Archive for category Electric Car
Volvo Electric Powered Concept Sports Car and Volvo Replacement Parts
Posted by admin in Concept Car, Electric Car, Sport Car, Volvo on July 3, 2011
While major U.S. automakers are focusing on hybrid and fuel cell vehicles, Volvo took a different route, unveiling a sports car powered entirely with lithium-ion batteries. Volvo’s 3CC concept car, won “Best Design” and five Gold Standards at the recent Michelin Challenge Bibendum environmental competition in Shanghai, China.
“Not only does the 3CC combine classic Volvo styling cues with exotic gull-wing doors and a tapered, 2+1 seating configuration, but it does so with a highly advanced lithium-ion battery electric drive train. That’s a step apart from the crowd, which these days is largely focused on hybrid and fuel cell concepts,” says Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of the Green Car Journal.
“Just as the earlier ECC forwarded new thought in hybrid propulsion with its high-speed turbine-generator design,” adds Cogan, “today’s lithium-ion 3CC innovates with its thousands of smallish laptop computer-style batteries, which power this zero emission vehicle to impressive levels of efficiency and performance.”
Advanced research into sustainable mobility and Volvo engineers have placed particular focus on the conditions regulating safety in small cars and their ability to handle incoming forces in a frontal collision. Read the rest of this entry »
Electric Car Conversion Tips – Choose a Manual Transmission Donor Car
Posted by admin in Car Conversion, Electric Car, Tips, Transmission on July 3, 2011
There has been a lot of interest on alternative energy source for cars lately. This is due to the rising gasoline prices at the local station. Since an internal combustion engine is totally dependent on fossil fuel for power, anytime there is a conflict in the Middle East, the prices for gasoline will go higher. Many car owners are considering adopting an electric vehicle (EV). For the time being, there is only a limited selection of electric vehicle models from car manufacturers. Most of them are still relatively expensive. An alternative solution is to do an EV conversion yourself from your home garage.
If you are considering starting a DIY electric car conversion project from home, it is a good idea to choose a donor car with a manual transmission. There are a few logical reasons behind this. The key would be the speed of the electric motor that you will use to replace the engine. Most electric motor will have a lower RPM compared to an engine. An automatic transmission would need a high RPM to have a smooth gear shifting. A conventional electric motor may not be able to achieve that kind speed required. A manual transmission on the other hand does not have this issue.
An electric motor generally can produce high torque forces even at low revolution. Due to the high turning force, the car will be able to move even though it is in second, third or fourth gear. Therefore it is always a good idea to select a donor car with a manual transmission for an EV retrofitting project. Read the rest of this entry »