[ash22]

Excellent thread Mate. Thank you for sharing the knowledge.
Need Job and Till date, Haven't seen an electric car with Gear slots. Waiting for the upcoming transformations.
May God bless you abundantly.

[stuntfreak]

Originally Posted by theautoman

Very Impressive work Stuntfreak. this is turning out to be a very informative and entertaining thread.

Do you have any certification or License/ Recognition of any sort to be making such conversions if it is needed at the RTOs or for the Insurance Purposes.

and this build has Batteries under the rear seats and in the Boot/dickey of the car, and that will make the CG of the car more towards the rear axle than the front, have you notices any loss of traction in the front wheels going uphill? or does the weight of the Gearbox and the Motor makes for acceptable weight distribution?

Haha yes it’s even helping me brush up on my basics.

We are in talks with the authorities to procure the necessary licenses. I believe it should happen soon so that we can bring our converted vehicles on the road soon.

Batteries under the seat and in the boot area replicate the fuel tank and spare wheel weight plus slightly more respectively. So the rear suspension did not need any modification. The front suspension has been re engineered to match the necessary handling and ride height requirement. However in our next builds we have focused on balancing the weight distribution with battery and other system placement in the engine bay and fuel tank area accordingly. You’ll see it in the YouTube series we are launching soon.

Hemank

Originally Posted by norhog

Dear Stunt freak.
Amazing build and explaination.

I have some questions which I would be grateful if you replied.
In one of the videos you mentioned the motor matches the ratio of the output shaft and the shift will be smoothly made. So you have sensors that gives the data of speed and then the ECU controls the speed of motor during those few seconds of the gear lever being moved from 1st to 2nd. Very curious for this one a bit of detail on this.
Can you down shift, like from 2nd gear to 1st whilst on the move.?

Thank you in advance, great build and please keep up the good work. We desperately need a Elon Musk equivalent here.

Basically it’s always in gear. There’s no disconnect like the standard MT with a clutch. So additional speed sensors are of no use. As speed will always remain the same on all shafts with respect to each other. What happens though is that there is always flow of torque. When accelerated, the motor shaft is under positive torque (clockwise) and when the foot is taken off the accelerator, the motor shaft is under negative torque (anti clockwise). What happens in our system is that during a shift, a small sensor on the gear knob detects that the user is going to shift and momentarily brings the motor to a zero torque condition. This is done by releasing the positive and negative torque on the motor by making it a free wheeling motor. Also it maintains the motor speed with respect to wheel speed with a theoretical calculation if the speed of the motor drops too much (during shift and existing speed 2 seconds ago - this understanding what reference to maintain as different gears will have different Motor speeds at the same wheel speeds. Upshifting is easier and downshifting is tough but possible with a lot of trial and error on the algorithms. I wouldn’t say that my system is amazing yet, but we are still working on it to make it really good. Just a work in progress 😉

Cheers mate.

Originally Posted by rosaf

WOWCouldnt help starting with an applause!

What you have achieved and with the plans you have , more than government initiatives and subsidies , you can make Electric Vehicles more accessible and economical than most OEMs could even think of.

Really appreciate you thanking God and your Father for having the setup for you as I too am thankful to both as my business too is a Legacy of my father and I am into automobile engineering.

Wont get into technical details as most have already asked all the right kind of questions, but here is a take away- how about converting a Tata Safari to fully electric? You can have mine . The best thing is "APAN PUNEKAR"! Would love to come and meet you soon. Till then looking forward to all the posts on this thread.

Cheers!

Thanks a lot for your kind words.

Sure bring the Safari. But do you want a 4wd setup? The transfer case eats up a lot of energy. A dual motor setup would be better.

Also the weight is quite high. Thus depending on your required range the cost would vary from moderate to high for conversion. !!Punekar boss!! The best City I believe. Except for idiots not following rules on the road 😜 you’re most welcome. As a matter of fact everyone is welcome. We’re located in B5, MIDC Bhosari Pune 411026.

Originally Posted by SS80

Sir, I am simply stunned at the EV Beat. Probably the first fully usable, reliable and daily drive EV conversion that I have seen.

Few points:
Brilliant job in retaining gearbox, this has saved weeks or months otherwise required to make parts that will hold drive shafts and other parts.

