Electric conversion of Roketa GK25 Buggy

Research

This page has original ideas, plans and research items.

This is a personal project that I have been wanting to do for a long time.

Originally started building an Electric Car in New Zealand before I moved to the USA, and did not have a chance to work on another one one until now.

This page is a dump for ideas, links, research and more 

Overview of the project

Primary goal is to convert the all terrain vehicle to electric drive.

• The initial conversion will most likely be done with a commercial motor controller and charger. 
• After the vehicle is proven, then we have a good platform to build a Microchip replacements if they are not already Microchip.
  • AC motor controller that matches the spec of the commercial unit, including regenerative breaking, thermal management, current limiting etc. 
  • SLA / Gel / Lithium Battery charger compatible with SAE J1772 connector and interfacing for 110V/220V single phase.
  • Battery Management for load balancing and fault detection (could be part of the charger)
  • SAE J1772 Wall Charger interface with WiFi interface
  • Basic instrument cluster showing Speed, Motor Temp, Amps, Battery charge and safety/warning lights - needed for road registration and safety (High tech one is stage 2)
  • Headlights, break and indicators to achieve AZ road worthiness (Easier to move it around)
  • Add some additional paneling for guards etc
  • Will possibly build our own Charger and BMS as we have done similar projects in the past.
     

The secondary goal is to add as many Microchip based automotive and other products to the buggy, some ideas are below (This way I can get some work based projects, and possibly some team time to help out).

These are ideas, and some will take priority over others, for example headlights, indicators, breaks and basic instrument cluster are required for vehicle register for the road in AZ.

• LED lighting bars / headlights / work lights
• LED Turn signals (CAN controlled?)
• LED Break lights
• Off road whip light
• High tech Instrument cluster with CAN comms to all the different items - Possibly a SAM Linux solution displaying:
  • Large TFT display
  • Speed
  • Distance
  • RPM
  • Torque / Nm
  • Horsepower / KW
  • battery level
  • battery consumption
  • regeneration
  • motor and controller temperature
  • ambient temperature
  • GPS location
  • G forces (Accelerometers)
  • Compass
  • Body Angle + warning
  • Data logging 
  • Music selection
  • Proximity warnings etc
• Ultrasonic range finders all around for proximity alerts
• Radar for front long distance
• Central management system (maybe part of cluster) including WiFi / Bluetooth interface to Phone app for tuning, control, unlocking etc
• WS2812 Party lights - just because
• Decent power D-Class audio amps with bluetooth interface because you need music for part lights
• Suspension control (The front shocks are Air shocks, rear shocks maybe the same)
• Steering and other control and sensors to make an Semi / full  Autonomous / remote control vehicle
• Intercom system
• WIFi / Bluetooth interface for data collection, Motor / Battery / suspension / autonomous  tuning, remote control, Audio, security and more.

Donor body: Rocket GK25

http://www.roketa.com/product/product_support.jsp?cateID=259&sonCateID=0&proID=2132

Original Engine Specs:

Has a 4 Speed Manual transmission with reverse.

Target Electric motor

15KW to 30KW

Don't need as many horsepower as the Torque is developed at zero RPM

Off the shelf supplier for Motor, Drive and Battery: http://www.hpevs.com   (Pricey - but good reference Data for Motor , controller specs etc)

Will look into using cheaper recycled industrial AC motor and building a Microchip based Motor Drive, charger and battery management system.

MISC notes and links

Possible FET options for Drive:

Microsemi APTM50AM24SG - 500V, 150A, Dual N Channel FET https://www.microsemi.com/existing-parts/parts/59630

Microsemi APTM20AM10STG - 200V, 175A, Dual N Channel FET https://www.microsemi.com/existing-parts/parts/59654#resources

Microsemi APTGLQ600A65T6G - 650V, 600A Dual IGBT https://www.microsemi.com/existing-parts/parts/112311#resources

Used Tesla Batterys about $1000 per 24V 250A/H pack on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/sch/Electric-Vehicle-Batteries/177703/i.html?Brand=Tesla&_dcat=177703

Also many other battery options on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/sch/Electric-Vehicle-Batteries/177703/i.html

Electric car conversion kits / parts: https://www.evwest.com/catalog/index.php

Ebay Kit ($3000 motor + controller): https://www.ebay.com/itm/96V-Complete-Electric-Car-Conversion-Kit-EV-Conversion-Hwy-Capable-3K-w-Regen

Motors from Ebay Kit: http://www.motenergy.com/brdcmo2.html

Controller from Ebay Kit: http://kellycontroller.com/kls96601-8080ips24v-96v600asinusoidal-bldc-motor-controller-p-1386.html

EV Parts supplier in California: https://www.electricmotorsport.com

EV Parts Supplier in California: https://www.thunderstruck-ev.com

EV Builder and parts supplier in California: https://www.evwest.com/

Articles and Calculations 

https://www.electriccarpartscompany.com/assets/images/Motor-and-Battery-Primer-site.pdf

http://www.ev-propulsion.com/EV-calculations.html

https://evwest.com/catalog/resources_motor_calc.php    (Calculator on the page - just fill in the values)

Battery Balancing / BMS Links

http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/AppNotes/00231a.pdf (Part no longer exists, but simple explanation of balancing)

https://www.mpoweruk.com/bms.htm

http://www.ti.com/lit/an/slyt322/slyt322.pdf

https://www.electriccarpartscompany.com/Specification-of-Battery-Balancers

Curtis 600A Motor Controller Datasheet

https://www.curtisinstruments.com

Motor Details (Made by HPEVS in CA)

http://www.hpevs.com/hpevs-ac-electric-motors-ac20-ac23-for-motorcycle-mining-utility-ground-support-vehicles.htm

Different Motor specs shown below. Target is to get close to or better than the original motor specs of:

Max horsepower 35.1hp/5500rpm (26.18KW)

Max torque 42.04 ft-lbs /2500-3000rpm (57n.m)

Kit Options

Curtis AC-9/15 Kit + 48V 450A controller - Peak 23HP / 41 ft pound  - $2280 https://www.thunderstruck-ev.com/ac-9-w-1234-5371-clone.html

Curtis AC-20 Kit (Race Gokart / bike) + 48V 600A controller - Peak 25HP / 75 ft pound? - $2960 https://www.thunderstruck-ev.com/ac-20-w-1238-5601-clone.html

Curtis AC-20 Kit +48V 600A Controller - 25HP/75 ft pound? - $2671 https://www.electricmotorsport.com/ev-parts/motor-drive-kits/ac-induction-motor-kits/ac-20-kit.html

Curtis AC-20 Kit + 48V 600A Controller - 25+HP / 75ft pound - $2750  https://www.evwest.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=8&products_id=286&osCsid=tuudjg8i5ukphvr8s8sfa67fg6