If you don't find the answer here just Call or e-mail for Information:
President: Lloyd Reese (702)524-3233, electric.carguy-at-gmail.com
Vice President: Jon Hallquist (702)277-7544, jon-at-grassrootsEV.com
Secritary Treasurer Bill Kuehl (702) 636-0304, bill2k2000-at-yahoo.com

What is the value in driving an electric vehicle?

EVs have zero exhaust emissions, much cleaner and healthier than gas and diesel vehicles. Public health and environmental pollution are not measured from only the tailpipe. Upstream emissions are pollutants that come from fuel production and distribution. Upstream polution is more than 14 times higher for gas and diesel than in electric vehicles not including oil spills. What value do you put on your families health?

How much does it cost to drive an EV compared to gas?

If you are getting 20 mpg at $3 a galon, 30,000 miles will cost $4,500. If you purchase a battery pack for $2,000 you would be able to go 30,000 on $600 in electricity and then might have to change out your batteries (that fortunately should last longer than two or three years) you then would have spent $2,600, a savings of $1,900. You don't have to change oil, spark plugs, no sensors or gaskets or a lot of other parts that go bad on internal combustion engines (the cost of which we are not counting now). Drive on to 150,000 miles and you will have spent about $22,500 in gas for your gas engine and only $13,000 in electricity and batteries for your EV.

How much range does an EV have?

The speed and range of an EV will vary greatly based on the car you choose. Most conversions are easily capable of highway speeds, and can go 30 to 50 miles on a charge. Cars built for high performance have a shorter range. Cars with a lot of battery weight can have astonishing long range, but at the expense of high performance. Basically, you want to find or build an EV to fit your driving needs.

How much does it cost to convert a car to electric?

It depends on how many options you want. An EV for everyday use runs about 5 to 10 thousand dollars to convert to an EV not including the cost of the car itself. You can build an EV cheaper buy buying used parts or making some of the parts your self.

A lot of people buy their first EV, it's cheaper and you can learn about EV's by driving one at the same time.

What transmission to use in my EV?

An automatic transmission can be and has been used in an EV conversion, but the modifications required to it are likely beyond the scope of most enthusiasts. The shifting points (what speed/RPM the transmission shifts gears) will have to be changed. The benefits are rather minor and the work required complex, and there is a decrease in overall efficiency compared to a standard transmission, you don't see very many automatic transmissions EV's. Stick to donor chassis that came with a manual transmission from the factory and it will save you a lot of time, trouble and money in the long run.

How many batteries will I need?

For quick back of the envelope calculations, however, a simple empirical equation, which seems to give good results is available. This has been developed by the EV discussion list from a combination of formulas, and has been dubbed the "Neon-Dube" equation by David Dymaxion, its creator, in honor of Paul "Neon" Gooch, and Bill Dube', the primary contributors. It is:

Miles of range = (original weight/converted weight) * (mpg as an ICE car/500) * pounds of batteries.

David Brandt

12/18/02

What options should I have in my EV?

1) Monitor state of charge, Voltmeter

2) Monitor current draw, Amp meter

3) Monitor motor RPM, Tachometers

4) Power steering

5) Power brakes

6) Air-conditioning

7) A really good sound system, radio

And the list go on and on, the sky is the limit or your bank account.

Links to other EV information pages:

GREV: Grassroots Electric Vehicle: http://www.grassrootsev.com/faq.htm
EAA: Electric Auto Association: http://eaaev.org/Info/index.html