After putting a lot of miles on Seven this year, she’s back in the workshop for some cosmetic surgery. The body was constructed in February 2010 when the team was rushing to meet the X PRIZE deadline. The fit and finish wasn’t what we wanted or what Seven deserved. Now there is time to go back and make changes.

This weekend Kevin, Nick, Nate and George worked to dismantle parts of Seven and began to recreate the rear fenders. About 4-5 inches have been removed from each side and the curves are closer to what were in the original design drawings. She’s lost a little trunk room as a result, but since the old trunk was over 12 cubic feet, the new cargo space won’t feel cramped.

Seven’s CD was estimated at .23. The changes the team will make this winter to the front and rear fenders as well as the hood and roof should bring that CD closer to .20. That’s the goal, at least. This may mean an increase in efficiency of 16.5% – an extra 30+ MPGe.

I know some people will criticize the flared fenders for decreasing efficiency. The decrease is nominal and well worth the objective of keeping Seven true to her original design. The team always wanted a car that was functional (street legal), efficient, and stylish. This winter’s rebuild will remain true to those goals.

We will be chronicling the changes in photos, videos, and blogs. Stay tuned.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks here at Illuminati HQ.

Nate and I headed down to Cape Girardeau Missouri to the first annual EVCCON hosted by Jack Rickard of EVTV fame. We met a lot of our old friends, some from X Prize and others from the EV community, and made many new ones. The convention was filled with long days of extremely knowledgeable speakers, who tended not to have my bad habit of rambling. It made me realize that I’m going to have to work on living with the debilitating disease of Tangentitis, and hopefully, with many long sessions of rehabilitation, learn to if not overcome at least control the symptoms of my disease while in public or posting blogs. (If you also suffer from this terribly debilitating disease, there is help, go to tangentitis.com for the latest information on dealing with this disease and the newest medication possibilities by BudPhiser, a flavored liquid medication called ‘allphuctup’, or if more drastic measures are needed try the new BudPhiser, ‘gonein60seconds’*)

The List of Honor from EVCCON:

Each and every one of the following could be written into a blog of their own.

First a thank you to Steve at autobeyours.com; we first worked with Steve while finding parts for our XPRIZE car, later we actually got to meet the “STEVE” in person at the shakedown event in Michigan. He had been hired, like the A-Team, to help Global E in their quest for the gold, almost single handedly building Global E’s hybrid entry for the competition: a full size car that achieved nearly 60 MPGe on the racetrack (take that Big Three!). Steve, Nate and I worked a several electrical issues on both Global E and Illuminati’s car’s while at the competition and we were really happy to get a chance to meet with him again at EVCCON. In fact, Steve had come with a gift for the Illuminati, an electronic power steering unit from a Prius that he thought might be just what we were looking for to add to Seven, and he was right! After getting the unit home and tearing it down to just the components we need it looks like it’ll fit perfectly onto the steering column of Seven! We’ll be adding it during this winter’s tear down and rebuild. Thanks Steve!

Also, for those who saw the videos of EVCCON you can see some of Steve’s handy work, you see Steve is the owner of Autobeyours.com, he rebuilds Toyota Priuses and also does custom modifications, in the drag race you’ll notice a stretch Prius limo, that’s Steve’s; he’ll do almost any custom Prius work, pure electric, El Camino pick-up, stretch limo, you name it and if it’s with a Prius he can do it.

Also, he’s not only a Prius expert, he’s got lots of new and used parts that can be used. For example, putting electronic power steering on your EV conversion.
So give him a shout and see what’s up at Autobeyours.com and tell him, “the Illuminati Sent Me.” We like to make him think he’s being watched…it gives him that warm fuzzy feeling of an IRS audit And hey, if you can’t joke with one of your buds, who can you joke with.

