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Well fellow Evo enthusiasts I guess its my turn to start a build thread ? I’ve never did anything like this before so I might ask for your opinion and guidance as my build moves forward.
First, let me say that the Evo 8 is my most favorite looking car (exterior wise) and its super responsive steering is just amazing. The powertrain, drivetrain etc.. all bundled up to be a “poor mans super car”. But as its name was given by Mitsubishi for ever evolving, the time has come for my Evo to evolve.
The Tesla Model S can do 0-60 in 2.4 seconds and weighs in at around 4700 lbs (give or take). What if the evo was powered by the same tesla powertrain but only weighing 3200-3500 lbs tops ? Will a 0-60 in 19.-2.0 be physically possible or not enough traction.... Lets see if I can pull it off in this build. I dont expect to be done for a long while but sometimes things happen and we finish things much sooner than anticipated.
Here is my car (2003 Evo) when it was all together. I was making 560 whp on stock block with FP Black, cams and supporting mods. Does it show that the body had 96k miles?
My plan was to mirror his Evo but add dual motors instead of starting with one. I came across a deal and bought two Net Gain Warp 9 motors. This would have been a much easier build but I became aware of big changes happening in the EV conversion world and I wanted have away with the transmission and go “Direct Drive” . So now these motors are up for sale.
What kind of performance will these 2 motors deliver (0-60mph 2 secs?)
I won’t be using these motors anymore. But if I did, depending on what I can afford battery wise you could push 500-600 hp for short bursts 15-20 seconds. The Warp 9 motors are rated at 32 hp and 70 tq each lol . But electric motor power ratings and curve are a lot different than internal combustion motors. The 32hp is rated at continuous for one hour with 72 volts and 335 amps. But you could increase the voltage and and amps to make more power but shorter duration . These are DC brushed motors so cooling them is a challenge .
And since electric motors power are instant and pretty flat looking torque curve, maybe they could have let me break in the 2 sec range for the 0-60 . But it would also depend on other factors like how fast I can shift lol .
My new plan is to use the Tesla Powertrain. No shifting , just one gear. Now I’m torn if I should get the Model S AWD power unit or wait for Model 3 AWD power unit . The Model 3 has much better cooling. It has not yet been hacked, but it seems soon it will be as EV West and a few more EV conversion companies are working on it from what I hear. Not that I wish harm or anything bad for other people but the more crashed/totaled model 3 awd Tesla’s there are the better for EV conversion enthusiasts.
Wow! You oughta get crazy range as well with a much lighter car. This is cool AF to do.
So much potential! Full on dream swap, go man go!
Honestly , I might not be able to afford enough batteries for chasing most range. Plan is at least 70 miles . I’m more interested in power than range. This will be a once in a while driven weekend car and during perfect weather .And when I do take it out for cruise I think max I’ll be driving is just 30 miles at a time . But if things change I would love to have as much range as possible.
Ah, I read Tesla swap and my imagination ran with it! Full battery pack from P100 would be hard to cram but damned if it wouldn't drive you halfway to the moon.
Dude, that's very nice! I remember helping a Miata guy put two Warp9s in his NA. Always wanted to do a similar project, and I look forward to seeing your results! Maybe one of these days I'll see it driving around haha.
Honestly , I might not be able to afford enough batteries for chasing most range. Plan is at least 70 miles . I’m more interested in power than range. This will be a once in a while driven weekend car and during perfect weather .And when I do take it out for cruise I think max I’ll be driving is just 30 miles at a time . But if things change I would love to have as much range as possible.
I've seen the Tesla 20700 packs sell for about $1k each. If that's not the right form factor you may have to construct your own packs out of 18650s or 20700s.
Edit: Also be sure to check out EVAlbum if you haven't already. Lots of conversions on there with info on cost and parts.
http://www.evalbum.com/4589
^Thanks for the link. I’ll definitely look through for some ideas. Batteries are one of the last “to do’s” on my list. Actually I don’t have a “list” just mentally planning and changing as I move forward . Kind of forcing myself to dive deeper into the unknown research more and execute. But things constantly change and maybe soon another new battery options might emerge.
Well, with what I’m doing I won’t be needing a lot of the Evo parts. The Powertrain, drivetrain and most all supporting parts have been removed and sold.
I dropped the motor and transmission together from the bottom. I dont don’t have an engine hoist, so I removed the oil pan, oil pick up tube and oil scraper to use my floor jack with a flat wood piece as support. My car is pretty high off the ground so it was not as hard as I thought . I did remove the passenger wheel to allow a little more room.
