In which the microcar exceeds
expectations. (Mine, at least.)
Here we go!
This past weekend was the 28th Gould Classic. Friday night I missed cocktail hour getting the car ready for, maybe, the tour on Saturday. It's a pretty long trip, more than 100 miles including a trip up and down Mt. Wachusett.
I augmented the basic battery module (two Ford Mustang Mach-E battery modules with BMS, nominaly 72V and weighing in at about 160 lbs) with a few more modules from my Ioniq 5 acquisition. I loaded in eight bricks in place of the passenger seat. They fit quite neatly, in fact! Two strings of four, nominally about 96V and about 200 lbs in all. No BMS yet; one discharge cycle would be fine. I added the same connector already in the car so that I could just swap plugs to use the second pack.
Earlier that day, by the way, I put in a lap and shoulder belt. I don't know how much help it would provide in a crash, but it would be better than not having a seatbelt. So, good.
Even Friday night I was second guessing my range ambitions because I had only a few neighborhood laps under my belt. By the time I got up Saturday morning I had decided not to try for the long drive. I removed the eight modules and put the passenger seat back in and headed to the Goulds'. The car, as on my handful of test drives, behaved brilliantly.
Charles and Nancy (and Jon C!) loaned me one of their Mini Mokes (off-white, an Austin) for the day's tour, and it was awesome. It was a wonderful day, as ever; a collection of fascinating characters and cars, some familiar and some new. About 40 vehicles on parade. No breakdowns, great stops, beautiful views, lots of laughs. (As always: bubbledrome.org) And Saturday night was as fun as ever! I drove home in the dark smoothly and happily, and put the charger (slow! only about 8A at 70-80V) on.
Saturday night I went to bed thinking about the factthat the stakes were lower for Sunday and the drive shorter. I decided to give the tour a try. Sunday morning I put just one string of four batteries back in. A ready "spare tank," so to speak.
When I got to the Goulds' - after having to turn around because I forgot my phone - the car was feeling fine. The motor was cool (according to the diagnostic interface and my IR thermometer). Besides working on an acting-up Acty (we helped fix a vacuum leak, and the thing ran like butter! another awesome standard of the Gould Classic is the way we swarm problems), fueling up another Acty, getting caffeinated, etc., I told people I was going to give the tour a shot, and got the kind of encouragement typical for this crew: "go for it!" along with assurances about plans B though Z if anything went awry. Same great approach as ever!
Here we go!
This past weekend was the 28th Gould Classic. Friday night I missed cocktail hour getting the car ready for, maybe, the tour on Saturday. It's a pretty long trip, more than 100 miles including a trip up and down Mt. Wachusett.
I augmented the basic battery module (two Ford Mustang Mach-E battery modules with BMS, nominaly 72V and weighing in at about 160 lbs) with a few more modules from my Ioniq 5 acquisition. I loaded in eight bricks in place of the passenger seat. They fit quite neatly, in fact! Two strings of four, nominally about 96V and about 200 lbs in all. No BMS yet; one discharge cycle would be fine. I added the same connector already in the car so that I could just swap plugs to use the second pack.
Earlier that day, by the way, I put in a lap and shoulder belt. I don't know how much help it would provide in a crash, but it would be better than not having a seatbelt. So, good.
Even Friday night I was second guessing my range ambitions because I had only a few neighborhood laps under my belt. By the time I got up Saturday morning I had decided not to try for the long drive. I removed the eight modules and put the passenger seat back in and headed to the Goulds'. The car, as on my handful of test drives, behaved brilliantly.
Charles and Nancy (and Jon C!) loaned me one of their Mini Mokes (off-white, an Austin) for the day's tour, and it was awesome. It was a wonderful day, as ever; a collection of fascinating characters and cars, some familiar and some new. About 40 vehicles on parade. No breakdowns, great stops, beautiful views, lots of laughs. (As always: bubbledrome.org) And Saturday night was as fun as ever! I drove home in the dark smoothly and happily, and put the charger (slow! only about 8A at 70-80V) on.
Saturday night I went to bed thinking about the factthat the stakes were lower for Sunday and the drive shorter. I decided to give the tour a try. Sunday morning I put just one string of four batteries back in. A ready "spare tank," so to speak.
When I got to the Goulds' - after having to turn around because I forgot my phone - the car was feeling fine. The motor was cool (according to the diagnostic interface and my IR thermometer). Besides working on an acting-up Acty (we helped fix a vacuum leak, and the thing ran like butter! another awesome standard of the Gould Classic is the way we swarm problems), fueling up another Acty, getting caffeinated, etc., I told people I was going to give the tour a shot, and got the kind of encouragement typical for this crew: "go for it!" along with assurances about plans B though Z if anything went awry. Same great approach as ever!
The morning of Day 2 of the Gould
Classic! We are headed off on the day's tour. Behind me
is Tara and her 2CV (and some passengers!).
So here's the great thing: According to
my odometer, I drove 80 miles. According to the BMS data,
I went from 81.8V down to 71.5V. Not fully charged (84V)
when I started and nowhere near fully discharged (60V)
when I finished!
And I never plugged in the second pack. That is, I carried the extra hundred pounds of batteries for a nice tour.
Watching the old current meter, I would guess that I drew 50A on average and at an average of about 77V, or 3.9kW (a little over 5hp). I tried never to exceed 100A, and mostly I succeeded. There is datalogging on this controller; that'll happen sometime soon.
The motor got hot. Peak I measured was 208F when I got back to Charles' at the end of the tour. (Controller peaked at ~110F.) I need some air on the cooling fins.
The transmission was audible. With so silent a three-phase motor, it's not surprising, I guess that I could hear it, but I am still paranoid about the tranny! By the way, you just leave the thing in 3rd at all times. Nice. I checked the transmission oil level on Saturday morning; I'll have to check it again. (I am using the best hypoid I could find at my ADAP.) I know I have some drips, but I don't know if I have problems.
Still more data to gather, but clearly the car is off to a good start with this configuration! I am really gleeful.
And I never plugged in the second pack. That is, I carried the extra hundred pounds of batteries for a nice tour.
Watching the old current meter, I would guess that I drew 50A on average and at an average of about 77V, or 3.9kW (a little over 5hp). I tried never to exceed 100A, and mostly I succeeded. There is datalogging on this controller; that'll happen sometime soon.
The motor got hot. Peak I measured was 208F when I got back to Charles' at the end of the tour. (Controller peaked at ~110F.) I need some air on the cooling fins.
The transmission was audible. With so silent a three-phase motor, it's not surprising, I guess that I could hear it, but I am still paranoid about the tranny! By the way, you just leave the thing in 3rd at all times. Nice. I checked the transmission oil level on Saturday morning; I'll have to check it again. (I am using the best hypoid I could find at my ADAP.) I know I have some drips, but I don't know if I have problems.
Still more data to gather, but clearly the car is off to a good start with this configuration! I am really gleeful.
Stuff I could/should do next:
- cooling fan for the motor
- instrument gauge for the X1 controller (ordered)
- transmission oil check and, if needed, easy way to
check/fill
- current-measurement rectifier (so you can see regen!)
- main-pack connection to "fuel gauge" (only the 12v is
connectable rn)
- rear bumper and sheet metal from Eddie
- badges
- 3D print headlight trim
- more data on power consumption
That's good for now.
And back to the Gould Classic: What a
crew, what a weekend! Good vibes and fine people, year
after year. I am so glad to have been there yet again, and
I'm so glad my car was there to be part of the joy.