New friends:

While perusing the vendor booths, Nate and I came back to each other with a info flyer from RechargeCar with a picture of a really cool, nicely shielded amp probe they’re about to go into full production with. Later on during the event, at Jack’s house with a few of Jack’s specials in us, we met up with these really cool guys, and found out that they are RechargeCar and they liked our car and wanted to test their new amp probe on an AC system, which is notorious for making noise and interfering with the brains of amp probes, to see how theirs would fare. Well, I’m happy to say it fared very well indeed. We even tried making things a bit noisier for it and it had no problems whatsoever, so we’re going to be working together in the future, us trying to break their amp probe, and them trying to thwart our efforts, all so that Jack will have a new recommendation in instrumentation and so that the you, the EV converter, will have the most reliable, noise proof, instrumentation to incorporate into your builds.

So I’d like to say thanks to Andy and the rest of the folks at RechargeCar.com, and tell them that we look forward to trying to break, I mean test, the first of the production versions of their amp probe and instrumentation, which so far, both I and Seven have miserably failed in our attempts to break, fry, scramble, and otherwise reek havoc upon. I’d include Nate in that, but he’s the guy that usually is fixing what I’ve found some way to break and until that changes, well, Nate is only good at breaking big metal objects, like wrenches, pry bars, and ½ inch grade five bolts

Renewed Vigor:

We have also returned from EVCCON with renewed excitement and enthusiasm for Nate’s battery charger project. I’d like to go into more details, but that would spoil the surprise…lets just say it’s everything Jacks been looking for in a charger.

Also, as some of you may know, I once again broke the transmission in Seven while on the autocross track at the CON. So, how many times is that? First time was only a clutch at X Prize. Second time was this past spring just after turning up the inverter to 90% and doing some 0-60 runs, and third…well that was EVCCON, however from our failures our greatest successes shall be born. I very obstinately told Jack, after he repeated that we needed a bigger transmission, that we’d be back and with a smaller stronger transmission.

From that fire our phoenix is taking shape. We’re working on our own clutchless single speed gearbox specifically designed for electric drive trains. That said, I like shifting and I doubt I’m alone, so, we’re also working on plans for a high-low box, a two speed trans for electric cars. When will it be ready? I’m pushing for the one speed for next spring, the two speed will take a little longer…testing on the shifting mechanism to make sure it’s bullet proof will require lots of hard driving time for me….darn.

And a two speed may only be a pipe dream. Tesla tried a two speed as well with little success. So for now keep the two speed thing just between you and me and be looking for a rock solid one speed racing gearbox for electrics because I’m tired of George Hamstra’s Netgain Motors and others like his always breaking all of our stuff.

If axles are your EV’s issue, check out Rockford Acromatics, they made our axles which I haven’t been able to break and are the only company so far that we’ve found that will build custom axles for a front wheel drive application…even if it is hooking up a metro trans to dodge hubs. Make sure to tell them that the axles are for an EV application and they’ll know what to do.

After getting home from the CON at 3am Sunday morning, Jen and I (mostly Jen) drove up to the Rockford area to meet up with a college buddy of mine and former Hybrid car builder, Tony Spaldon. Tony is looking into helping us with our trans and motor/trans coupler issues and was in possession of our last spare transmission. A quick 4 hour trip to see Tony and collect the trans and 4 hours back so that Monday I could tear apart and put back together Seven with the spare trans before Jason Fagone, an author working a book about the X Prize (“Genius is Not a Plan” from Crown/Random House), was due out at Illuminati HQ (a.k.a my barn).

Jason was flying out for a ride in Seven and to get a follow up on how and what the Illuminati are doing so he can finish his book. No pressure to get Seven running, right? I mean I have a whole day before I go back to work and 4 days before Jason arrives.

Yeah, well, that’s when the adventure began…We got the old trans out and the new one in by late Monday night, rolled it back and forth under it’s own power in the shop and everything seemed fine; Fast forward to Tuesday after getting home from work, I take Seven out of the shop to make sure everything is working OK and to shake some air out of it’s cooling system which is notoriously hard to bleed. It was at that point I noticed something wasn’t quite right. It may have been the growling, the tender massaging action of the accelerator pedal or the violent vibrations as I went down the road…I’m not sure which of those keyed me to the fact something was amiss with our new used transmission. something that just wasn’t going away. Something about a bearing not really being round anymore. DOH!

