Electric & Alt Fuel Vehicles (part 2)

[gadget_lover]

OK Darell, tell us mount about your cute little Kewet. What kinds of hurdles do you run into trying to register such a beast?

I know it won't pass the California smog control regulations, and it's from out of state, so you might be hit with a "polluter's tax" upon import, right? Do we still have that? For those from other states, I'm talking about a tax added to cars from out of state that did not have the manufacturer's seal stating that it was designed to California polution standards. It did not matter if the car met the standard, the fine was for buying a car that was not designed to the California standard.

How about safety?
Do you have to do anything to prove crash worthyness? Do you need to add airbags or 3 point seatbelts? Do they require a seperate battery for lights?

Whay are you bumping up the voltage? If it's not freeway legal, what are the limitations for it's use? I know the "city cars" were only allowed on roads with a speed limit under 45. That meant that one could not have been used to get from one side of Pleasanton to the other. The main thoroughfares are 45 MPH and are the only ones that go across the flood control channels.

It looked like the original design had 4 12 volt batteries. You are making it 8, no? How many milli-amp-hours (mah) is that, in case you want to hook a flashlight too it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Daniel

 

[Darell]

[ QUOTE ]
gadget_lover said:
OK Darell, tell us mount about your cute little Kewet. What kinds of hurdles do you run into trying to register such a beast?

[/ QUOTE ]
Good timing. Just returned from a day of Kewet tinkering. First off, it is not officially owned by me. I'll be finishing it up, and keeping it at my house and driving it, but it won't be "mine" since it has sentimental value to the actual owner (good friend of mine). There were no hurdles in registering it, however. It was originally sold new in CA.

[ QUOTE ]
I know it won't pass the California smog control regulations, and it's from out of state, so you might be hit with a "polluter's tax" upon import, right?

[/ QUOTE ]
Any vehicle with electric-only propulsion is exempt from all smog control regulations since there is no exhaust to measure. The car is not from out-of-state, but is truly a CA car. Even the speedo is in MPH. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[ QUOTE ]
How about safety?
Do you have to do anything to prove crash worthyness? Do you need to add airbags or 3 point seatbelts? Do they require a seperate battery for lights?

[/ QUOTE ]
I learned lots of stuff today that contradicts some of what I said earlier. Turns out that this car is actually legal to drive on the freeway in CA! Yes, with a top speed of 45mph. Go figure, but I have the document right here. CA also accepted the crash test results in Norway where the thing did amazingly well, all things considered. In a crash, I'd rather be in this thing than on my bike at least. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif It has been crash tested, and I have all those documents as well. No airbags are needed, and it has a typical, retractable 3-point belt as standard equipment. Just like a REAL car! As designed there is no 12V aux battery - everything is run directly from a DC-DC converter. We WILL add a small 12V Aux battery though, for many obvious reasons.

[ QUOTE ]
Whay are you bumping up the voltage? If it's not freeway legal, what are the limitations for it's use? I know the "city cars" were only allowed on roads with a speed limit under 45.

[/ QUOTE ]
The original owner destoryed the original motor by using it after the brushes wore away to nothing. The first motor was trashed. We installed a newer, higher-voltage motor to replace it, and that's the main reason for higher V. Plus we'll get way more torque! We have decided to keep it geared for about 45mph top speed. And because of that gearing choice, this thing should launch even better than the EV1. It is RWD, and I fully expect it to be able to smoke those cute little tires from a stop. There are no road limitations to this vehicle as mentioned before. At least nothing beyond the driver's good sense! You won't catch me in this thing on the freeway!

[ QUOTE ]
It looked like the original design had 4 12 volt batteries. You are making it 8, no? How many milli-amp-hours (mah) is that, in case you want to hook a flashlight too it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
Yes, four huge 12V batteries originally. We may go with 16 6V batteries for cost considerations. We'd use standard golf card SLA batteries. About the cheapest way to go. We're going to have to be creative with battery placement, and more smaller batteries makes that a bit easier than fewer bit ones. We haven't decided on the final A-h rating that we'll end up with. All depends on availability and funds. I would expect about 30 miles at top speed out of a charge. This thing has no AC, but does have resistive heat. Even has a rear-window defroster and a windshield wiper! And the slickest thing of all? Four wheel disk brakes. Seriously. Should stop OK!

And finally, if you stayed with me this long... the pictures of the actual car, taken today:
http://www.darelldd.com/ev/kewet.htm

 

[gadget_lover]

Those are some great pictures. I was not aware the kewet was sold in Ca. That would make the registration easier. I was kidding about the Ca polution requirements, BTW.


What's that slim white thing in the background?

Daniel

 

[Darell]

[ QUOTE ]
gadget_lover said:
I was kidding about the Ca polution requirements, BTW.

[/ QUOTE ]
Well, ya got me. Must be too tired!

[ QUOTE ]
What's that slim white thing in the background?

[/ QUOTE ]
That's a City EL - http://www.cityel.de/ I got to drive that one today - my first time. It is basically an electric trike. Road-registered as a motorcycle. WAY fun to drive.

 

[rodfran]

Wow, its so cool that you get to test all of these electric vehicles! What would the Kewet cost in American $ ?

Would 16 six volt batteries fit in it? It looks fairly small!

 

[Wolfen]

A couple of interesting vehicles.

Mili-Spec Silverado with Diesel-Hybrid and Fuel cell generator

Diesel Hybrid Opel Astra

 

[gadget_lover]

[ QUOTE ]
In the mil-spec Silverado article (authored by GM, BTW) is the quote:

The hybrid system, under early development by GM for commercial applications, uses a patented split power continuously variable transmission (CVT) with integral electric motors and an energy storage system, to deliver power efficiently to the wheels. The lightweight nickel-metal hydride-based energy storage system weighs a third less and is half the size of lead-acid battery storage systems.


[/ QUOTE ]

Boy, that sounds exactly like the description used by Toyota for their CVT. Even the phrase "split power continuously variable transmission" is the same. For those that don't read the article, the fuel cell is used as an expensive battery, to provide electricity for running radios and other electronic equipment.

The article on the Astra sounds better. Have they made detailed information about that one available?

Daniel.

 

[Darell]

[ QUOTE ]
rodfran said:
Wow, its so cool that you get to test all of these electric vehicles! What would the Kewet cost in American $ ?

[/ QUOTE ]I have the original bill of sale. Almost $15,000 USD! Pretty steep for 1993, don't you think!? The import situation added lots of money, unfortunately.

[ QUOTE ]
Would 16 six volt batteries fit in it? It looks fairly small!

[/ QUOTE ]
None of the battery compartments are shown in the pictures. The big bay is under the seats, and a smaller one is under the hatch in the nose, directly above the front axel. There's quite a bit of room, actually. And we can just choose the size that fits best. I'll have to make all new battery brackets... good thing my MIG welder and plasma cutter comes tomorrow!

 

[Darell]

I'll lock this one before we surpass the 200-post threshold, and start a new one.

Please go here.