80 efficiency factor 166hp peak

That should NOT be a problem for the 5-speed you have in mind. The tranni you have should easily handle 200+ HP but it's the torque I'm worried about.

400+ FPT may be an issue for the Nissan tranny, but if you can limit it in increments, I still don't see an issue.

Great project, keep us up to date.

Dave.

[jmead]

Wow, so much interest. I have received more hits to the blog today than I have for the 30+ days its been up put together!

beandip - You might know him as John Wayland, I know him as Plasma Boy

His is the word's fasted street driven electric IIRC. His site has been a huge inspiration, it was the amazing amount of technical info I learned going through his car's history step by step that prompted me to begin chronicling my progress. I hope I can be even 1/10th as helpful to the cause as he is.

Go240Zags - Everybody seems to want that elusive 200+ mile range before they will consider an electric. But how many miles do you drive on a daily basis? Most people commute something like 30 miles a day or less. If everyone was making this daily trip on electrons we'd all be much better off, both financially and in terms of political stability. Most families have 2+ cars anyway so you're not giving up the ability to take longer trips anyhow. Even if you were limited to a single vehicle, something like a range extending generator makes this problem null. Driving with a trailer may be a pain but your average person would only use it a few days out of the year anyhow.

Zs-ondabrain - Its the torque that has me worried as well. My motto has kind have been 'do it and see what happens" so far, but I do really hope the tranny holds up. Switching it would require a big redesign, but I could always do it if I don't have a choice. At least I have full control over it, I can always limit my amps if needed. I'm not really sure how much torque I'll be making anyhow, my motor is foreign and I have no performance curves for it. I assume it is pretty similar to the more common advanced dc motors used.

[jmead]

[quote name=Mr Camouflage;250737

Anybody want to estimate what it would have been worth' date=' before it was made environmentally friendly.

http://ampeater.wordpress.com/page/2/

While it is true I'm trying to make this car better to the environment than it was, thats not exactly why I'm going electric.

I want it to be fast!

Plain and simple.

[beandip]

jmead, Plasma boy, Ha ha there is a story about that name. The main problem at present it seems is the cost of the batteries. The battery pack for the white Zombie , the 1200 Datsun, runs about $64K not exactly chump change. Plus the cost to the environment is really big. According to John the future is in AC but the cost of components is vary expensive. This is why he is using DC. The controller seems to be the key , from what I gather . It is water cooled and it works just like a regular throttle. The amps it controls are huge. He had a melt down in the past , hence the name Plasma Boy. You can bet the major auto builders are watching , big time. I only hope he can make some big bucks with his innovation. Gary

[kenz240z]

Here's another electric Z project...

http://seth.drivexc.com/

[Gav240z]

I'm actually all for alternative fuels and the like in Zeds. While I love the original L-series I wonder if someday when there is no oil left, what alternatives we will have?

I have been looking at Rotary engines and came across a website the other day talking about Hydrogen and a Steam reaction.

I'm very interested to see how this project progresses.

[Mr Camouflage]

I'm still working on the motor mount, its been giving me lots of problems (no easy way to do it because of the steering column). I've got a pretty solid idea in the works; I'm waiting for the local steel supply to get their act together and sell me the 1.5" steel square tube I need to get it done.

Hi Jmead

Heres Seths engine mount page : http://seth.drivexc.com/240Z/Album11/motor_mount.html

I guess if I were in your shoes, I'd have rebuilt the early vin Z's engine and sold the car, since people over there will pay more for an early Z, then started afresh with a cheaper z. But then again, better the devil you know I guess.

I like the idea of an electric car. I've though that a Datsun 1000 or 1200 would be a great candidate. Maybe thats what I should do to the 240z I have with a seized motor that's been sitting beside the house for a few years.

[jmead]

I like the idea of an electric car. I've though that a Datsun 1000 or 1200 would be a great candidate. Maybe thats what I should do to the 240z I have with a seized motor that's been sitting beside the house for a few years.

If I were doing it again I might go for a 1200 instead. They are amazingly light, 1600lbs stock vs 2300lbs stock. That right there will make a big performance/range difference for the same powertrain.

The Z cars do have an incredible amount of engine bay space. I was able to fit 8 60lb batteries up front and 4 in the rear with no issues. In most conversions this ratio is reversed. It leads to poor performance due to less than optimal weight distribution.

Maybe thats what I should do to the 240z I have with a seized motor that's been sitting beside the house for a few years.

Go for it! You'll be way ahead of the curve.

[jmead]

Motor is powered up for first time!

I even got in and shifted through the different gears, checking the amperage as the wheels spin faster and faster.

Now to finish the motor mount, do a little wiring and get it on the road.

[hls30.com]

SAWEET! Can't wait to see it under power!!!

Will