The new used trans that we just spent the last two days acquiring and installing has bad bearings and we can’t get another replacement in time for Jason’s visit…so what do we do? We go buy some tools and pull a couple all-nighters to pull the transmission (again), and disassemble it (again), pressing off the old bearings and installing new ones then getting it all back together and into the car.

We made it with at least a couple hours to spare and even got to sleep a few of those before Jason arrived.

So, the author/reporter guy shows up, not knowing that his well planned trip and flight from out east were hanging in the balance. Luckily he hadn’t seen the video up on Jack’s blog site.

The visit went well. The entire team, plus our intern, Matt, were able to make it out and we discussed our adventures since X Prize, tore apart some transmissions to rebuild, worked on our designs for future transmissions and power supplies, and started work and planning for adapting the Prius power steering unit Steve gave us into Seven.

Also started working on plans for a guest automotive builder to come out and give us a hand with proper use and incorporation of light weight strong composites into Seven and the rebuild we’re planning for this winter. But more about our friend later, this is just a heads up…a teaser for you, because he’s not only coming out to help with our project. He’s decided to take his 40+ years of fabricating and building cars for the race industry and start teaching others how to do the same, so our work with him will be his initial foray into the realm of education; and you will see why we are so honored to work with this, for now, unnamed individual and the benefits he brings to the EV conversion and builders world in the form of light weight strong materials and safety and how far he can help us advance in our endeavors in a very short period of time. More on this and other topics later….my “gonein60seconds” is starting to take hold…good thing I’m a fast typist.

Audere Est Facere
Kevin Smith

*warning, gonein60seconds is a highly flammable medicine that should not be used near open flame or while smoking or in the presence of someone smoking. Side affects may include: loss of memory, incarceration, head aches, loss of feeling in extremities, fear of bendy straws, and the desire to play with high voltage.

After 5000 miles on the road, the 2010 IMW Seven has used approximately 24.2 equivalent gallons of gas in total electricity consumption.

That’s just shy of a 2010 Cadillac Escalade’s gas tank capacity if you want to compare it to a more recent car. But I don’t. I can’t help but compare Seven to my first car, a 1974 Chevy Caprice Classic. It had a 25 gallon gas tank and by the time my dad, Nick, handed the keys to me, the “old Chevy” got a whopping 17.8 MPG on the highway.

Seven has been driven the equivalent of across the lower continental United States and 2/3 of the way back on what used to be one tank of gas in my “old Chevy.”

At today’s gas prices, I can’t imagine taking that trip.

For the sake of easy math, let’s say the “old Chevy” got the best case scenario of 17.8 MPG for the whole 5000 miles (I wish!): at $3.50/gallon of gas that would cost about $983

At our current 11.8 cents per KwH electric rate, that same trip in Seven (averaging 200 MPGe and using 33.7kwh as our electric to gas energy equivalency conversion): would only cost about $99.42

Using those same numbers over the life of a vehicle…lets estimate low at 100,000 miles as the life expectancy the lifetime Fuel costs to drive each would be:

“Old Chevy”: $19,600

Seven: $1,988

Words words words…hmm let’s see, what happened this week…

First, we got Seven running again with a new modified transmission and within a couple hours were participating in the Divernon Homecoming Parade ( the local annual parade and carnival).

But the big news drove up to Illuminati Headquarters in a fire engine red 2011 Chevy Volt. Brian Fuller stopped for a visit along his cross country Drive For Innovation .

We spent a couple hours with Brian, sitting in the air conditioned shop. It was 95+ degrees out with a heat index well over 100. We were sipping on sodas and water, talking about our adventures with Seven and the whats and whys of what we believe to be the future of the automobile and how that ties into why we took on the challenge of the X Prize.

