I looks like the timing has worked out better than I’d thought. On Wednesday I belatedly ordered a set of Heim joints for the 4-link from the friendly folks at AED Motorsport, and happily they arrived today so I’ll be able to use them as spacers when I try to assemble the front mounts this weekend. (Read on …)
Well at least I have half of it figured out. Today’s part is the brakes — the rear brakes, since the fronts are still stock. I haven’t quite decided what I’m going to do with the fronts yet, but the rears are in the bag, and I think they look pretty cool. These are zinc-washed Wilwood disk/drum brakes with vented, slotted and cross-drilled rotors, and four-piston calipers.
One of the four main components of an electric vehicle is the controller, which sends power to the motor as you request it with the throttle, instead of all at once. In the same way that fuel injectors spray metered blasts of fuel into your engine, instead of having the spark plugs mounted in the fuel tank. The way this is done today is with semiconductors, but it was once done with switches. Big switches which rearrange the battery pack into different voltage configurations to provide varying power to the motor. And those big switches are the part for the day.
We’ve finished tracing the flow of torque from the motor down a very simple path (skipping most of it actually; the driveshaft will have to be one of the last mechanical parts I get for the truck), and now we’ve made it to the wheel hubs. Today’s last cobblestone in that road is actually two parts, the axles.
Well, ok I made those two up. But today’s part does have a few names, depending on who you’re talking to. It’s typically called the center section, or third member. Often it’s called the pumpkin due to its similar dimensions, though this term is also used to refer to the entire visible bulge in the axle which contains the differential and gears, including that part of the axle housing.
(As inconsistent as all these names might seem, it’s not even close to the confusing lexicon of computers … ask any computer geek what the word filesystem means, and if you only get one answer, look elsewhere for information in the future.)
When planning the reworking of the truck’s mechanical features, I realized that increasing torque from the powerplant more than tenfold would necessitate a powertrain that’s a little more sturdy than stock. In reality the difference won’t be that severe at first, since while I’m increasing torque from the motor, I’m also ditching the transmission. If/when I do upgrade to a transmission later on however, I’d like the rest of the driveline to be ready for it.
Still even as-is, the motor by itself will be producing more than double the maximum torque of the original engine in first gear, and critically, will be capable of applying that torque instantly. We can’t expect the little stock rear end to handle that kind of shock, so today I’ll introduce to you the first part of its replacement.
Every major electrical system powered from a source capable of starting a fire should have fuses, right? Right. Electric vehicles are no exception. And while a more conservative EV might have a fuse with a barrel the size of a short stack of quarters, the ones I’ll be using are about the same diameter as a soda can.
This is a 700A, 500V Ferraz Shawmut fuse recommended by Cafe Electric for use with the high-voltage, high current system I’ll be running in the Ohmbre. It’s called a “semiconductor fuse” and the element carrying the current is encased in sand, within a fiberglass barrel about five millimeters thick. When a fuse like this blows the sand and fiberglass contain the fairly energetic explosion. Supposedly the sound it makes is something like a shotgun or a grenade. I haven’t heard it, and its an event I hope I never get to experience.
I guess this question is for the ladies (who am I kidding? … meh, whatever): Have you ever had one of those memorable moments when you’re walking along and you trip or stumble, your books scatter all around .. and then as you’re getting up there’s this stranger who stops and helps you, gathering up the pile of books and awkwardly handing them to you … one … at … a …time, and his eyes meet yours in a friendly, warmhearted gaze that makes you want to run and call the police?
Well today folks, I am that guy.
Suffice it to say at the moment I’m thrilled beyond reason.
The news for today is so insanely great, I must make an effort towards prudent restraint lest I break my rule about profanity. Fortunately for my more sensitive readers, the proper English spelling is unclear for most of what I’d like to express, comprising as it does this sonic goulash of primal Tim Allen grunting spiced with the garnish of an occasional “hot damn”. The big guy is here, and is now safely parked in the back of my garage thanks to some help from Mark Farver, and so one huge item now gets marked off the punchlist.
Motor. Done.
Pictures of the new arrival are in the Motor gallery, page 2.
Also, a couple shots of the current state of the dash, um … sans-dash, are in the Disassembly gallery, page 4.
Getting really close on two fronts.
First, this afternoon was dedicated to penetrating to the core. Uh, well, the heater core. And although I didn’t quite reach it, after 3 hours and some assistance by AustinEV member R.D. Childers, the dash did finally come out. Of course by this time it was too dark to take useful pictures, so no shots of the carnage yet. But the vent module is now visible, and hopefully shouldn’t be difficult to remove. Behind that, the prize. Hopefully in the next few days I’ll be able to get the heater core out and start thinking about how I’m going to design its electric replacement.
The big news though .. ah, very good news. Yesterday I got the call from Netgain I’ve been waiting for, for months. My Warp13 motor is ready to ship, and I should have it in a week or so. Better yet, they took pictures, a few of which I’ve posted in the Motor gallery.
This is probably my favorite so far — a lineup of the Warp8, the huge new Warp11, and … well, mine.
