Since these are coming down nicely in price I'm interested. Sub $5k doesn't seem hard to find for a non-wrecked example.
Anyone have an idea for wrecked ones? Or where to get that info?
If I could find a lightly wrecked one for about $1500 or less I'd be dragging it home.
Has anyone cracked the computer so that you can use the parts in another. Chassis ?
californiamilleghia said:Has anyone cracked the computer so that you can use the parts in another. Chassis ?
Yes, there's an aftermarket inverter-controller that lets you put a lot more power through the factory inverter. MrJoshua could tell you more about it. May be this one?
https://www.thunderstruck-ev.com/dilithium-vcu.html
Edit: More likely this one:
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=63982&sid=040fc19e485096bedd53b5c0c7b399db
The older leafs in particular have batteries that wear out quickly, and that is your biggest expense by far in an EV,
so at sub $5k will likely need new batteries, or live with short range. For wrecked, copart does not make selling prices available, so can't
just look at see what condition sold for what price, but most of these at auction have ~$1,000 in fees on top,
so it don't think you can find one light wrecked that cheap (at least via auction). The deal is when a car is totalled
by insurance and the owner buys it back thinking they will fix it, and realizes they can't and then sells it via CL.
Not easy to find that deal, but if you hunt long enough, might happen
$1500 sounds very safe... with good ones being near $5k it would be case by case based upon how bad the wreck is. Battery Condition matters and it's borderline impossible to determine on a wrecked car.
As mentioned above, Leafs have the least reliable batteries out of any recent EV's, due to them being aircooled, unlike nearly all other EV's. Unfortunately they're also the most prolific outside of California...
Even calling Leaf batteries aircooled seems too generous, they're uncooled batteries sealed into a metal box...the Leaf keeps heat under control by not working the batteries too hard.
GameboyRMH said:Even calling Leaf batteries aircooled seems too generous, they're uncooled batteries sealed into a metal box...the Leaf keeps heat under control by not working the batteries too hard.
Yeah.. They're cooled if the car is moving..
GameboyRMH said:californiamilleghia said:Has anyone cracked the computer so that you can use the parts in another. Chassis ?
Yes, there's an aftermarket inverter-controller that lets you put a lot more power through the factory inverter. MrJoshua could tell you more about it. May be this one?
https://www.thunderstruck-ev.com/dilithium-vcu.html
Edit: More likely this one:
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=63982&sid=040fc19e485096bedd53b5c0c7b399db
A quick perusal didn’t reveal how much extra power, anyone have ballpark numbers?
are there any other pure EVs that people are transplanting the running gear.....except Teslas
Upside on Leaf batteries is it's the only EV I know of that shows the battery wear (that is, how close you are to needing a new battery from your Nissan dealer) right on the dash. If the dash powers up that's something. Pull a Carfax and avoid registration history in southwestern states, where issues were worst.
A quick perusal didn’t reveal how much extra power, anyone have ballpark numbers?
2nd link said 300hp dyno at the top but i got tired of looking for the proof.
Vigo said:A quick perusal didn’t reveal how much extra power, anyone have ballpark numbers?
2nd link said 300hp dyno at the top but i got tired of looking for the proof.
He got 300hp on a dyno later in that thread. It was a custom built setup by a guy very good at building motor controllers with a fair amount of money in parts and a pretty large amount of battery. The earlier linked part is more plug and play but it just allows you to get the factory Nissan 80 KW without having the entire Leaf present.
GameboyRMH said:californiamilleghia said:Has anyone cracked the computer so that you can use the parts in another. Chassis ?
Yes, there's an aftermarket inverter-controller that lets you put a lot more power through the factory inverter. MrJoshua could tell you more about it. May be this one?
https://www.thunderstruck-ev.com/dilithium-vcu.html
Edit: More likely this one:
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=63982&sid=040fc19e485096bedd53b5c0c7b399db
Those are some excellent links. This was not the question I asked yet some how you guys know what I'm thinking...
spacecadet said:$1500 sounds very safe... with good ones being near $5k it would be case by case based upon how bad the wreck is. Battery Condition matters and it's borderline impossible to determine on a wrecked car.