After all the talking was done (about 2 hours, three sentences, forty seven tangents and one breath later for me ) , we took Brian out for a ride in Seven and he let us take a spin behind the wheel of the Volt. Brian was fairly impressed with the speed and acceleration of Seven and we were impressed with the fit finish and seamless operation of the Chevy Volt. GM did a really impressive job on this car. From the push button start, to the touch sensitive controls, and the very clean engine/motor bay, to the charge port which can plug into either 110 or 220 outlets without any adjustments or switches to flip for the operator, you simply plug it in.

To make a long blog short, I did most the talking and Brian took most of the video, however we did stop long enough to get a few pictures, take a look at the photos page to see Brian at the Hall of Seven and the Volt doing a little opportunity charging.

Next week, Bloomington, IL for a presentation for the collectors car club followed up on August 6th by participating in their annual car show. More about that later…or come out and see Seven if you’re in the area.

Audere Est Facere

Kevin Smith

This past Saturday morning at 5:30 am members of the Illuminati gathered at the Hall of Seven (as our friends from TW4XP in Germany have named it) to take an unprecedented trip. We drove over 200 miles on a single charge down Interstate 55 from our headquarters to Cape Girardeau, Missouri to visit with Jack Rickard of EVTV fame. Representing the Illuminated on this trip were: Nate Knappenburger, Josh Spradlin, Matt Yochim, and me, Kevin Smith. Our trip got off to a good start for a change. I had packed the charger and worked into the wee hours of the morning installing new vent windows. And so, with coffee mug in hand, I took the helm of Seven with Nate as co-pilot and Off We Go! with Josh and Matt backing us up in the trusty F150 with trailer in tow (just in case )

About 5 miles from the house I remembered that I had topped off the radiator fluid at about 2 am but for the life of me couldn’t remember putting the cap back on…so our first quick stop Nate and I popped the hood for a quick look and luckily I can properly install a radiator cap even in my sleep. So once again, Off we go!…again.

Closely monitoring our speed (about 60 mph at this point) current draw and voltage, Nate and I continuously ran quick calculations in our heads to determine if everything was running ok and if we’re within the very narrow parameters necessary for us to make such a long trip to somewhere we’ve never been…and we’re not. But we reassured ourselves by saying that the batteries are cold, the drivetrain and motor are cold, and that we usually see increased efficiency as they warm up. As the drive continued we didn’t see the improvement we normally see so we quickly stopped (bathroom break) and switched out co-pilots for a mini version of Nate: Matt. And Off We Go!

As we continued on our way, Matt and I noticed a marked increase in efficiency…20%, way too much to account for the lighter passenger, about 17% too much, so what else could it be? The temperature had risen and so had our drivetrain and battery efficiency. Nate’s relieved, a 20% increase due to weight alone would mean that he weighs 1200 lbs more than Matt, and he admitted to having a large breakfast that morning and though I refer to Nate sometimes as Andre the Giant and he refers to me as the Hobbit, the real Andre would refer to Nate as one of the members of the Lolly Pop Guild. I’m afraid where I would fall into Andre’s size rating scale.

With the temp up and weight optimized Seven was now performing as expected and well within the necessary parameters to make it to Jack’s. Of course that means something else must be afoot. Not much longer into our trip the wind started picking up and its started to rain. A nasty storm cell was set to cross our path and golf ball size hail was in the forecast. Being the cautions guy I am, when Josh and Matt let me know that the storm was on the horizon, I said, “It’ll miss us. I’m sure. Look at the radar– we should beat it by at least several feet before it crosses our path. (While looking at an iPhone radar image you’d be surprised how easy it is to make such guestimates.) And we did, in fact, beat it by several yards.

The Missouri hills and sustained higher speeds to get us past the storm ate into our energy supply. Remember, when you only hold the equivalent of one gallon of gas and are trying to go over 200 miles on it, any wasted fuel is too much. I consulted with Matt.

