How far can I go on electric?The typical conversion gets from 30-50 miles per charge. You can go further, but the vehicle will either be much heavier than it probably ought to be or much more expensive. The batteries that allow for us to build longer range vehicles are currently 5-8 times as expensive than the older technology lead acid batteries. If you have the cash to purchase them, they are worth it, but unfortunately range isn't cheap yet. How fast will it go?We try to concentrate on "fully capable" electric cars. That means that the cars we build will be able to get speeds in excess of 65 mph. These cars accelerate well and can coexist in city traffic easily. Beyond that, top speed and acceleration are determined by your budget. How do I charge it?The cars plug in to charge. They don't use gasoline at all. Most of us just charge in our garages or in our driveway. They can use either 110 volt or 240 volt outlets. If you have a high amperage 240 volt outlet (electric range outlet) available (or installed), they will charge faster. How long does it take to charge?The typical conversion will charge in 2-3 hours on a 240 volt high amperage outlet or 7-8 hours on a 110 volt outlet. I want to convert ...x... car. Would it make a good conversion?While we are glad to work through the details of your conversion with you, we would suggest you take a look at the EVAlbum to see if the car you want to do has been done before. If you still have questions, the members of the local EAA chapter (AustinEV) have an email list where you can ask questions if you want. You can ask us directly via our contact form, but we may take a while to get back to you or suggest that you point the question to the list. Unfortunately (or fortunately [grin]) we are pretty busy working on the cars and it is better for us to spend our time answering questions on the AustinEV list where we can get the info out to as many people as possible in a forum that is archived. What if I want to build it myself?More power to you! We offer many of the parts you might need at good prices so you might want to check in with us when you get to ordering your parts. We also answer questions all the time on the AustinEV list and may even come help if you announce an open garage to the group. What cars make good donors for conversion?These are some car types that we have worked on or helped with and found to be good options:
How much will it cost?This is the long one... There are many options when choosing to build an electric car. Each of those decisions can impact the cost of the vehicle significantly. We would love to say it is inexpensive, but unfortunately it generally isn't. We are striving to build high quality, well put together, safe, electric vehicles and will be unwilling to sacrifice quality for price. These are custom vehicles built in small quantities with specialized parts. The cost will reflect that. If this prices you out of the market, we apologize but we feel that this is the approach that is most likely to produce vehicles that will live up to your expectations.. We will be proposing a few sample scenarios here as we think through them, but please, contact us if you have a project you are considering, we may be able to work something out. A word about how we work:We don't buy or sell cars. We offer the services required to convert a car that you already own (or buy specifically for this purpose) to drive electric. Or we help you to upgrade or maintain an electric car that you have purchased elsewhere. The sample costs you see below are estimates for the parts and labor involved in the projects. Because we don't know whether you will want to purchase an older model used car or a brand new car off the lot, we have no idea what your "donor vehicle" will cost. It could be anywhere from free (you own it already and the radiator just blew for the 10th time) to $3-4,000 (you got a good deal at a used car lot) to $25-35,000 (you bought a really nice new car with all the extras).. We can help you to choose a car that will fit your needs and make as efficient a vehicle as possible. We help design the conversion ($120 - $8000 depending on the challenges that your choices present). We order the parts and get any discounts we can through our contacts (parts) and then we put the car together (labor). At this point, REVOLT is just getting started. We are building slow and trying to expand within our means. We are being conservative, careful and deliberate because we want to be here in 15 to 20 years, serving the needs of our community. So, for now, Chris, Mark and Aaron all have day jobs. This means that the majority of the work is done in the evenings and on the weekends. That is more convenient for you. There won't be any, "I have to take off from work in order to go talk to the build team." However, it does mean that we aren't always available during the typical 9-5 workday. The givens:We don't build neighborhood or low speed electric vehicles. There are plenty of those on the market or as already completed conversions. We want to concentrate on providing fully capable cars. So, all of the vehicles we work with will be able to achieve freeway speeds. The cars will have a minimum of 120 volt battery packs. They will use the best motors and controllers on the market. The cars can have power steering, power brakes, air conditioning and heat if you so choose (though those may affect your range a bit). The big variables will be range, acceleration, range, performance, size and ... range. --The "typical" conversion EV--Today's typical conversion EV is a smallish vehicle that is relatively aerodynamic. Depending on your choices it can be a four person sedan if you wish though many cars of this type use 2 door/person vehicles as donors. The typical conversion is capable of traveling 30-50 miles on a charge at 60mph in an area that does not have a large number of substantial grade fluctuations(hills [grin]). It usually does this with a rather large pack of flooded lead acid batteries. Roughly 120-144 volts of 8 volt golf cart batteries. Acceleration is acceptable to good, making the car capable of keeping up with stop and go traffic easily. Because of the additional weight associated with the battery pack, shocks and brakes are often improved to maintain handling. The battery pack will require periodic maintenance (watering). This type of battery is typically replaced every 2-4 years. We generally estimate a cost in the $15-20,000 range for such a car. That is roughly $10-12,000 in parts. The battery pack will cost about $2-4,000. The rest is design, fabrication and labor. --"I've gotta go 50-70 miles."--on a budget? -- You can take the light truck "typical" conversions as describe above and add more battery. The trucks were built to handle more load, so you can add more battery in them. Not all of the batteries will fit under the bed as they would in the "typical" conversion, and the performance will be a bit more sluggish than it would have been. But, you will be able to get your range. Just add another 1000 or so in battery cost to the "typical" above. the sky's the limit? -- This is where you start seeing the benefits of newer battery technologies. We are currently working with Lithium batteries that would allow this range while being lighter, more energy dense, not requiring maintenance and having a longer replacement schedule. The downside? The cost. Multiply that sample battery quote above by 5-8. That makes the cost for just the batteries potentially $30,000. If you have the money to plunk down up front, it actually works out about the same over the life span of the batteries, but it is still a big initial cost that most of us can't consider. --"That's not enough. I have to go even further."--Essentially, you start to lose the ability to rely on just adding more lead. The cars and light trucks won't be able to handle the weight involved. So, you start HAVING to rely on Lithium or some other advanced battery type. It is expensive, but it enables a car that can go over 100 miles per charge if you have the budget. Expect to pay over $50,000 just for the battery pack. It would be a nice car to have though. --"I don't really care about range, but I want it to be a hotrod when I AM going somewhere."--coming soon More questions? Just fill out the contact form and we will get in touch with you to start a discussion about your car. |
REVOLT Custom Electric Vehicles LLC --- PO Box 49153 - Austin, TX - 78765 --- 512 366-8196 (toll free: 888 831-4446)