nocones said:
67hp you say.. I have a chassis that could live with 2 of those in my garage. I think I could make the chassis challenge legal at <500 lbs before drivetrain/batteries.
Keep suggesting parts I might make a shopping list.
it's possible that that rear "ediff" is shared with the RX400h and the 2006-2013 Toyota Highlander Hybrid? Searching on the "rear engine" on car-part for the ~2012 highlander hybrid brings up a bunch more hits than the ~2012 RX450h. many of them at ~$100.
looking at "open inverter", it looks like that is the case, and they are the Q211-2FM:
https://www.openinverter.org/wiki/Toyota/Lexus_MGR_Rear_Transaxle_Motor
potentially you'd be better off finding a 3G Prius inverter (it's rated at 50kW), and trying to crack it open with OpenInverter. That'd take some hand holding that I can't offer... but I think there's some people on here that know about that more?
https://openinverter.org/wiki/Toyota_Prius_Gen3_Board
3G Prius inverters are plentiful and $100-$200 on car-part.
searching for hybrid inverter/converter for the same year highlander is $1k; and I think it's the main hybrid inverter in the engine bay. I think you'd maybe be better off looking for a 50 to 70kW capable 3-phase AC controller?
Can you scare up a Chevy Spark EV for sub $2k? I think they are pretty unloved.
140hp and 327lbft tq stock. I know I saw some posts here or another forum from someone who was autocrossing one.
I think to use something like that Toyota eDiff your inverter also has to have an encoder that can understand the motor's position, but a thread on them from the DIY Electric car forums implies Toyota was running them over 600 volts AC, to keep them as light as possible. Apparently they COULD get them running on a Gen3 Prius inverter, but then the question of cooling comes up as the motors weren't meant to run except for when extra torque was needed.
From my own research- you'll likely want a leaf motor and inverter combination, which have a huge list of benefits. They're hackable, run OBD2, are a complete "unit" with their cooling and working needs, and finally have very obvious hookups for things like cooling and gear oil. You likely don't want to bother with older brushed DC motors-they have no real provisions for cooling outside of forced air, the carbon brushes cause back EMF naturally from their function (very electronically noisy) and they have no provision for regen braking unless you devised a way to switch the power circut a full 180 degrees the instant you took your foot off the throttle. It's doable, but AC motors have that literally built in. Still tho, Brushed DC motors have serious benefits- high offline torque, rewiring them for higher volts can be done by a layperson, they're STUPID cheap, physically very easy to control, and generating more power can be done via "clocking" the brushes (basically turning them to an angle on the stator, so more of the brush makes contact with the motor- that way you can shove more power through at the expense of the brush dying much faster).
For cheap batteries and things from the wrecker- I'd look for Chevy Spark EVs. First editions actually used Lithium Iron Phosphate cells, not lithium ions, so they're hardy and have high discharge rates- but also are liquid cooled, so you'll get a longer runtime. The Spark's also have a motor that made 100HP but 400lb/ft of torque, because somehow GM never fails to do something wild.
2015 Spark EV on IAAI. 2016 Spark EV on IAAI
There's also the Smart EVs, those have a ~100HP brushless DC motor from Bosch. I don't know much about them and it seems EV guys don't pay much attention to them either.
GIRTHQUAKE said:
I think to use something like that Toyota eDiff your inverter also has to have an encoder that can understand the motor's position, but a thread on them from the DIY Electric car forums implies Toyota was running them over 600 volts AC, to keep them as light as possible. Apparently they COULD get them running on a Gen3 Prius inverter, but then the question of cooling comes up as the motors weren't meant to run except for when extra torque was needed.
apologies wvumtnbkr, this is a bit of a tangent from the original thesis. but, I've been thinking about those Toyota MGR/eDiffs.
any idea of the feasibility of taking one of the 50kW eDiffs from the ~2016-2018 Rav4 Hybrid and putting it in the back of a 2012-2018 Camry Hybrid? Less about the "physical packaging" aspect, and more about the "systems" aspect. Would that just be a matter of the eDiff, some wires, and the Rav4 inverter/controller to get it to run (since they have the same engine, and maybe the same HybridSynergy drive / Battery Pack?) the rear diff?
I reckon this is the "more likely"/easier 'boost upgrade' possible; in comparison to putting the 50-60kW eDiff in place of the Gen4 AWD eDiff. or even hacking up a Gen3 with a different SynergyDrive (and pack) and/or the rear eDiff?
sleepyhead the buffalo said:
... supposedly they're 67hp (50kW) from the factory...
1 hp = 0.746kW
67hp * 0.746kW / 1hp = 50kW
edit: looks like you saw that while I was posting this?
kb58 said:
Sigh... yes, dang it!
don't worry. I took several minutes checking my math, because I wasn't 100% sure I got it right after you posted.
