Russ Sciville wrote: > Is it just me or is the idea of using an automatic transmission with an > electric motor more than a little silly?
Not at all, especially with a series DC motor. Placing an automatic transmission and torque converter behind a series DC motor makes it virtually idiot-proof. With a manual tranny, you need to worry about the driver burning up the motor by running current through it while stalled (e.g. holding one's position on a hill using the throttle instead of the brake). It will be at least a bit less efficient than a manual tranny, but if the donor vehicle has an automatic tranny and range is not that important, then it can be a perfectly sensible choice. > Noting that the transmission oil will get hot enough to heat the cabin > confirms it. You didn't read carefully enough; I suggested *heating* the transmission fluid using an added heater. The transmission is intended to operate with warm oil; removing the ICE heat source and possibly removing the torque converter (where much, but by no means all of the transmission-generated heat originates) makes it quite likely that the transmission will be operated with cooler oil than it is intended to, especially in cold weather. > Surely using AC motors is the way to go as all the manufacturers use them > for a reason and they are readily available these days as are the > inverters. By that reasoning, surely the way to go is to use an ICE engine, as all the manufacturers use them ;^> The challenge facing hobbyist builders tends to be that the AC motor/inverter choices are relatively limited, and it can be impossible or prohibitively expensive to obtain a drive system with adequate power for an application such as this. This situation is also rather unique as the builder already has a complete DC drivetrain on-hand as well as a donor with automatic transmission. If they had neither, it might well make sense to buy a manual tranny donor and source a different (perhaps AC) drivetrain. Cheers, Roger. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