Me: “Hey Matt. Can you get topographical and copographical maps on the iPhone and tell me what type of hills we’re looking at and how far we have to go…like to the foot?”

Matt: “Um, no. But I can kind’ve tell by the placement of trees, waterways and houses where and how the hills lie so… um…looks like we have a lot of really big hills coming up.”

And so Matt deciphered the topography of our trip based on these vague landmarks, and did a really amazing job. I mean REAL AMAZING! Down to the distance to and size of the next hill and whether it’s a positive or negative grade. My job was to try and match our energy draw to speed to make sure we don’t draw too much power so we can still make it to Jack’s. All this while Josh and Nate followed in the truck, turning on their flashers as we slowed to the minimum speed up the really big hills and then zipped up to 70+ MPH going down the other side.

Long story longer, we made it to Jack’s. 216 miles in just over 4 hours with 3 stops along the way, with 1% of our energy left, averaging 217 miles per gallon. For those of you who are good at math, even those of you who aren’t, this means…lets see…217-216 = 1.
1 mile left in our batteries! See, I knew we could make it. No sweat.

And once we were there we had a great time visiting with Jack and his EvTv crew, driving Jack’s Speedster and Spyder, giving Jack a tour of Seven, and trading info on suppliers for LED headlights and tail lights, battery connector thru-post, hub caps and different types of DC-DC converters. A true information exchange with all the results of our exploits and cars laid out to be seen; the only way to speed along the advent of mainstream electric car proliferation.

Stories told, help given, adventures shared, Seven recharged. And without even killing Jack with my bad driving of the Speedster or losing intern Matt, we said our goodbyes and hopped into Seven, Josh and me with Nate and Matt in the truck, and headed home taking the scenic river road through Illinois this time (less hills).

On the way home we discovered that the new vent windows work great, that driving a less hilly course required about 7% less energy and the smile on Josh’s face, his first long trip in Seven since the winter mods, told me everything is good.

We’ll be heading back down to Jacks with Seven this September for the first EVCCON!
Hope to see you there…and yes, the stories are true, I love talking and do it way too much but what I love even more is letting Seven talk for herself by giving rides!

So, if you want to hear what Seven has to say for herself, go to EVTV and sign up for the convention and while you’re there vote for me, Kevin Smith, in the EVTV Build Your Dream EV contest.

Audere Est Facere!

Since we started Seven gas prices haven’t gone down and neither have we stopped working to show the world what’s possible. We plan to continue the work we’ve begun, as it’s ever-growing need makes itself known each day we visit the gas pumps or turn on the nightly news. Team Illuminati has many ideas that we’re working on, not only are we working on the designs for a 2 seat, full-composite version of Seven, we’re working on how to make a DC drive system just as efficient as our record-breaking AC drive system currently in Seven, which would drastically reduce the costs related to an AC drive system. How will we build it in a timely fashion? Most of the team still have day jobs, and building a vehicle from scratch isn’t easy.

So how to accomplish this and pass on our knowledge as quickly as possible?  By taking an unconventional vehicle, a 1978 AMC Gremlin, and converting it into a super-efficient electric car in a step-by-step manner that can be recreated by everyone.  Let’s face it, if you can make a Gremlin get over 100 MPGe then you can make any vehicle get 100 MPGe…unless the Illuminati are keeping secrets…hmm.

But there is an added twist, the Gremlin, a.k.a my wife’s dream car, is destined for a totally 80’s totally A-Team make over.

Jen, my wife, childhood friend, Illuminati’s Webmaster and Auto Body aficionado, has been an A-Team fan since the show’s premier in 1983, and has wanted an A-Team van or A-Team vehicle ever since. After college the search for such a vehicle got more serious. She needed something that was usable as a daily driver — more fuel efficient and more unique than a van. The unique gal that she is, her search lead her to the 1970′s Gremlin body style which would make a perfect car for Murdock.

