Electric Crate Motors

jjvw

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Electric GT is building electric crate motor conversions for older cars and SUVs. The FJ40 is specifically mentioned.

https://www.autoblog.com/2019/10/14/electric-gt-crate-motor-ev-conversions/
Batteries aren't included in this kit and the conversion isn't realistic at this point in time. But once the hurdles of battery packaging, range and charging are overcome, something like this should be a good future option to keep our older Jeeps on the road and potentially make them better then they are now.
 
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Amazing how far technology has come in regards to electric vehicles and motors. Especially power wise, some of the electric cars are insanely quick on take off because there's no hesitation really, you just hit the gas and bam, the power is right there.

I'd be curious to know what they used for the TJ in the JP live tour. It has an electric conversion done but I can't find really any info on it online. I cant imagine it's anything too crazy considering it really only has to move 20-30ft around a stage.
 
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This is something that I've been hoping for, I think the 4.0L will last long enough to make this a reality too (unless gas becomes is prohibitively expensive to keep using).
 
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The new hybrid Jeeps are coming out. I'll wait for a 3L plug in diesel hybrid. But it's going to need some serious armor on the battery storage if you take it on the rocks. The last thing you want to do is puncture the battery pack and drag it down a rock.

Give it several years and those may be swap in options as new Jeeps get into accidents and parts become available. Though I'm not sure the newer eco diesels are going to go smoothly given the emissions restrictions.
 
We’ve been saying that for quite a long time now 🤪

We have. And technology will continue advancing to where we won't be saying that anymore. The prevalence of the ICE is coming to an end. But we love our old vehicles too much for them to be left behind after the paradigm shift.
 
We have. And technology will continue advancing to where we won't be saying that anymore. The prevalence of the ICE is coming to an end. But we love our old vehicles too much for them to be left behind after the paradigm shift.

Technology will indeed advance. However, this is still a good 15+ years off I would imagine before the price point becomes realistic and the technology is there.

Just don’t hold your breath, that’s all I’m saying.

One could do it now if they had a shit ton of money to spend though I’m sure.
 
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Half of me expects the government to mandate it sooner than later forcing the time line. Hopefully that will only be proactive instead of retroactive.

When the day comes, however it comes, the one thing I will really miss is the sound of a good motor.
 
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You definitely have to plan your trips. A friend of mine drove his Tesla from Chicago and had to stay on a predetermined path and schedule for charging. Even with the $10k extra he spent to get the 300 mile range battery. Every stop to charge was much more than the 10-15 minutes we stop at a gas station.

I wouldn't mind the torque and instant acceleration electric motors provide, but I'd like it to be in a diesel electric setup so I could go visit my family without asking them if I can plug my car in to the welding 220V outlet out in the shed because I may not make it home. They barely have cell coverage out there yet and haven't shown up on google maps if you try to use the GPS, so a charging station nearby likely isn't in the near future. That's the biggest issue for me. Not just that there aren't many charging stations compared to gas, but that the charging takes much more time. If I never left the city, I could use it fine. Then again I could ride my bicycle too.

That's why I'm watching the new 2020 offerings closely. A plug in hybrid diesel engine would work for me in terms of torque, efficiency, and range. But I'm not going to spend $70k to save a little gas money either.
 
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Half of me expects the government to mandate it sooner than later forcing the time line. Hopefully that will only be proactive instead of retroactive.
Yes, driven by????

Sort of like the 1970s and the banning of leaded fuel and use of catalytic converters. We are at the same point. The technology is there today for clean, efficient gas cars but in the 1970s it was a horror show. I expect the same thing with e-vehicles. The government will mandate them with legislation which will drive manufacturers to get it all together.But there will be lots of whining.

I remember the crying about 4 stroke outboard motors in the 1990s?.... we cannot do it, they will be too heavy.... then someone said.. but you/ve been building them in Europe for 10 years. Or CARB when they first passed emmission standards for 1975, cry, cry, cry from the Big Three.... But Honda said no problem, we are already there without catalytic converters, they had just introduced the CCVC engine in the Civic.

