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Electric Car Motors
By Performance Guru | August 14, 2009
The electric motor world is separated into two categories. Without going into great detail, there are direct current (DC) motors and alternating current (AC) motors. Electric car motors can be of either variety. Electric cars made by large vehicle manufacturers usually come with AC motors.They are lighter and can usually produce more power for their size. On the other hand, they are also a lot more expensive and much more complicated for the DIY enthusiast to install. This is the reason most of us prefer the DC motor for all of our conversion projects.
Locating the best DC motor for an electric car conversion project is pretty easy if you know what to look for.
First, DC electric car motors are usually described by their diameter.
As you might expect greater horsepower can be produced from larger diameter motors, however, larger motors also consume more energy and require more batteries or more frequent charging. Most conversion projects will use a motor between nine and thirteen inches in diameter.
On average, this size motor provides enough horsepower and output to get you around at top speeds approaching 55 miles per hour and can achieve a range of between 150 and 200 miles between charges.
A DC motor in this 9 to thirteen inch size range will also work well with deep cycle batteries which we’ve found to be the best choice for DIY conversions.
Electric car motor installation is easy to do and pretty much fail safe assuming you follow the instructions. The motor will weigh around 150 pounds so you will need a helper for this step.
You can buy new electric car motors online for between $1,000 and $5,000 depending on the size, but we don’t recommend it.
A reconditioned used motor, available for a fraction of the new price will usually outlive any car you put it in. Actually, I’ve known of some that have outlived 2 cars
The same effort is required to install it and it is certainly no less reliable than a new motor, so why spend the extra money? You can find these cheap reliable motors in ample supply by just looking around your local area.
An experienced guide and a good set of plans starts to become extremely valuable here. You do have to know what to look for and where to look to save the most money you can. You can locate all your parts very very cheap, if not free, and a proper instruction manual will provide you with the invaluable information you need to do this.
It also takes you step by step through the entire conversion and makes sure that your controllor, motor, batteries and every other part you use (including the car!) are all suitable for the project and for each other. As mentioned above, the full conversion project can be completed for well under $500 including the cost of batteries. Need to find out more about electric car motors? We have recommendations and lots more info at our site. Stop by and check it out.
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