Component selection

I'm also searching for suitable components for the car. I got a lucrative offer for an AC system from Amotec Oy for around 5000€ including an AC-50 motor, controller and everything else including liquid cooling. On the pro side of things are the obvious benefits of AC propulsion, such as being maintenance free and having regenerative braking, but on the cons is the somewhat steep price to be paid right away.

ICE to be removed

On the DC side of things I could just get the motor first and test everything which the 72 volt system from my motorcycle including batteries, controllers and so on. For the motors there are multiple candidates such as Netgain Warp 9, Kostov 10" and Motenergy ME1002. I used a much smaller ME1003 (get a clue with the naming, please!) in my motorcycle and the ME1002 specs look nice. Price is also tempting. The problem is finding a dealer for these motors without paying through the nose for the shipping. The best offer so far is little less than 2k€ for the Kostov from Rebbl with taxes and shipping. I'm waiting for a quote from PalonenLABS for the same motor.

As for the batteries the new CALB CA-series is the obvious choice. However, considering that I already have 25 of the older SE-series type SE40AHA I might be tempted to recycle them. Add another 8 and I have my first set of 33 for 99 volts nominal or about 110 volts fully charged. Add another 66 and I have 99 for the same voltage, but 120 Ah or about 12-13 kWh of stored energy. That, incidentally, is the size of the battery pack in the i-MiEV, if my memory serves me right. The batteries would then be connected in 3 parallel and 33 series or 3p33s (perhaps 33s3p). There would also be some inherent flexibility in battery placement. I could for example put one series of 33 under the hood and the remaining 66 in the back for a weight distribution of 33% in the front (50kg) and 66% in the back (100kg). I could also purchase one set of 33 at a time. I would however lose the improvements in the CA-series, most notably better performance in cold temperatures. I will heat the battery boxes anyway, so it might not be a problem though.