The empty engine bay. I’ll have to do some cleanup and remove engine harness wiring I won’t need and some additional things.
I’ve been watching some of the builds people do here, the show and shine section, wire tucks , tv shows like JDM Legends etc.. all the more I want a cleaner engine bay look. So I removed the firewall matt. The firewall behind it was a little dirtier than expected and some of it looked like mold. Perhaps the moisture of the years? But baby wipes did a pretty good job. The secret is out, I clean my engine bay with baby wipes
I plan to keep my ABS, however I will no longer will be needing the engine ECU. So with the help from you guys here and a little online searching of how the ABS works in general , I found that the ABS doesn’t communicate with the ECU. Unfortunately the wiring for the ABS computer is part of the ECU harness. So I separated and cut away what was not needed and kept the ABS lines portion. If anyone cares the below wires removed weighed about 8 lbs.
As for the steering rack lines. I removed the oem lines and installed a barb fitting so I can just use a ~ 3/8 hose and loop the feed and return portions on the rack. I’m not sure what I’ll do about power steering , go electric or no ps... That will be after its drive-able. I remember with my old blue evo 9 (hence my user name) I deleted the ps and it was a big mistake. I quickly put it back on as it was literally not drive-able, unless you just want to go straight. I know the Evo’s fast rack makes the steering heavier but even when in motion it was equally bad.
Now I wonder if the ps delete I used also made it worse? The delete (I think was AMS) had a fitting to bolt on to the existing lines to loop the feed/return . But the oem feed line portion connecting to the ps pump has a pretty small aperture for the fluid to pass. Maybe this was enough for high pressure fluid operation but restrictive for low or no pressure ? Therefore I think without ps when turning the wheel and having the ps fluid try to squeeze through created additional resistance when. I’ll find out after this build is done if my assumption is correct and the 3/8 fitting did the trick.
There are still a few more things to tidy up under the hood like removing fuel/emissions hard lines and some additional wires to remove. But its looking much better now .
By the way. Is there a way i can post pictures so the photo is small but you can hover mouse over or click it to expand and see actual size? I think it will make the posts easier to view...
As for the steering rack lines. I removed the oem lines and installed a barb fitting so I can just use a ~ 3/8 hose and loop the feed and return portions on the rack. I’m not sure what I’ll do about power steering , go electric or no ps... That will be after its drive-able. I remember with my old blue evo 9 (hence my user name) I deleted the ps and it was a big mistake. I quickly put it back on as it was literally not drive-able, unless you just want to go straight. I know the Evo’s fast rack makes the steering heavier but even when in motion it was equally bad.
Now I wonder if the ps delete I used also made it worse? The delete (I think was AMS) had a fitting to bolt on to the existing lines to loop the feed/return . But the oem feed line portion connecting to the ps pump has a pretty small aperture for the fluid to pass. Maybe this was enough for high pressure fluid operation but restrictive for low or no pressure ? Therefore I think without ps when turning the wheel and having the ps fluid try to squeeze through created additional resistance when. I’ll find out after this build is done if my assumption is correct and the 3/8 fitting did the trick.
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Fwiw, when we used to depower Miata racks we ran into the same issue. It felt like absolute dog**** because the fluid was still damping the steering, but without any power assist. We ended up just welding the rack to make it solid. Not sure how this applies to Evos, but I think your theory is a valid one.
Fwiw, when we used to depower Miata racks we ran into the same issue. It felt like absolute dog**** because the fluid was still damping the steering, but without any power assist. We ended up just welding the rack to make it solid. Not sure how this applies to Evos, but I think your theory is a valid one.
Thanks for the info. Perhaps I’ll drain out the ps fluid as I think I hear it moving about and possibly creating a little resistance ? Maybe leave just a tad to keep things lubricated internally ...
I started to do a little searching and found a Miata forum/thread discussing a little about ps deletions they do.
1. Loop the lines and leave the fluid in the rack - heavier feel, keeps insides lubricated, but you're pushing around the fluid. Works fine and has worked for many people on track and off.
2. Empty the fluid and leave the lines open, insides unchanged. - Works fine, but no internal lubrication method means it might get sticky and more frictiony over time. I did this by accident after doing #1 and having the loop line line come loose.
3. Open up the whole thing and cut the hydraulic collar off the shaft - Works freakin' awesome. So little resistance that when the car's on jack stands the front wheels will pivot with a bump or light touch. I used heavy grease on the insides to keep everything lubricated. This also gives you a nice opportunity to clean and lubricate EVERYTHING since it will all be apart anyway. Now that I've done it this way, I wouldn't do it any other way as a permanent solution.