Is that tablet held firmly by something in the background? Does it have any remote features etc

For your next project, my suggestion would be to use a NANO instead of M800. Nano has more space, may be a little lighter too. Battery pack would easily fit in the front Stepney area and also the rear small boot.

I have an old activa and always wanted to switch to EV, as I mainly use it for short and frequent rides within city limits. What could be the cost for EV CONVERSION for the same?

Is there any readily available kit that you can suggest me? I am a metal fabricator by hobby and should be able to do this as a diy for an activa, with ample guidance from pro's like you.

Once again, overall a brilliant job, please have a custom made website soon, you will need it on the long run.

All the best.

Hello. Yes the Beat is reliable. Except that it’s not water proof. So can’t use in the rains. Lol. But the future builds will be. You got the GB point spot on mate.

The tablet is held firmly yes by a bracket behind. Still working on the features.

The point of using an 800 is due to its classic appeal and connection with most ppl of the retro days. That’s the main purpose.

Activa conversion costed me about 16,000 for all the mechanicals and the DC DC converter. The battery cost is as such:

40 kms range : 16,000
80 kms range: 32,000
120 kms range: 48,000

Plus charger 1500.

And my labour. I’m using the 16,000 battery.

The reason I built the activa because there’s no ready kit. The only ones you get are hub motors that fit on metal swing arms and compromise performance and reliability. I’ll guide you through. You can build it no problem.

Thanks for the website idea. Will surely work upon it.

Originally Posted by ash22

Excellent thread Mate. Thank you for sharing the knowledge.
Need Job and Till date, Haven't seen an electric car with Gear slots. Waiting for the upcoming transformations.
May God bless you abundantly.

Thanks a lot buddy. God bless you too

[norhog]

Originally Posted by stuntfreak

Basically it’s always in gear. There’s no disconnect like the standard MT with a clutch. So additional speed sensors are of no use. As speed will always remain the same on all shafts with respect to each other. What happens though is that there is always flow of torque. When accelerated, the motor shaft is under positive torque (clockwise) and when the foot is taken off the accelerator, the motor shaft is under negative torque (anti clockwise). What happens in our system is that during a shift, a small sensor on the gear knob detects that the user is going to shift and momentarily brings the motor to a zero torque condition. This is done by releasing the positive and negative torque on the motor by making it a free wheeling motor. Also it maintains the motor speed with respect to wheel speed with a theoretical calculation if the speed of the motor drops too much (during shift and existing speed 2 seconds ago - this understanding what reference to maintain as different gears will have different Motor speeds at the same wheel speeds. Upshifting is easier and downshifting is tough but possible with a lot of trial and error on the algorithms. I wouldn’t say that my system is amazing yet, but we are still working on it to make it really good. Just a work in progress 😉

Cheers mate.

Many thanks for your kind reply.
This is a good engineering marvel you have here.
By zero torque I am assuming that all electrical power supply is cut off to the motor. SO the motor will keep turning like any like a lump of metal on bearings.

I do have more questions but I and I am sure others on this forum, would not mind if you would not like to share it, if you plan to go commercial with this in the future. I have the very best wishes always for you.
I do have a background of operating electric propulsion ocean going vessels using ABB Synchronous motor and IGCT based drive converter.

1. What type of electric motor is it. DC, AC Syncronous or AC Induction motor.?
2. What type of control system is it using for varying the motor speed. (If AC is it frequency control OR if DC it is the current control in the windings).
3. Which ECU or PLC is used.?
4. Was it fully programmed by your self or some other source.

Thank you in advance and being such a cutting edge engineering marvel, I will fully understand if you would like to skip some answers.

[Sayan15]

Originally Posted by stuntfreak

Coming back to the topic, I have been converting many two wheelers and four wheelers to Fully ELectric vehicles as a part of my hobby and R&D.

My daily drive, the Chevrolet Beat. (Complete)

So happy to see your work Sir. Had this thread come up about 1.5 years earlier, I wouldn't have sold my old Swift. It was so hard to let go of that impressive little bug, nearing the end of its registered life, and I was itching to get it EV'd. I've been an armchair EV enthusiast since my school days but didn't have the resources or instincts to start EV'ing as a hobby. I just spent countless hours on the net bingeing on EVAlbum and other sites selling hub motors and controllers. The best part of your work is that you are going the extra mile to get things regularised with the authorities. Hope to see a parallel crowd of garage-made EVs on the road soon, along with factory made ones.

