Monday, July 7, 2008

The car


At first I looked around at used cars hoping to find some crazy deal on something nice with a blown engine or something. Truth is that it's very rare to find a car in great condition with a blown motor. Usually the driver takes equal care to all parts of the car. Everything I found say within a few thousand was crap, or so old it didn't have the safety features that are great on modern cars (i.e. ABS brakes, Air bags, etc).

The S2000 is a third vehicle for us so I won't be down a car while doing the conversion. In addition this car is only used for commuting to work so it's already a special purpose vehicle and the limited range of an EV fits the role perfect here.

2003 Honda S2000
Curb Weight: 2800 lbs
Battery space: Not much. I think I can squeeze 12(12v 115AH) batteries
I'm shooting for a 144v system. There is just no way this vehicle could go with less than 12v batteries since it can't handle the weight. On the plus side it's light and aerodynamic. I have quite a few plans for reducing weight and increasing range which I'll cover later. I should be able to get 45+ miles per charge and need around 37 to get to work one way where I'll be able to recharge for the return trip home.

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