Let's Talk About EV Conversion

https://twitter.com/RJScaringe/status/1432088762922807302

 

Remember, what you're seeing isn't whats happening.

 

Let's take we converted Tacoma to EV and while having all the bells and whistles from electrical motor performance we also got the battery that provides the same range and fueling time. This is where we are going, right? So let me put some numbers for you.

On average Tacoma has 15-18 gal fuel tank that gives us the range roughly 300 miles. Sounds reasonable for EV. Let's calculate the EV power for our Tacoma:

15 gal of unleaded gasoline holds about 525 kWh energy (gasoline density is about 35 kWh/US gal). Tacoma engine is not the best performer - the efficiency is about 30%, meaning only 1/3 of the energy burned from the gasoline goes to a flywheel. So Tacoma needs about 157kWh energy for the range of 300 miles. Because the efficiency of the electrical vehicle (battery and motor) is about 85% it means that Tacoma would need 110kW motor for 2.7 engine equivalent (or 125kW motor for 3.4 engine equivalent) and a battery pack of 185 kWh. The battery alone (if it is like Tesla has) would cost close to 35k USD and weight close to 3000 lb. (which is more than half of GVWR of this truck). That is not really usable now - you will have to wait for someone to invent much lighter and cheaper batteries.

But being optimistic, the super light, very cheap and fast charging battery got invented and mass produced. Let's now talk about charging that monster.

On average fueling Tacoma takes no more than 5 minutes. This is what we want from EV to, right. Let's calculate it:

To fully charge 185kWh in 5 minutes we need a charging station of 2.2MW. Yes, that is equivalent of power allowed by 200 single family houses. That is just one "pump". On typical day "four corners intersection" gas station has 2-3 pumps in use at the same time, so the "four corners intersection" charging station will need a power line allowing for at least 6MW (equivalent of 600 houses). And because on each corner of that intersection we have Chevron, Shell, Arco AmPm and Exon, that one intersection will have to have a power line of capacity 24MW. For comparison the entire nuclear powerplant delivers about 2.5GW, so it is good only for 100 intersections. How many nuclear powerplants are we going to build for each city?

Let's talk about the charging cable. Fast charge voltage is 480V now. To provide 2.2MW at 480V the charging cable will be running 4.5kAmp. For that amperage you need a copper wire of diameter about 1.5 inch. Two of them (one for plus, one for minus). That charging wire would weight 75lb easy - good luck with that old lady.

This is the reality. I am not questioning, that one day we will have batteries that can be charged that fast, but receiving energy is just one side of the problem, delivering it as fast as pouring a gas from a pump is completely different story.

Do you still want to convert your Taco to EV?

 

Converting to me is for someone who has the money to do so. It''s about $50k to $80k dollars to do so. Some people here may have the money to do so. If I did, I'd convert my Land Cruiser no hesitation. I still however would like solid state batteries to be available which within 10 years they will be. In mass produced cars in the next 2-5 years. Charging is not an issue to me. There isn't enough market saturation to worry about charging infrastructure. That is increasing daily though. I'd charge at home mostly. It's more cost effective. I'd spend about $25 a month in electric compared to $65 month in petrol. So the bugs are being worked out, EV tech is still improving etc. at the current time to me it's not worth converting since most vehicles can be had cheaper than the cost of conversion i.e. Ford EV and CyberTruck.

 

@RysiuM That's a pretty strong critique and some eye-opening math, thanks for the response. I'd be willing to sacrifice range to 1/3 - 1/2 (100 - 150 miles) and I'm willing to charge only overnight, since that is sufficient for my main use-case for the vehicle. For long trips I'd probably need a different vehicle, but I don't do those very often at all and I could rent a gasser if needed.

 

Most EV owners have a petrol vehicle also.

 

It’s all in the use case. For a DD I could get by with 100 mi of range, and I wouldn’t care about charging times. That makes the problem significantly easier.


I would be amazed and delighted if my mid 90s tech taco engine was getting 30% efficiency, even when new.


good analysis tho

 

Yeah, charge at home, use for around town, it'd be less of an overland vehicle as an EV but still would suit me great and would eliminate a bunch of the guilt I feel when filling up and especially when sitting parked in the driveway (b/c it'd typically be siphoning off excess solar which the power company gives me pocket lint for). One gas guzzling v8 for towing and extended trips, one EV lightweight pickup for git-up-and-go with light hauling duty, good combo in my book. I'd probably convert for a mere 50 mile range and be thrilled with that to be honest.

Not for everyone, that's for sure, but it'd be a fun option.

 

So I found this on an EV site I go to. Regarding the Ford EV crate miter specs. It shows a gear ratio so it looks like you may not need a transmission or other torque multiplier. . If you can hook up a torque multiplier of any type is unknown but I’m just wondering if this could be hooked via a driveshaft to a transfer case? Hmmm. But still the other parts that are needed will increase the conversion cost mostly the batteries. But for $4k that’s not bad. Inverter cost is yet to be revealed. They can be expensive. Time will tell.

 

I love what Koenigsegg did in their latest model. The car i powered by gas engine which is combined with big ass electric motor. No gearbox just a locking torque converter. When you step on the gas most of the power comes from the electric motors till the engine gets useful rpm and takes over. Battery is small as it is not needed for a cruising, just for acceleration. There are more clever high performance options like additional electric motors in wheels (also used as a reverse), but really I love this concept of hybrid - it just makes sense.

 

this thing brings a smile to my face
https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/4172/we-drive-mississippi-state-universitys-subaru-brz-hybrid

 

yes

 

I'll do it long after I retire since I bought my truck to go off-roading for days at a time. I figure I will need a few days between the legs of my trip so that a few solar panels can charge me up for the next leg of the trip. The real question will be, diesel or gas generator so that I can power my fridge/freeze.

 

These guys are doing a conversion using a Leaf donor. They will show it off in January 2022

https://insideevs.com/news/490070/electric-pickup-truck-swappable-batteries-toyota-eve/

https://youtu.be/fxOfFns_vHM

 

You forgot to show all the pollution created to make that diesel. Pumping the oil, transport to a refinery, refining, adding toxic chemicals, pump into a truck, transport in a truck, pump it to a vehicle, then the vehicle burns it. Gotta show the whole story. And all EV don't use fossil fuels to charge. Like where I live we use nuclear and solar. So yeh.

 

Not to mention all of the catastrophic oil spills like Exxon Valdez or BP New Horizon.
Should be thousands of cars plus all of those and a fuming refinery in the first toon. And thousands of ev’s plus all of the clean air charging options as well as fossil fired plants in the second. The truth kinda spoils the joke though.

 

The whole civilized world is talking about EV, how clean, how futuristic they are but they are just a novelty. At the same time they say how bad and dirty IC vehicles are, but this is today reality. The world does not have technology nor the infrastructure to just replace IC vehicles with EV. Not in USA, not in Europe not in the desert of Kalahari. Not now, not in a decade. You take nuclear power, that's great but one is not enough. We will need hundreds more. How long will it take to build them? And don't get excided about solar - if you ar charging overnight at home, you are using zero solar energy.

 

Nothing happens instantly.

 

You mean solar needs the sun? WHat?