Hey guys,

So I have a 2016 Lancer GT and I’d like to eventually put a 4b11T in it. So you guys think I can Moc it up until then? Such as exhaust, intercooler, stance suspension exc. I’m not sure if things will line up but maybe someone here will have a more definite answer.

 

I had not . But i just did some searching and watched a few of his Youtube vids. It seems he mostly is trying to offer rebuilds and maintenances on Tesla vehicles and not an actual EV conversion. Problem with the drive units for Tesla’s are that you just cant take them and power them to use outside of a Tesla. The ECU, Inverter, etc... all need to communicate and think that they are still inside of the original car, parts and sensors. Otherwise they will not work. It will be too big of a project/skill for me to buy a crashed tesla and swap almost everything into an Evo.

From my knowledge there are 3 companies that offer solutions to be able to use the drive units (Model S /X only as of now) as part of an EV conversion. EvTV, EVWest and 057 Technology. I’m not sure what EVTV does to make it work. I know EVWest with the Model S swaps the hardware with their own aftermarket. And 057 Technology keeps the oem hardware and uses an external device to communicate and fool the Tesla hardware/software to think its still in the car.

 

Would it not be possible to simply connect a type s drive unit directly to the transfer case on the evo, and keep the evo awd intact?

 

edit. Never mind, it faces the wrong direction even if you modify the Fire wall it would directly interfere with the drive shaft.

 

It’s been a little while since I’ve done anything to the Evo. I’ve been getting a little tired of waiting for model 3 motors to be hacked so I started doing what I don’t do best, research .

I found that EV Controls has a kit car made by Factory Five model 818 in which they swapped in Dual Tesla Motors . Turns out they now offer a controller that runs dual motor setup for Model S. Their car runs the quarter mile in 9.3 seconds at 138 mph weighing in at 2700 lbs. With a 0-60 in 2.2 seconds . Videos can be found here . http://www.ev-controls.com/dual-moto...-quarter-mile/

I did contact EV Controls and they confirmed that their controller will work with any P85D P90D and P100D drive units. The motors inverter/controller will need to have a version compatible with their controller , but they will assist with flashing the appropriate version if needed.

As the weather gets better and still no time to do anything , I managed to squeeze in some time to get under the Evo again for further observations and measurements. I now made up my mind to go with Plan C, using Model S Performance rear and front motors.

I will need to remove the rear sway bar and subframe . Then build a new subframe/mount to hold the control arm and then attach the rear drive unit etc.. Off course I will need to cutout the spare tire well/floor from the trunk for the motor. As for the sway bar, I believe I can simply flip it 180* degree so the bar hangs towards the front of the car. Front motor should be pretty “easy” and sit similar to as it was in the model s.

Now the hard part, buying the Tesla drive units. I see rear drive units prices are down as low as 2500-5000 range and front drive units 1000-2500 range. I’m not sure how trust worthy some of these EBay sellers are as far as making sure parts didn’t break during the uninstall or worse taken off non working flooded cars etc.. Any recommendations from you guys where I can buy Tesla motors ?

 

Alrighty, time for a small update and ask for your advise.

I purchased the Rear Drive Unit Kit from EVWest. Pretty big hit on the budge but it does come with most of the things I need and wanted to have. Unfortunately it will take some time for my order to be completed. I purchased it on May 28th and there is a lead time of up to 4 months. Hopefully they can get it to me sooner. This is what I ordered https://www.evwest.com/catalog/produ...o9miq6eo5otv83

Now I’m looking to buy a decent MIG welder to use on the chassis work. Any recommendations on what is good or if I should go TIG instead ? I’ve never welded before so I would be learning as I go.

I was thinking maybe the Lincoln Pro MIG 180 but my garage is only wired for 110v . Perhaps I can use a 110v to 220v converter to run welders that require 220v outlets ? Also there was the Lincoln MIG 140 that uses 110v input but I’m not sure how well this performs. Any recommendations ? I rather keep budget as low as possible but if I have to spend a little more for a much better item I would stretch a little more. I say maybe $700 - $1200 range ?

 

At a minimum you should make sure the welder you choose uses shielded gas, argon gas. I would avoid the flux core wire.

