I find this guy pretty entertaining and since he has no fabrication skills whatsoever the end result of this purchase is better than expected.
For the size of the motor it makes great power.
Something like this would make a great hybrid buy replacing the VCU with the motor.
Low tech is a very kind way of putting it.
Low tech is a very kind way of putting it.
He is very realistic about conversions in this video
I love this idea and a Leaf motor should be a very cost effective way to do it. My main question though is can it be done with a sensible range?You know I'm diplomatic Ali.
Rich is very realistic, but then he has loads of EV experience to fall back on. He's not a technical genius, so is able to look at problems from a realist point of view.
The way I see electric conversions to KISS. Hence my thoughts of using a majority of the FL1 drive train i.e. gearbox, IRD, VCU and diff.
The motor from a Leaf is a good example of a simle motor, designed to drive a gearbox, which is how the Leaf is configured. My thinking is to do what Rich has done with that motorbike pancake motor, only with a larger motor from the Leaf.
The Leaf motor is more powerful than any 4 cylinder FL1, doesn't need complex drive circuitry or cooling or any complications which is less challenging than Tesla unit install.
That's why I've been thinking it has potential.
Range is the main concern on a home grown EV conversion. There are many factors that influence range, some impractical to sort on the FL1.
200 miles + would be much more useful.
Over 400 would be pretty much impossible to achieve on a home grown EV.
There's easy space for a good number of cells, and space for many more if some ingenuity is used.
CAN systems should be a breeze, as there are emulators available for those.
If I was going to invest in an EV FL1, I'd only do it on a low mileage, immaculate, top spec model.
Connecting a motor to the IRD isn't easy, as the front diff is in there. The drive for the front left wheel is then passed through the gearbox, using a shaft in a tube arrangement. So it's easy to simply couple an electric motor straight to the gearbox, where the IC engine once sat. This will still leave all the AWD stuff functional, and gives 5 forward ratios for added economy or control and a reverse gear too.
The Tesla power unit is much to large to fit where the VCU goes, unless a motor housing is created inside the vehicle, which is completely impractical.
The V6 is the nicest of the Freelander's to drive, although at sub 20 Mpg, it's at the other end of the economy scale, compared to an E powered version.
I'm just musing through a potential concept really. There's no way the wife would allow me to drop in excess of £15K (just an educated guess) on a working EV Freelander 1 project.
That's why I've been thinking it has potential.
Drag on the vehicle is also another factor, which can't really be changed on a ready made vehicle. However I have worked out that the FL1 requires about 300 Whr of energy per mile at 60 Mph, which isn't too bad.
I took the Mpg figure of 40 to the gallon. Converted it to miles per litre of fuel burned. I then simply divided that the L per M figure by the energy value of diesel, applying a 35% efficiency of the TD4 engine. I did it in my head, so my 300 Whr figure could well be out,
but not by much, I don't think.I don't get that either. Gearing maybe, or wind resistance of a cyclist is more, which doesn't make sense. More investigation is needed I think.
The Leaf motor is about 300Nm, so more than a TD4 running at maximum boost.
) and gives a reverse too (making the inverter motor driver easier to make).I think the trick is to keep the engine EDC running in the background, although not actually doing anything other than relaying information to the various modules. This approach has been used for engine conversions, where an non compatible engine/ECU combination is used in a vehicle. It would need to be tried, but I can't see it as a deal breaker.
I took the Mpg figure of 40 to the gallon. Converted it to miles per litre of fuel burned. I then simply divided that the L per M figure by the energy value of diesel, applying a 35% efficiency of the TD4 engine. I did it in my head, so my 300 Whr figure could well be out,
Most modern EVs are doing over 4 miles per KWHr, so my figure of around 3 miles per KWH can't far out.
Even if it manages just 2 miles per KWH, it's still cheaper than running on diesel.
I don't get that either. Gearing maybe, or wind resistance of a cyclist is more, which doesn't make sense. More investigation is needed I think.
The Leaf motor is about 300Nm, so more than a TD4 running at maximum boost.
The Leaf motor would mount to the gearbox, not the IRD as the front diff is in the IRD. As the front LH drive shaft is supported by the gearbox, the drive from the diff (in the IRD) is fed through the centre of the gearbox output to the IRD input, using a shaft in a tube arrangement. Using the gearbox gives a mounting point for the gearbox, keeping the drive shaft supported correctly, and a way of altering the ratios to help economy (or off road ability
I think the trick is to keep the engine EDC running in the background, although not actually doing anything other than relaying information to the various modules. This approach has been used for engine conversions, where an non compatible engine/ECU combination is used in a vehicle. It would need to be tried, but I can't see it as a deal breaker.
I figured that the original ECU is already installed and communicating on the CAN, although without an engine to run, it might well get upset. A CAN emulator is a better way to go, although not a budget option.
Yes it would be easier to use the earlier 1.8 or L series, simply because there's no CAN to worry about. It still uses a data bus, but it's an older K line bus instead. Unfortunately for me, I prefer the facelift model, which has heavy CAN integration.
That's true, although the older ABS modulator isn't as good as the later unit, giving very different performance characteristics. The FL1 doesn't have DSC which makes things much easier to implement, but ABS, TC and HDC would all need to be catered for, as well as the Ipack, so the speedometer and some warning lights still function. Obviously things like the rev counter and temperature gauge wouldn't be very useful, although it would be helpful is the fuel gauge could show battery charge instead.
Talking about gearboxes Andy. Mine hasn't played up since I cleared the codes. So I think I'll buy the same unit you kindly let me borrow, so I can return yours in the new year.Not mine, but supplied a replacement TD4 gearbox to a local on Christmas eve!! No other places open or able to help. Just patting myself on the back!! Time of good cheer etc. And another F1 back on the road.
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