I just joined the i-club forum. I converted a 2008 Subaru Forester Sport to an all-electric Subie - or what I call the SubiEVee. Check it out in the garage, or in the "ongoing projects" section -

https://www.i-club.com/forums/ongoing-projects-31/my-diy-subaru-electric-forester-sport-232987/

 

welcome, a lot of work must of went into making that

 

The 1 million dollar question is:

How much will it be to replicate?

 

A fair amount of my conversion cost (time / parts cost) was spent on learning curve and development. The second time around would be faster / cheaper.

The custom aluminum motor-to-transmission adapter was created on a CNC lathe. It's in software and additional units could be replicated more cost effectively relative the prototype, which cost me $8K. The Azure electric motor and DMOC controller, Manzanita Micro battery charger, 100 GBS 60 Ah lithium batteries and all the other required components cost under $25K. If you hired a shop to do the conversion and install, it would cost between $5K and 10K at average labor rates. The donor Subie purchased for between $10 - 15K. You could part out the engine and other ICE components and get about $3K back. All in, it would cost between $45 and $50K to replicate. Less if you did the work yourself.

That's more than a FWD Nissan Leaf or hybrid Chevy Volt EV will cost you, but it's less than 1/2 the cost of an impractical (though beautiful and fast) Tesla Roadster.

 

sweet!! good job!

the tranny can handle the instant torq?

 

Mine's a 5-speed manual and hasn't been a problem. If I want, I can drive off from a standing start in 3rd gear without needing to clutch. Nice thing about electric motors is they don't stall out.

 

What's the driving range? Also how much power does it make

 

40-50 miles from a full charge to empty.

The motor is a Azure Dynamic AC55 inductive 3 phase AC motor - 78 KW / 105 HP / 184 Lb Ft torque @ 0-3500 RPM

For over 100 years, battery storage capacity has always been the Achilles Heal of electric vehicles. As battery and energy storage systems improve, and companies invest R&D into battery and fuel cell technology, the range per charge will increase dramatically. It's comparable to 1980's computers that had 128k memory and 600k floppy disks OR vintage portable cell phones that were the size of bricks. Range is going to get better over time, but if you wait, you miss much of the fun of being an early adopter.

With the 60 Ah lithium batteries I installed, the range is 40-50 miles, and since my SubiEVee is intended for local driving, that's plenty. After years driving electric cars, I've found 40-50 miles covers 95% of my driving needs. I can plug-in and recharge while I'm at work and I'll have additional range. I could also install larger capacity batteries (100+Ah) if I want to spend the money. But like any EV, the Subie is not intended for long distance driving. For those longer trips, I use my 45 mpg VW Jetta TDI.



The SubiEVee specs are here:

http://ecoautoinc.com/subievee.php

http://www.evtuners.com/2011/07/12/subievee/

 

best looking electric vehicle on the road besides the tesla haha..nice work

 

welcome and great work!

i love to see EV conversions - there's so many ways to do it...

i'm curious to know why you kept the AWD vs modifying the trans/drivetrain to be only RWD... I would think there would be a potential energy savings by not having to power up the front wheels & related components...?

 

Good stuff and I can speak for all of us: Thanks for choosing a Subaru!