 

I have a 110v Lincoln 135 amp MIG welder that I use for small projects. It will not weld anything thick. Maybe 1/8" at the most with a good pre heat. So as long as you dont plan on welding anything thick, a 110v one will do. I would still recommend to get a 220v welder though since you can do a whole lot more with it. Also, if this is your first time welding, a TIG is not the place to start. You need to learn the basics of welding before stepping into a TIG cause there is a whole lot more going on.

 

Thanks for the welder tips.

I planned for 700 but spent 1,556.56 lol . I bought the Miller Millermatic 211 MIG . The cheapest I found was for 1315 for the welder . But I know I’ll need a cart and helmet etc.. So there was a deal I found at Cyberweld.com that included a Miller cart and Miller helmet for not much more, 1,465 and free shipping. And don’t forget Uncle Sam still wanted his cut, 91.56 additional tax.

 

Alrighty, I received the MIG welder, Plasma Cutter and air compressor. For those interested to know, the brand and model are as follows:

Miller 211 MIG , runs both 120V and 240v
Lotos LTP5000D plasma cutter. Decent budget plasma cutter also runs on both 120v and 220v .
California Air Tools 8 gal compressor (Aluminum Tank) . Very quiet motor/pump and light weight.. The 8 gal tank is small but ok for my use. Im just really happy on how quiet it is compared to most other compressors.

 

I forgot to take pics , but I first drew lines with a sharpie in where to cut. I was able to pin pint the areas but first going under the car and drilling holes at key radius/angle changes and then connect/draw the lines at the top.

Here is with the section cut out. I will have to pass the edges with a grinder to smooth it out. This was my first time cutting with a plasma. Also I could only cut 3 or 4 inches at a time as my garage 10 am circuit breaker couldn’t handle it. I ended up using an extension chord with reset fuse to avoid trips to the basement circuit breaker. I should have also used a straight edge . Would have made it much easier to follow a straight line.





As I wait for the Tesla motor kit to get prepared and shipped I decided to mock up a Tesla Drive unit as I already know the dimensions . I didn’t finish the “right side” yet that contains the inverter. I’ll finish it up later . I’ve been considering in mind to save some space for fitment, perhaps I should remove the inverter and fabricate for relocating it externally .

 

This is super~! Can't wait for more

 

Bought a partially assembled rear subframe . DRC was kind enough to work with me and offer to make the subframe per my instructions. I will then build the rest around the motor when it arrives .




Don’t mind the bolts . I used the oem to hold it in place for now till the intended bolts come in .



I will need to remove the center section that the side diff support mounted to . Any recommendations how to cleanly do that? Looking closely at it there is one bolt each side that holds it up and also it looks like it’s spot welded . Maybe drill out the spot welds and pry off ?




As for the Tesla Motor... I cancelled the order of the large rear drive unit and ordered a different kit from another company StealthEV . This time I ordered both rear and front drive units. It should be sent to me in the next two weeks . More to come on that.

 

Looks like the front drive unit should be pretty easy. Are you still going with the large rear drive unit?

 

No, I decided to go with small rear drive unit . Width wise, (left to right) it’s smaller . The large rear drive unit is just too wide to fit without massive fabrication of the rear . Originally I was thinking of separating the inverter from the drive unit so that it can fit . But the cooling liquid passes through the motor housing to the inverter and I just decided to choose a easier drive unit to work with.

Now the small rear does produce less power. With adequate battery pack the small rear and front are rated at 300 hp each (600 combined) The large rear drive unit a lone would have been around 400-600 hp depending on the package one buys. But the kit I bought now has the front and rear running separate controllers. So if I later decide I wanted more power in the rear wheels and I became more confident in my skills I can easily make the system operate with a different drive unit. Only hard part would just be mounting the LDU ( Large Drive Unit).

For now , the small rear is something I’m more comfortable with my zero fab skills to fit on the car . Also, the coolant feed on inverter is independent of the drive unit motor/case. I can easily detach the inverter and narrow the drive unit width a little more.

Here you can see what the LDU inverter looks like and how coolant passages is shared etc.. As you can see it would not be easy to simply detach and relocate to run it externally .

And here is a picture of the inverter detached from a small rear drive unit . The coolant lines are not shared/transferred from the drive unit case. I can somewhat easily remove it and just extend the 3 wires running to the motor.