The government will be proactive, but the manufactures will be retarded as usual.
 
I produce electricity for a living, so I love government mandates to use it. Currently the US energy consumption is divided into roughly 3 equal parts; heating, electricity, transportation. Each of those 3 is roughly equal in terms of personal versus industrial/commercial requirements.

If they mandated e-vehicles it would double the amount of electrical power required while reducing the amount of oil used. We would need new electrical lines and transformers, and more people would be buying electricity. Win for me.

A typical commuter would use roughly the same amount of electrical energy to run their house and their car each day. A 2 car family would need to add yet another house worth, etc., etc. I would be unable to charge 4 cars like I have under my current household without making the lead into my home electrical system roughly 4 to 5 times as big unless I were to up the line in voltage from 220V. Or we would need to stagger charges and never be out at the same time. It's like if we all shared a wall charger for any of our electronic toys. Now combine that with every long range visitor potentially needing a little juice. Do you ask for a little gasoline when you visit people now?

The feel good PR charging stations outside of some businesses will disappear when there are too many people wanting charges. Family won't be so keen on hosting Thanksgiving with 5-10 cars needing juice. The parking lots might go to credit card metering/charging for people who can't afford home modifications.

All electric vehicles aren't a change to the car market. They are a fundamental shift in the entire energy, industrial, and home electrical supply market. Well beyond what most politicians understand. See PG&E shutting off people's power this week as an example of rapidly shifting market issues.

I've been designing, operating, and dealing in the electrical energy marketplace for 25 years now and I'm not sure I could simplify the issues down to a single thread, let alone a post in one.
 
I dont know enough about electric engines but wouldnt torque draw the power down on the battery immensely?
 
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ICON 4x4 does a few builds converting older cars into EVs and they have looked interesting to say the least.
 
We’ve been saying that for quite a long time now 🤪

I watched it happen in the RC airplane industry in the early 2000s. I started flying nitro because the battery powered birds were heavy, slow, had short flight times and weren't maneuverable enough to be any fun. Lithium polymer tech hit the market and all of a sudden, they were lighter, twice as powerful and flew 3 times longer than the nitro birds. Along with that, they were cleaner to transport and required less maintenance. At first the batteries were super expensive, but as natural demand increased so did supplies and prices came down

Mind you, the government wasn't interested in mandating or subsidizing electric power in RC planes, so the movement to electric was organic and we'll received. It happened when it became more economical and easy to the end user
 
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I watched it happen in the RC airplane industry in the early 2000s. I started flying nitro because the battery powered birds were heavy, slow, had short flight times and weren't maneuverable enough to be any fun. Lithium polymer tech hit the market and all of a sudden, they were lighter, twice as powerful and flew 3 times longer than the nitro birds. Along with that, they were cleaner to transport and required less maintenance. At first the batteries were super expensive, but as natural demand increased so did supplies and prices came down

Mind you, the government wasn't interested in mandating or subsidizing electric power in RC planes, so the movement to electric was organic and we'll received. It happened when it became more economical and easy to the end user

I've been flying RC planes and driving RC cars for well over a decade now, so I can relate 100%.

Still, this isn't even close to being able to do an electric conversion to a full size vehicle for a reasonable price. I do get what you're saying though.

Until you can convert your vehicle into a fully electric car for 20k or less, I don't think anyone will be doing this unless they have very deep pockets.

I think we are at least 15 years away from seeing decently priced electric conversions for our TJs or other vehicles. If you were to do it now, you'd probably spend well over 50k and have maybe "acceptable" range at best. And unless they're going to put chargers out on the trails, what are the overlanding guys going to do?

Electric makes sense in a lot of applications (namely commuting). But in an off-road / overlanding application... we're very, very far away from electric being a practical solution.
 
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