heyadamhey

I received a link to this from a friend. Looks like a cool project. Three episodes so far

Shawn Stanford

I've been watching this, since I see this for Stitch eventually.

I saw another video that showed a 944 converted to electric. The people who did it reported that the transaxle area in the 944 made it perfect for electric conversion, since the motor fit right into that space. The conversion even managed to keep the weight and weight distribution the same. I think the range was around 150 miles, which is the price of maintaining the weight of the 944. I expect that to get much better with solid state battery technology.

Petza914

Haven't watched it yet, but hopefully he'll put the tires on the correct sides of the car for their rolling direction

UKenGB

Indeed, having a transaxle makes it ideal. It is possible to fit a Tesla Large Drive Unit at the back of the 928. The 944 used a Small Drive Unit so maybe the LDU is too large for the 944.

I am looking into alternatives though to simply using Tesla Drive Units.

Not sure we have to wait for Solid State Batteries though. CATL's recently announced 'condensed' batteries are reputed to have about twice the energy density of current batteries, so that makes a 300 mile range possible with no increase in weight over the original ICE powered car.

Cost is the big issue as everyone is trying to jump on the EV bandwagon and make a killing by charging high prices. Oh and too many government hurdles to performing such conversions. Here in the UK it is specifically discouraged.

Shawn Stanford

This is the first I've heard of that tech. Cool! A 300 mile range and a 20 minute recharge with no weight gain is the bar for me, since that's about how I drive now when I'm going distances. I'm not in a hurry, though, so I can afford to wait while the tech and costs improve.

gazfish

Most EVs achieve their range because of improved aerodynamics. Convert a classic and you’ll need a lot more juice to achieve the same and you can’t pack batteries under the floor like a purpose built frame. To me the 928 is at least 50% about the engine, an old wheezy unreliable 4 cylinder classic would be my first choice to convert.

IcemanG17

There was a bay area local guy who built an electric 928 years ago....He started with lead acid batteries then transitioned to something else......for a brief minute he held the electric car lap record at Laguna Seca!!!! No it was not even close to fast....but it did have strong torque....easily spun the tires when I got a ride at a Norcal go kart event

Shawn Stanford

Valid viewpoint, but for me the 928 is 100% about the design.

The Forgotten On

I remember that car. It had a wicked lightning bolt paintjob on it. He sold it while I was in college. Wish I had the money to get it then!

Eplebnista

I will wait for prices to drop a bit - $70K swap unit from Tremec: https://electricgt.com/shop/gte-413-ecrate-system/

They also had an 800 hp dual motor transaxle that I saw at SEMA. Might fit with shorter halfshafts.

UKenGB

Re. aerodynamics, simply not actually true. Aerodynamics have negligible effect below 100 mph and Henrik Fisker recently stated as much when questioned about the aerodynamic of his new Ocean EV. Improving battery and inverter technologies is what brings the range improvements.

As for a 928 being all about the engine, well I couldn't disagree more on that too, although I realise that for a lot of owners, that is exactly how they feel. Personally, I think the 928's V8 is a very expensive, fragile and very inefficient ICE. If you love it, that's fine. Everyone's entitled to their opinion and my opinion of Porsche's engineering is obviously a lot lower than most other Porsche owners.

However, engine aside, I love the 928 yet prefer driving EVs rather than old ICE powered relics. The answer is clear to me, but no rush. The longer I take, the better the available tech.

gazfish

Interesting, do you have a link to that quote?

UKenGB

No, afraid not. It was just in one of the many interviews he gave in the lead up to Ocean production.

However, I'm sure it would not be hard to find similar information about aerodynamics which have always been known to be proportional to the square of the speed and hence far less significant at low speed. There's no absolute cut off at 100 mph, but Fisker was just stating that below that speed there are other more important factors that govern car design and realistically, when was the last time we drove at more than 100 mph. I know Germany still has unrestricted sections of motorway, but here in the UK there are serious consequences if caught at those speeds and as far as I know, speeds in the US are even lower and certainly don't factor in any EV range testing.

Apart from that, I don't believe aerodynamics have overall improved to any significant degree, if at all. A new Hummer EV is still a brick, whichever way you look at it. In any case, any improvements from aerodynamics would be a small fraction of a small fraction of what affects range.

What has improved is energy density and price/availability of batteries. Energy density has already doubled over the last 10 years (just an approximation) and costs have reduced by a factor of about 10. The aforementioned Hummer obtains the range it does by having about 200 kWH of battery capacity that would have been unthinkable (and unaffordable) years ago.

CATL are the world's largest battery manufacturer. They are NOT known for announcing vapourware and recently stated they have made a breakthrough that means they will soon be producing 500 kWH/kg batteries (next year I think, but cannot now remember their exact stated timeline). A current Tesla's batteries are optimistically about 250 only. 500 is considered the threshold of practical electric air transportation although we're not going to see electric Boings next year. However, it is a sign of the times and although they will undoubtedly command a premium initially, such new technology trickles down and will become affordable.

Another battery company, less well known and not a full scale manufacturer like CATL have also announced what they believe is a practical new battery tech at over 700 kWH/kg. However, as I said, they are not CATL so somewhat less of a dead cert.

Also new inverter technology (especially Silicon Carbide based) brings in greater levels of efficiency meaning more range for the same battery capacity and motors themselves are also improving.

All this has resulted in great improvements in range over the last 10 years of EVs. Aerodynamics? Nah, not really, no.

When it comes to the 928 though, it would be interesting to compare its actual drag to e.g a Tesla Model Y. The 928 best case was a cd of .34, while a Model Y is .23. However, I suspect that the actual frontal area of the Y is a good 50% larger than that of the 928 which suggests (someone else can do the maths if they really want) that their actual drag, i.e. effect on range would be very similar and then factor in the lower speeds and I can't see aerodynamics of a 928 vs a Model Y making any noticeable difference to range. Different wheels and tyres would make a bigger difference.

I am certainly following that YouTube series with great interest.

LargeFarva

We have basically altered the entire North American rail fleet to cater to extra large or heavy vehicles (SUV's, electrics, electric SUV's). Bi-level equipment has been in high demand basically since the last gas crisis ended. Owners are actively scrapping and converting their tri-level auto racks, and new wheel chock designs have had to be developed (a Rivian will jump traditional chocks in a 5 mph switching impact). I think there will be significant hair pulling at MPEC and Reload if battery weight comes down that much and OEM's want to go back to tri-level equipment. Fingers crossed that the industry trend is "keep the same weight, double the capacity", but I imagine there will be a segment of market demand for extra light and cheap econo models.

bronto

A couple of years ago I came across a electric power plant maker who was producing something in the shape and mounting of a Chevy small block v8, intended as an easy swap for muscle cars. I think it was a Canadian company. Why not that approach?