After many near misses I found a college student driving one in Springfield Illinois and Stalked…I mean talked him out of it and brought it home one Christmas several years back. Jen started working on it right away: finding parts, taking auto body classes, etc.  And then her project went on hiatus as she helped the Illuminati build Seven and compete in the X PRIZE.  In the meantime, gas prices continued to rise and her 15 MPG project car was gathering dust and becoming expensive to fuel.

(To see more on the A-Team Gremlin conversion see: The TV episode of Fanatical featuring Jen: http://www.fanatical.tv/episode17.html

Additional photos of her Gremlin project: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.5870763621.7505.519448621&l=894adb7d58)

What to do? She can’t keep paying these gas prices or she’ll lose the farm. The only thing to do: an awesome A-TEAM build montage (translated into modern terms as multiple short YouTube videos, pics and blogs) where we show how to combine the newly acquired parts ‘Faceman’ procures into an episode-saving machine that vanquishes the villain GAS and saves the day, while showing you how to do the same.

Our facility, a.k.a. pole barn is already equipped with the tools and many of the components needed to complete the conversion e.g.: kilovac switches, fuses, wire, connectors, gauges, and many other things needed in addition to the highly prized components included in this contest. And the 1978 Gremlin is ready and waiting to be converted from a gas guzzler to a classic EV.

We believed at the beginning of our X PRIZE adventure as we still do today, that if you have the ability to make a difference then you do not have the luxury or excuse not to. We also believe in the X PRIZE’s emphasis on education. If we win this contest we will do everything we can to document and share our progress so that anyone passionate about electric cars can learn from our journey and be inspired to embark on their own.

Vote for us in the EVTV Build Your Dream EV so we may win the key components necessary for our build and be a part of this adventure.

AUDERE EST FACERE!

Thanks for your consideration. Kevin Smith

I started this as a reply to a comment but I do tend to ramble.

Funny thing is we are not keeping this technology a secret; it was all off the shelf. We have almost all of the technical details available online for anyone to see. I agree there should be more Sevens on the road. We even know how to build them better and more quickly. We have the knowledge, ability and desire to build more cars. Thankfully Tesla is doing something in the realm of a sports sedan with their Model S.

We want the paradigm to shift. Illuminati Motor Works has not closed its doors, but speaking for myself I want you to do something. Who is telling Americans, or anyone for that matter, they cannot build their dreams? You can be the change you desire! Lazy people complain about the status quo, but refuse to do anything about it. Major manufactures will not make something as expensive as an automobile unless there is a proven demand, so it is up to you. Humanity has been to the moon repeatedly, granted it took the smartest people to do it, but they did it with slide rules (a mechanical device for doing calculations).

A news story came out that the iPad2 is more powerful than a super computer of 20 years ago. The nasty secret is every person reading this has a computer at their disposal which can run design software allowing them to build whatever they wish, whether it be electronic gadgets, boats, airplanes, cars, anything. This same computer can run 3D printers and milling machines which will build the parts for you, or email your designs to someone with the tools and have them build it for you. It doesn’t have to be perfect — it never is the first time. Lazy people will pick your designs apart from their sofa, there is a name for them @$$ %*)#$.

Don’t be afraid to fail; we failed in front of the whole world, and it didn’t really hurt. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, we are right here. Maybe you can hire, or at least buy us dinner, Illuminati Motor Works.

Good luck

Seven officially received an EPA mileage rating of 207.5 MPGe, based on the official EPA 74 test cycle used for determining mileage for electric and hybrid vehicles like the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf, during its recently completed testing at the Chrysler Proving Grounds in Chelsea Michigan.

The testing consists of two parts: coast-down and dyno testing. Coast-down consist of 2 sets of 10 runs up and down a 2.5 mile very straight and level track. The test cars are accelerated above 75 mph then allowed to coast down to 10 mph, during which time speed and distance data is collected via GPS and an on board computer system, in order to collect the following data:

CdA = 5.09
RR = 9.35

Road Load Coefficient A: 12.18
Road Load Coefficient B: 0.0853*
Road Load Coefficient C: 0.00976

Road Load Coefficients represent the drag that causes a car to slow down and are plugged into the equation:

Drag = A + Bx + Cx²

Where:

x = vehicles speed in miles per hour
A = vehicle static drag and is a constant
B = mechanical drag and varies linearly the vehicle speed
C = aero drag and it varies with the square of speed.

