EVConfigurator™
Coming Soon
The EVConfigurator™ will guide you step-by-step to build a custom conversion kit for your project, finishing up with a quote from icanEV.
In the meantime here are some
tips on converting your ICE car to electric.
An EV conversion isn't always the right decision for every vehicle, and now with commercial production EVs readily available, the more practical solution may simply be to purchase a production electric car from a showroom near you. However you may have a vehicle in mind that is something special.
The vehicle that holds your interest may never be commercially made electric. It is out of production; a specialty vehicle, or an irreplaceable antique. These are the vehicles that make excellent candidates for conversion to electric and because they have modern electric drives, have a long future of sustainable, reliable performance without the mounting costs of maintenance, operation and repair of ICE engines long out of production.
DIY project costs range widely, but here are the main considerations when deciding whether to proceed or not.
Key attributes of conversion car candidates that make for a successful project:
- Older than 1995. With the increased use of Controller Area Networks technology (CANbus) auto manufacturers began to use proprietary encoding of key features, making re-powering of drive system, and interchangeability of components more difficult. Older cars are less complicated to convert - you won't come up against proprietary road blocks.
- Manual transmission (much more efficient than automatics). You can lose up to 15% efficiency with a conventional automatic transmission. There are new replacement options, but they are more expensive.
- Light weight. Cars and small trucks up to 3,500lbs (1,600Kg) can be be generously powered with lower voltage electric systems than those used by for heavier and high performance applications. The lighter, the better, and lower costs. Heavier cars and trucks require more advanced systems. See canEV's Commercial & Classic Car conversions.
- Solid frame, and rust free body. The cost of EV conversion is high, but if you have to do extensive body restoration as well, add these costs to the project budget to compare against the expected value of the completed vehicle.
- That said zero-emission vehicles with maintenance free lithium ion batteries are the future and will provide longevity well beyond original internal combustion technology. And over the decades we expect replacement battery technology to get better and more affordable. Motor drives should last a million miles!
