Electric Porsche!

[daniel]

After eleven months of waiting, it is here! 2003 Porsche 911 Carrera. 200 amp-hour (28 kWh) LiFePO4 battery pack. Conversion by Paul Liddle of CoolGreenCar-dot-net in West Palm Beach, FL. Attached are two pictures. Pics of the innards will come later, probably tomorrow, after I figure out how to open the car without setting off the alarm, so I can pop the hoods.

A few disappointments: The car does not accelerate as fast as I expected. I had been told to expect zero to 60 in 6 to 8 seconds, and I don't think it will do that. But I have not had it up to 60 yet (I've had it about 4 hours) and maybe it's just so smooth that I'm not getting the feel of how fast it's going.

Paul neglected to send a charging cable with the car as promised, so I cannot drive it more than another 20 or 30 miles before I get a cable made, but Paul installed an under-rated connector and the electrician will not make a cable that plugs into a 50-amp service at one end, and a 20-amp connector at the other. Tomorrow the electrician will come and see what he can do. Ideally, he'll be able to replace the connector and build me a cable.

I cannot figure out how anything works in the car. Ordinary car stuff, that is. I am reluctantly going to have to read the owner's manual.

Updates to follow as available.

[darelldd]

Wow. What a beautiful car! I hope it ends up being everything you expected.

You'll get the charging stuff sorted out soon enough I'm sure - but what a bummer to now have charging capability RIGHT NOW!

Welcome to the REAL EV club, my friend.

[efusco]

That really sucks that they didn't give the right cables, can't you make him fedex one to you? That would be faster and easier than having one made.

But DAMN that is just gorgeous. Maybe that tree-hugger with a hot EV will score you some chicks Daniel!

[San_Carlos_Jeff]

That is awesome! Please keep us updated with more pics and performance stats.

[DaveinOlyWA]

daniel daniel DANIEL!!! you dog!!

i find it hard to believe it just showed up with no warning. now i remember you talking about it, but i thought it was still many many months off. what is the range? how much it cost? will it do 110? (volts that is)

and it is too bad that your post wasn't your 10,000th... that would be something to remember!

[TonyPSchaefer]

Sweeet.

[Tideland Prius]

jeez, it's here! I heard you talking about it and I thought you meant PAG making one in production. I had no idea you ordered one (or rather had one converted).

Schweeet!!

[daniel]

Originally Posted by darelldd

Welcome to the REAL EV club, my friend.

Real EV??? Hey, the Zap Xebra is a real EV. It's just not a fast EV.

Originally Posted by efusco

That really sucks that they didn't give the right cables, can't you make him fedex one to you? That would be faster and easier than having one made.

But DAMN that is just gorgeous. Maybe that tree-hugger with a hot EV will score you some chicks Daniel!

If the electrician is willing to install the proper connector, he'll probably be able to make me a cable tomorrow. If Paul used below-code size wires beyond the connector, the electrician probably won't do it.

Paul said he'd make me a cable if the electrician won't. But based on past performance, he'll probably take two weeks to do it! I'm PISSED that Paul did not make up a cable as soon as he realized he had forgotten. he could have FedEx'd it and I'd have had it before the car.

It would probably be a chick magnet for anyone else. But they turn and run when they see me. Sigh!

Originally Posted by DaveinOlyWA

daniel daniel DANIEL!!! you dog!!

i find it hard to believe it just showed up with no warning. now i remember you talking about it, but i thought it was still many many months off. what is the range? how much it cost? will it do 110? (volts that is)

I had warning. In January they said two to three weeks. At the end of February they said "days" and then "real soon." Then about 3 weeks ago they said "There won't be a truck in the area until Tuesday," which sounded like it was done, but a week later they said "We're almost done testing it."

So last week when they said they'd send it Friday, I didn't believe them, and on Friday when they said they'd loaded it onto the truck, I half believed, but half expected another excuse.

Yesterday the trucking company told me they'd deliver it today, but I didn't know if there'd be another delay, so I didn't want to post anything.

It's got a 144-volt, 200 amp-hour, 28 kWh battery pack. The attached chart is range vs speed for the Tesla Roadster, which has a 53 kWh pack. Call it about double mine. So my range ought to be half what you see on the chart. The battery importer says these batteries can safely be taken down to 20% SoC. So 4/5 of the total range, or 0.4 times the range on the chart should be my safe range.

Once I can charge it, I'll go on the freeway and chart amperage vs speed for 4th and 5th gear at 55, 60, 65, and 70 mph, probably with Allan's help. Once I know the amperage, I'll know the range for a given speed, but I'd expect my safe range it to be close to 0.4 of what the chart says.

I originally asked for enough batteries to give me 125 miles at freeway speed. The chart gives me that if "freeway speed" is 50 mph. But only 90 (to empty) at the freeway speed limit here.

On the other hand, if you want a freeway-capable EV what are you going to do? There are not a lot of choices. The wait for a Tesla Roadster is a couple of years, and it's not a comfortable car. Several companies are promising EVs in two years, but they've been promising that for a long time. Aptera won't be selling outside CA for the foreseeable future. And who knows when they'll begin production anyway?

A conversion car is about all there is now. I picked a guy who was maddeningly slow and didn't do exactly what I requested, but another shop might have been worse.

I think once I get used to it I'll be happy with it. It's a beautiful car.

[daniel]

Update. The electrician cannot do anything for me before next week, because he's booked up. Paul is going to build me a cable and send it. He said he'd try to ship it today. Maybe he will, though nothing has happened quickly up to now. I begged him to ship it overnight with Saturday delivery. He understood, but did not make any promises.

I should have a charging cable some time next week, if not tomorrow, and I think tomorrow is unlikely. Meanwhile, my EV that I've waited eleven months for sits in my driveway. I've got a few miles worth of charge still on it, but probably won't drive it again until I can charge it.

[bac]

Originally Posted by darelldd

Wow. What a beautiful car! I hope it ends up being everything you expected.

Ditto.

Keep us posted ..... I know you will.

... Brad