Vehicle Weight = 2900 lbs
Vehicle Test Weight = 3149 lbs (249 lbs of test equipment was added during the coast down runs)

*note, this number is higher than it would have normally tested, giving us a penalty in efficiency. This is because the coast down test is normally run by taking the vehicle out of gear and allowing it to coast down once the vehicle has gotten above 75 mph, however Seven had to be run with the transmission in gear giving us the additional drag of our motor, but we knew going into the testing that we’d have to accept that loss because after all the work we had to do this past winter to fix and improve Seven we didn’t have time to build another shift linkage. We told the Chrysler techs that we’d just accept the losses. However, on a positive note, it’s still less than half the lowest numbers ever achieved for mechanical drag during coast down testing at Chrysler.

The data collected from the coast down is then plugged into a calibration dyno which ‘matches’ the vehicle data to the dyno which in turn is used on a test cell dyno to complete the EPA 74 test cycle and determine vehicle efficiency.

Four city and four highway cycles are run back-to-back over a three hour period alternating city-highway-city-highway until all cycles are complete. Numerous parameters are monitored and recorded including energy consumption, vehicle speed, ambient temperature, and dozens more, to determine vehicle efficiency, emissions and a host of other operating parameters, many of which do not apply to pure electric vehicles, e.g. gaseous emissions. Once the tests are complete the vehicle is recharged and the energy used for charging is recorded.

The EPA 74 test then requires the final data to be weighted, 55% city and 45% highway, in order to determine an official EPA mileage number. Note the EPA 74 test determines only a single mileage number by weighting the city and highway numbers as noted above, giving Seven a final combined rating of 207.5 MPGe.

Another common unit of measure for electric vehicle efficiency is to use the total Watt Hours used over the drive cycle, although this is not the official rating method adopted by USEPA for the EPA 74 drive cycle it is a useful tool in that it more accurately reflects total energy used during the combined drive cycles because it is not a weighted number, it is the actual amount of energy used per mile over the entire test cycle. When speaking about electric vehicles it is important to know the actual amount of energy used while driving in order to determine at any time the amount of energy left in your vehicles batteries and thereby how much farther you can travel before having to recharge. Seven uses 160.42 Watt-hours/mile.

This proves Seven to be the most efficient, street legal full size sedan in the world.

This winter, we received word that funding for coast down and dyno testing was available but that the deadline to use it was the end of March. Finally! A chance to get official data proving what 7 could do! We knew from the XPrize that with a slipping clutch costing a lot of efficiency, the 3000+ pound car could still attain 119.8 MPGe. With some modifications, what is its real potential?

Naturally, the team had the car in pieces when we heard about the March deadline. It was a rush to get as much done on the winter to-do list as possible before taking the car up to the Chrysler proving grounds in Chelsea, Michigan.

Here is a short list of modifications that the team accomplished. (I’m probably missing some):

• installed new wheel bearings
• removed some foam and redundant steel from the doors while leaving the car structurally sound and safe
• redesigned the center battery box
• removed the rear battery boxes to return 11 inches of leg room to the rear passenger area
• added 3 cells to the battery pack (for a total of 99)
• removed unnecessary wiring and completely rewired the battery pack and dash for a more efficient and professional fit and finish
• removed the front bumpers (they were ornamental. the real “bumpers” are built into the structure behind them.)
• patched and repainted the front fenders
• re-carpeted the entire car
• added cup holders for all 4 passengers
• modified the transmission to remove unnecessary gears (2, 5, plus reverse, which the motor made redundant.)
• [insert whatever I've forgotten here]

The car arrived at Chrysler on Tues, March 22nd. Their professional driver took it for a spin and was impressed. And then the weather changed. Kevin, Nick, George and Nate were trapped in Michigan, waiting for the weather to improve. It needed to be at least 30 degrees F with gentle winds and, of course, no ice or snow on the track for the coast down test. It seemed like those conditions would never happen.