Very safe, but where do I find them?
In reply to Robbie :
The question I need to ask is why a Leaf? There are several other EV’s around such as Tesla and Bolt. Tesla especially is having problems getting parts. Which pretty well makes them worthless in resale so if creating a body is included why not look at whatever fiberglass kit car body strikes your fancy?
I would love to have someone make a Dune Buggy type thing / Lotus Super 7 etc that uses the guts out of an salvage EV and that could be registered for the street.
But I think that EVs are so complicated as far as wiring and sensors that if may not be possible :(
In reply to frenchyd :
Cause salvage teslas are still $15k+ at auction
Cheapest Leaf I've seen locally was asking $2200 totaled. I have kinda been watching the market even though I have no money, just to get an idea what my imaginary electric ranger swap would cost.
In reply to RevRico :
OK , $2200 is the cheapest you’ve seen. Which is about $700 more than he wants to pay. Plus fees and etc, Add to that , several postings I’ve read say that if you don’t want to live with short range you have to replace the batteries to the tune of $5000.
Hmmmm?
But the Chevy Bolt isn’t $100,000 car and everything I read about the Bolt/Volt is the batteries are extremely long lasting because of how conservative they are used, regarding the charging/ discharge cycle.
Is that something that might work?
I have zero experience buying expensive newer cars To play/race with.
I prefer my cars at slightly over scrap value. Heck I’ll be honest. That’s all I want to spend. Nothing loses value faster than luxury goods once they are no longer desired for status reasons. Plus they tend to retain excellent mechanicals long after the pretty is gone.
I’ll bet the Tesla drops like a stone once the body style changes and the sheet metal is crumpled up
Tesla parts are the hot ticket in high dollar EV conversions. They make really really fast conversions and have lots of cool factor so swap shops and dreamers are snapping them up keeping the prices really high.
Salvage leafs are overpriced in terms of challenge budget and don't seem to drop much beyond the open market prices for running ones. The batteries also degrade on old ones and aren't all that powerful and don't have much tolerance for heat or have good cooling if you want to use the swap in a race car. The motor, transmission, charger, and inverter are in a nice 4 cylinder sized stack that slots right into the place of a transverse ICE and options exist to take over the controller so a whole leaf might be a good starting place anyway.
Chevy Volts seem to drop into a nice price for salvage cars but they don't really lend themselves to using the whole drivetrain like the leaf does. The motors are in the transmission, rely on having the ICE present, and are setup with convoluted hybrid control systems where they each engage at different times. The batteries are really nice for autocross or drag race style swaps because of the factory water cooling setup and high discharge capacity letting you wring out a bunch of horsepower without damaging them. The inverter is interesting because it is two reasonably high powered inverters in one case but that only helps if you are using two moderately sized motors (I probably wouldn't drive two leaf motors with it).
Chevy Bolt stuff is just too new and have too desirable a battery to be cheap. Salvage cars are going for pretty high dollars. The batteries look awesome-lots of capacity, but I am unsure of how well the cooling system works. It is a less capable cooling system than the volts (less cell surface in contact with the cooling system), but the battery is so much higher capacity that it would be working so much less to make the same power so the heat should be easier to control. The bolt motor is neat with the axle passing right through the middle so the packaging could be beneficial is some situations. (Delayed edit: The coolant used to cool the battery passes off its heat to the AC system so that adds a wrinkle in using the battery hard outside of a Bolt).
A Ford CMax/Fusion Energi has an interesting battery that can be had for sub $1k delivered all day long,is capable of about 150hp, and is easy to swap in because each cell uses terminals so configuration is easy. There are rumors of degradation as they age, they are in a pretty low range pack, and they are air cooled so the buyer should be aware of the downsides.
Oh-If I were chasing the Lemons EV prize now I think I would use a Bolt drivetrain in a CRX with a setup for quick swapping packs. I'm guessing 2 spare batteries would do it. The unknowns are how well built the cooling system is in the bolt battery, motor, and inverter.
What about EV Fiat 500s and EV Smart cars ?
Just to put in a small car like an original aircooled Fiat 500 or some other wierd small Euro body car
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