Keeping my BS3 Himalayan as a future EV project vehicle. Seems to have a promising chassis. I live in Baroda presently, should be able to meet up with you till I'm here.

Cheers,
Sayan

[satishv1987]

Brilliant work stuntfreak.

It is really heartening to see the attention to detail that has gone into the conversion. There is none of the jugaad that we Indians take so much pride in. This is a solid, well thought out solution which is sustainable.

A brand new E2O costs close to 8 lacs on road in Bangalore. Looking at the costs (~4 lacs + labor) for an entry level car, it really makes a lot of sense to convert a used car with some good miles on it into an EV. That will be significantly cheaper compared to buying a new EV. I am not sure if you plan to scale this up commercially . But if you do, I'm pretty sure you will have a lot of interested customers.

Keep up the good work Sir.

[stuntfreak]

Originally Posted by norhog

Many thanks for your kind reply.
This is a good engineering marvel you have here.
By zero torque I am assuming that all electrical power supply is cut off to the motor. SO the motor will keep turning like any like a lump of metal on bearings.

I do have more questions but I and I am sure others on this forum, would not mind if you would not like to share it, if you plan to go commercial with this in the future. I have the very best wishes always for you.
I do have a background of operating electric propulsion ocean going vessels using ABB Synchronous motor and IGCT based drive converter.

1. What type of electric motor is it. DC, AC Syncronous or AC Induction motor.?
2. What type of control system is it using for varying the motor speed. (If AC is it frequency control OR if DC it is the current control in the windings).
3. Which ECU or PLC is used.?
4. Was it fully programmed by your self or some other source.

Thank you in advance and being such a cutting edge engineering marvel, I will fully understand if you would like to skip some answers.

Hello. To begin with,

Yes you're right the motor rolls free, however, if the user takes long to shift, i.e. he is in neutral (between gears) for a long time, the disconnected side of the GB including the motor will drop its speed and thus the shift won't happen. Also this is the case for a downshift. Hence, when in neutral, if the speed drops, or if to be shifted to first, the MCU shall raise the speed of the motor to a theoretically calculated speed based on WSS.

Many people are suggesting going commercial. There are many things to it including a substantial investment, Rigorous testing, Certification and standards, setting up a production facility and so on. I am thinking about it in detail and studying it in detail. So far no decision. Will inform once I decide.. Meanwhile making awesome EV converts for fun and creating a nice Youtube series.

Its nice that you have experience, and thus your questions make me refresh my brain .

We have explored many types of motors including PMDC, PMAC, AC Induction, BLDC, PMSM, and so on. This one is an AC Induction Motor.

We are using a Curtis 1234SE Controller to control the Motor. Characterisation and programming is done by the Curtis Hand help controller. Also the controller has CAN functionality which we are trying to explore and make it more interesting.

Its my pleasure to showcase and interact with enthusiasts such as yourself.. You're most welcome.

Cheers. Hemank.

Originally Posted by Sayan15

So happy to see your work Sir. Had this thread come up about 1.5 years earlier, I wouldn't have sold my old Swift. It was so hard to let go of that impressive little bug, nearing the end of its registered life, and I was itching to get it EV'd. I've been an armchair EV enthusiast since my school days but didn't have the resources or instincts to start EV'ing as a hobby. I just spent countless hours on the net bingeing on EVAlbum and other sites selling hub motors and controllers. The best part of your work is that you are going the extra mile to get things regularised with the authorities. Hope to see a parallel crowd of garage-made EVs on the road soon, along with factory made ones.

Keeping my BS3 Himalayan as a future EV project vehicle. Seems to have a promising chassis. I live in Baroda presently, should be able to meet up with you till I'm here.

Cheers,
Sayan

Haha.. You can still buy a used car.. The good part is that new regulations have been implemented by the CMVR to enable EV Conversions.. So we are good to do it legally. No hassle and can drive on road without any headache.