The deadline was coming up quick.

Today, nearly a week later, the weather finally improved and Seven completed coast down testing under its own power.

Preliminary data is good. Very good.

As I write this, the action continues. Kevin is monitoring 7 as she charges. Tomorrow 7 will be on the dyno and if all goes as planned we’ll get official data right before the funding deadline expires.

I’m eager to update 7′s window sticker with the new EPA figures. This is the 2011 model. Revised and improved. Still the most efficient 4 seat street-legal sedan on the road, even when towing another vehicle.

You know what else? She’s also big, heavy, bold and beautiful.

The new year has brought about some changes for Team IMW.

Congratulations

First off, I’d like to congratulate:

• Nate and Jaime on the arrival of their baby girl, Bayden
• Josh and Dustie, who will welcome their second son into the world later this year
• George for his well-earned retirement from the IL EPA (though he was just hired back this week as a temp worker, the over-achiever)

Modifications

We drove Seven as much as possible on the roads last year, both getting the word out about DIY EVs and further testing of the car in real-world situations. Then when fall rolled around and the weather turned wet, Seven was parked in the workshop and we formulated a plan. The team met and discussed a wish-list of modifications to Seven. We kicked around what was possible to accomplish before our first scheduled public appearance in March of 2011. And then we got to work.

The transmission has been modified. We only need two mechanical forward gears (the electric motor itself provides reverse) . Mike at Capital City Tool and Die is helping us by machining custom parts so that the transmission is lighter and more efficient.

This weekend we have a big build scheduled where we will modify the center battery channel so that it can hold more cells. This will free up the originally-planned back passenger leg room (where currently battery boxes are crammed) and we may be able to add additional cells, too. Seven’s current battery configuration equals less than 1 gallon equivalent. Which means we’re getting more than 230 MPGe by the new EPA standards.

We’re also working on reducing the overall weight of the car.  I’d like it to meet 400 MPGe by my 40th birthday, and that date is coming up quickly.  But that goal and those modifications are worthy of their own blog post.

Education

The XPRIZE foundation challenged us to educate the public about fuel-efficient vehicles.  Even though the competition is over, we still feel its our task to teach people what is possible. In December, George and I gave a presentation to a group of Springfield high school students (and their parents) about…well, there were a lot of tangents, but basically it came down to how you have to get your hands dirty and do a lot of projects if you want to get anywhere with your engineering degree.  We must have made an impression, because the next Saturday one of the students, Matt, became our newest volunteer.  He was put to work immediately and learned how to tear apart a transmission.  The most amazing thing was that after a long day’s work, he actually showed up the next Saturday, ready for more.  We’re doing our best to warp, I mean teach, him.

Speaking of warping, two students from the U of California: Berkeley visited the IMW workshop in December and were given the 5 cent tour.   Ben, freshman in Mechanical Engineering, and Janet, freshman in Mathematics, both originally from Shanghai.  Ben had been following the Automotive XPRIZE since the beginning and was excited to see Seven.  He’s also working on Berkeley’s solar car project, so he and I had fun interviewing each other.

It’s important that the lessons learned during the competition are passed to future engineers.  I’ve teamed up with an automotive genius and am helping him transform himself from race car miracle worker to engineering teacher. Through this process, I hope to learn a lot from him.  Our efforts involve a lot of networking amongst people we met through the XPRIZE and it’s really very exciting, but I can’t make any formal announcement yet.  If you’re interested in learning how to make a prototype car from scratch, drop me an email and I will try to keep you in the loop.

That’s it for now.
Kevin Smith
Audere Est Facere!

Ben and Janet, students from UC Berkely, visited Seven in December