December 12, 2006 by Rob.

I realized that converting the 10 year old RAV could cost as much as a new car.  So now I added a blog page to the site to start tracking my costs.

Posted in Planning | 1 Comment »

December 12, 2006 by Rob.

This weekend I mailed my EAA membership.  I feel that warm electric glow (or did I just short the battery).

Posted in Conversion | 1 Comment »

December 12, 2006 by Rob.

All,

I’m interested in your opinions and need advice! I’m trying to plan
out the motor/power system for the RAV4 because I know that can be a
long lead item. I’ve been looking around and really like the AC
systems at Metric Mind. Unfortunately, they are very pricey. My goal
is to hook the power system to an on-board PC. My day job is working
with software and I really want to program against the controller.

I’m planning to pull the engine Mid January. I’ll post when I have a
firm date. Does anyone know someone who wants a 4 banger ICE w/ 150k
miles? I’m planning to Craig’s list it.

Rob

PS: I’ll add the RAV to the AustinEV site once my camera is working and
I can take a photo.

Posted in AustinEV | 3 Comments »

December 12, 2006 by Rob.

I got an idea of the $ for an AC control system from Metric Mind.  They suggested a more powerful motor (48 kW) and their basic controller (includes integrated DC-DC supply).  The total starts at $12k and could be higher.
One note: the AC system includes re-gen braking which extends range and reduced my electric $.
Other major $ to include will be the adapter plate machining, batteries, and charger.  I’m still working on costs for that.

Since I was looking at price, I looked up the Zilla controllers at Cafe Electric.  They are half the price, but have a 6+ month lead time.  Also, they do not include as much in the package.

Posted in Planning | 1 Comment »