You're most welcome to come any time. your Himalayan will turn out to be a fun bike. keep 1.5 lacs aside for it

Cheers

[srini1785]

Originally Posted by stuntfreak

You mean wiring or basic motor controller?? Or further vehicle integration?? Motor controller wiring as shown. From the Curtis manual

Thank you for that wiring diagram. So now pretty much most of the points for DIYers are covered. I see that the throttle and brakes have POT inputs. What type of POT was used?. The specs like Ohms , Watts etc.

PS : Realized it just now. I think you already have a POT on the brake and Pedal even with an ICE.

[AspiringIndian]

This is beyond amazing.

I am from Pune as well and would like to explore buying a used hatch and see if that can be converted ?

Would you be able to help me with this project ?

Once again - I tip my hat to you !

[bikertillidie]

Interesting read stuntfreak.

Since you're a Punekar, can we meet up once the lockdown is lifted?

I would also like to have a look at the electrified beat and the maruti 800 first hand.

May I?

[jomson13]

Originally Posted by bikertillidie

Interesting read stuntfreak.

Since you're a Punekar, can we meet up once the lockdown is lifted?

I would also like to have a look at the electrified beat and the maruti 800 first hand.

May I?

+1 to that. would love to see the work that you are doing. Kudos to you and your team

[Sayan15]

Originally Posted by stuntfreak

You can still buy a used car.

Haha, my hands are kind of full now, with a one year old Nexon diesel and five month old V-Strom 650 to care for, apart from the Himalayan. Plus, as a salaried middle class guy, need to put more coins in my little piggy bank before I can go 'hobbying' again. Then, the Himalayan is such a fun to ride around with its stock engine (and not so fun when it comes to niggles). I shall continue riding it, maybe for couple of years more and then make the EV switch.

Cheers,
Sayan

[stuntfreak]

Originally Posted by srini1785

Thank you for that wiring diagram. So now pretty much most of the points for DIYers are covered. I see that the throttle and brakes have POT inputs. What type of POT was used?. The specs like Ohms , Watts etc.

PS : Realized it just now. I think you already have a POT on the brake and Pedal even with an ICE.

The throttle and brake in the OE Vehicle was not used. A Curtis Throttle pot was used. The OE Throttle is usable but would need some advanced CAN Programming.

Originally Posted by AspiringIndian

This is beyond amazing.

I am from Pune as well and would like to explore buying a used hatch and see if that can be converted ?

Would you be able to help me with this project ?

Once again - I tip my hat to you !

Definitely. Get your car over..

Originally Posted by bikertillidie

Interesting read stuntfreak.

Since you're a Punekar, can we meet up once the lockdown is lifted?

I would also like to have a look at the electrified beat and the maruti 800 first hand.

May I?

Sure. Google Maps : Hemanc Auto Parts Pvt Ltd (Google has the wrong spelling.)

Originally Posted by jomson13

+1 to that. would love to see the work that you are doing. Kudos to you and your team

Ofcourse dude. Everyone Jomson is my school friend and is a gr8 guy :P

[nsbhagwat]

Hi,

Excellent job on the conversion. From the pictures, the floor pan appears to be cut under the rear seat and spare wheel area. Did your team go in for reinforcement?

Also have you utilized the OE AC compressor or used an electric AC compressor?

Regards
Nikhil

[stuntfreak]

Originally Posted by nsbhagwat

Hi,

Excellent job on the conversion. From the pictures, the floor pan appears to be cut under the rear seat and spare wheel area. Did your team go in for reinforcement?

Also have you utilized the OE AC compressor or used an electric AC compressor?

Regards
Nikhil

Yes the floor was modified and braced. The AC Compressor used is a 48V BLDC Independent unit. So is the Vacuum Pump for the brakes.

[Mortis]

What a coincidence !! Just yesterday I was watching Rich Rebuilds on YouTube restoring an Electric Beat/Spark. The EV version of the car had quite a fun little motor
I have a petrol Beat that's due for a replacement soon and I have actually been considering a hybrid setup for it. I'm not yet ready to go full EV
Would a Hybrid setup be feasible ? Mainly I'm looking for some improvement in low end torque and of course better efficiency.
Will a 48V or 72V hybrid system be required ?
In such a case would the motor be an alternator replacement or some other type of setup.
I'm assuming in such a retrofit setup it's not possible to make a plug in hybrid, especially one with say 10km of pure electric low speed range ?

Keep up the good work !