Hey everyone... I thought I'd put down some thoughts while they are fresh in my experience. Just about one year ago, I picked up an 07 STI Limited. What a blast. It was my first car that is over 200hp. The car is built like a tank. Driving it daily knowing that it's based off a rally car with AWD and an excellent crash rating simply inspires confidence in the driver. (hey thats me) And all this with the boxer rumble to top it off. (btw My last car was an 01 4d accord.) (oh and the limited is going to be up forsale soon ) Since then I've picked up (and sold) an Ariel Atom 2 which was a whole other experience in itself. Just looking at it makes my heart race without climbing in. It was gobs of fun in the HP sector but seriously offset by the lack of practicality and the death factor (yes you climb in but you may not climb out). It was purely a summer, dry day car. Not something you'd commute with unless you're insane. I have a chipped tooth to prove it. Everytime I take it for a spin, it's the same experience - wind in the hair, tears in the eyes, cuts on the face from bugs (no kidding). Plus the exact ambient temperature is instantly sensed as you drive through pockets of cool (near streams and creeks) and waves of heat on the freeway since I'm inches able the asphalt. Also, various car smells - coolant, oil, burning oil, brakes. I not only smell my own but all the cars around me at red lights as well as on the freeway. Sometimes I suddenly smell coolant at a red light, I look around and immediately identify an adjacent car. But before I can tell them the light turns green and I'm gone. Oh and also everywhere I drive I get honks, wild yells from rolled down windows, reving from superbikes who pull up next to me. Everytime I pull into a gas station, theres a crowd and I have to play the 20 questions game. It's fun at first but gets old fast. Then theres the supercharger whine. Since I fixed up the muffler that xsploded (I hear stock one sometimes blows up 400miles from factory) I could hear the whine all the way up to 6800. My adrenal glands kick in every time I launch and the dosage is proportional to the supercharger whine. The whine simply matches the quiet screaming inside my head. (I can't open my mouth or I instantly drool and it immediately begins to dry up) Anyway, enough of the atom. Heres the kicker.... Recently I picked up a 03 miata with a 6spd. It's been exactly one week I have to say I have never had so much fun with so little HP. The little guy simply loves to rev. I rev and rev, shift a bunch of times and I look down and it's only 60mph and I'm still legal! I love it. The turns and curves are a blast even I'm crawling compared to what I'd be doing in the atom and sti. The suspension is horrible compared to the sti and atom. I'm used to the incredibly stiff suspension in the sti and atom and all the bouncing on the freeway, but I'm getting use to the progressive springs and am now able to push it a little bit on turns. I drove like a maniac this week and got 24.8mpg. Ok, so now what... last paragraph. I picked up the miata for one reason - it's a very light, driveable car. I am going to convert it to be an all electric car with a drivetrain that is total overkill with a lightweight battery for performance as well as a short 50 mile range for daily commute. I can always add in more packs for long trips. The goal is to keep the weight the same as stock (2300lb) as well as the 50/50 weight balance. A 200kw inverter matched with a good motor will put out an equivalent peak of 270hp and 313 torque. It should outperform a gas car with same hp and weight because 100% of the torque is available from stop all the way to 6000rpm. I picked the 99+ miata due to slightly better drag co-efficient. Daily driving without a heavy foot should easily exceed and equivalent 150mpg. Yet then I'm ready to go, I should be able to take 99% of the cars on the street provided I modulate the throttle so that I don't burn off the rear tires. Anyway, thats all for now... stay tuned :bigthumb:
I would never do that due to liability issues. The battery itself is a 700VDC system. Considering that 36VDC can kill someone, if I sold a kit like that I might as well go ahead and bury myself. Pricewise, here is the breakdown so far... (keep in mind I'm picking premium parts) 13k 200kw power inverter 8k-10k 50-70kw ac 3 phase motor 10-15k 700v battery pack (li-poly) 3k 12v dc-dc power supply 5k charger system Yeah it's pricey. I've picked a motor that maxes at 8k rpm so it should jack right into the 6spd tranny. The torsen LSD should be really helpful. I may have to upgrade to rx7 drivetrain if I blow this one.
lets see. Turbo and Tune that bad boy proper easily to 275hp for $10k that leaves ~$35k for premium gas let's say gas is $4.50 for inflation. that's 7,777 gallons. @ 20mpg that's 155k miles. or go electric and sneak quietly around town........until you squeal your tires
autox there'd be some serious downtime unless you have someway to swap out 400lb battery packs btwn sessions. You might need to bring a generator to the pit......haha. "excuse me, can I get a jump?"
I'll definitely look you guys up. I've already got a list - motor to tranny mounting plate. Mounts for inverter and various other parts. I'll have to wait until I get the actual parts though. Do you guys have a 99+ miata chasis without a drivetrain lying around? Also can you source some spline shafts?
What spline shafts, I can probably point you in the right direction. Also have you seen www.emachineshop.com
Looks like a standard size: A20x17 DIN 5482 http://donau.kicms.de/cebi/easyCMS/...components/AC_Induction_motors_200_series.pdf
I assume you have heard of Mazmart: http://www.mazmart.com/ They seem to give their regular customers the best deals, so you may not find great prices right off the bat, but they are local and have a pretty good inventory! Their Addy: 4917 New Peachtree Rd Atlanta, GA 30341 They mainly buy and sell used Miata parts...
they used to be a HUGE RX-7 place. Now they are just Mazda in general with more Miata parts than I know how to shake a stick at. :rofl:
Yeah they are just down the street. I'll give them a buzz. I just need to "rent" an empty NB chassis for a few months