4 ms·

One of the image captions just says: > Each new component for the vehicle is custom-made. ... which to me is kinda shocking. Both in terms of the cost of comp

by abeppu 2y ago

One of the image captions just says: > Each new component for the vehicle is custom-made. ... which to me is kinda shocking. Both in terms of the cost of components and the labor needed to figure out each vehicle's specific conversion, this seems expensive, slow, and perhaps is a source of quality/safety concerns. While I love the idea of being able to convert existing vehicles, more cheaply and with fewer resources than building all-new EVs, I'd think that you'd want: - standardized components - standardized math on safety implications (e.g. for the amount of increased mass, how do the breaks need to change to keep a reasonable stopping distance? Given some assumptions about driving speed, where does the center of mass need to be to avoid increased chance of rolling?) - a slowly expanding database of specifics for each model and year, so if you're converting a previously-converted model, you can just follow a pre-compiled list of steps

givemeethekeys 2y ago
Well, you're in luck! Most components for converting an ICE vehicle to EV are, in-fact standard. For example, check out evwest.com - they supply parts and kits to convert ICE cars to EVs.
whycome 2y ago
> ... which to me is kinda shocking. I think they try to avoid this... > In 2021, the Chilean transport ministry passed legislation banning the retrofitting of all used passenger vehicles. Unless there are major problems, leave the legislation until you have a plan or draft regulation ready. It's 2024 now.
pornel 2y ago
There are off-the-shelf standard components for all major parts of the EV drivetrain. The custom work is mostly in wiring that up, and building a battery cradle and motor mounts that can be installed without compromising car's original structure.
chmod775 2y ago
> Both in terms of the cost of components and the labor needed to figure out each vehicle's specific conversion, this seems expensive, slow, and perhaps is a source of quality/safety concerns. We are speaking about countries where that sort of labor costs between $0.5 to $3 per hour. The parts used aren't factory-new and the cost of labor is minuscule in comparison to the price of the vehicle. There is no money for safety. You make do with what you have.
- beaglesss 2y ago
  Another poster mentioned after taxes vehicles cost 1.5-2x of the US cost. There'd be more money for safety if they weren't so busy taxing the everliving shit out of car buyers.
treme 2y ago
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pakistan+engineering https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pakistan+engine... you should take a look at how things get done in developing worlds.
elihu 2y ago
As others have said, the article kind of exaggerated the situation -- EV conversions tend to use a lot of fairly standard parts. However, how those parts all fit together varies from one vehicle to another, and there's usually at least some parts that have to be custom made. Battery boxes, motor mounts, adapter plates to mount the motor to the transmission (if the original transmission is kept), and so on. It'd be great if there were standard EV conversion kits for common ICE vehicles, designed to just bolt in with no fabrication required, designed to the same engineering standards as the original vehicle, and cheap. Something a typical mechanic could install in a week or less. That basically has to exist for EV conversion be a thing that happens on a large scale and not just a difficult and expensive weird hobby project. It's a shame EV tax credits don't apply to conversions -- it could absorb a substantial chunk of the cost. (Maybe some country somewhere does this, but not the U.S. anyways.) Ideally dealing with extra weight and so on could be a relative non-issue as long as the battery pack is kept fairly small -- which is often the case on EV conversions because a) batteries are expensive and b) it's often hard to find a good place to cram them all. If the batteries are kept low, then center of gravity shouldn't be a problem. Probably better than the original configuration. I've heard that having more than 50% of the weight on the back tires can be dangerous, as it's much harder to correct if you lose traction. The tendency is to spin out. So, putting all the batteries in the trunk is probably a bad idea in many cases.
numpad0 2y ago
Geometric relationships between engine mounts, engine itself, and engine output shaft into the transmission varies between each models. Trying to "standardize" that will be like trying to design a one-size-fits-all laptop motherboard; no two models are the same, so it won't work.

by abeppu 2y ago

givemeethekeys 2y ago

Well, you're in luck! Most components for converting an ICE vehicle to EV are, in-fact standard. For example, check out evwest.com - they supply parts and kits to convert ICE cars to EVs.

whycome 2y ago

> ... which to me is kinda shocking. I think they try to avoid this... > In 2021, the Chilean transport ministry passed legislation banning the retrofitting of all used passenger vehicles. Unless there are major problems, leave the legislation until you have a plan or draft regulation ready. It's 2024 now.

pornel 2y ago

There are off-the-shelf standard components for all major parts of the EV drivetrain. The custom work is mostly in wiring that up, and building a battery cradle and motor mounts that can be installed without compromising car's original structure.

chmod775 2y ago

> Both in terms of the cost of components and the labor needed to figure out each vehicle's specific conversion, this seems expensive, slow, and perhaps is a source of quality/safety concerns. We are speaking about countries where that sort of labor costs between $0.5 to $3 per hour. The parts used aren't factory-new and the cost of labor is minuscule in comparison to the price of the vehicle. There is no money for safety. You make do with what you have.

beaglesss 2y ago
Another poster mentioned after taxes vehicles cost 1.5-2x of the US cost. There'd be more money for safety if they weren't so busy taxing the everliving shit out of car buyers.

treme 2y ago

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pakistan+engineering https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pakistan+engine... you should take a look at how things get done in developing worlds.

elihu 2y ago

As others have said, the article kind of exaggerated the situation -- EV conversions tend to use a lot of fairly standard parts. However, how those parts all fit together varies from one vehicle to another, and there's usually at least some parts that have to be custom made. Battery boxes, motor mounts, adapter plates to mount the motor to the transmission (if the original transmission is kept), and so on. It'd be great if there were standard EV conversion kits for common ICE vehicles, designed to just bolt in with no fabrication required, designed to the same engineering standards as the original vehicle, and cheap. Something a typical mechanic could install in a week or less. That basically has to exist for EV conversion be a thing that happens on a large scale and not just a difficult and expensive weird hobby project. It's a shame EV tax credits don't apply to conversions -- it could absorb a substantial chunk of the cost. (Maybe some country somewhere does this, but not the U.S. anyways.) Ideally dealing with extra weight and so on could be a relative non-issue as long as the battery pack is kept fairly small -- which is often the case on EV conversions because a) batteries are expensive and b) it's often hard to find a good place to cram them all. If the batteries are kept low, then center of gravity shouldn't be a problem. Probably better than the original configuration. I've heard that having more than 50% of the weight on the back tires can be dangerous, as it's much harder to correct if you lose traction. The tendency is to spin out. So, putting all the batteries in the trunk is probably a bad idea in many cases.

numpad0 2y ago

Geometric relationships between engine mounts, engine itself, and engine output shaft into the transmission varies between each models. Trying to "standardize" that will be like trying to design a one-size-fits-all laptop motherboard; no two models are the same, so it won't work.