That’s too bad; I was hoping to go down this road when I put mine back together.
1974 3.0 CS Electric
- Thread starter mane
- Start date
That’s too bad; I was hoping to go down this road when I put mine back together.
So impressed by all of the ingenuity and commitment you and the other e-conversion guys undertake. Personally, I’d never put an electric engine in an E9, but I’ve learned a lot from these threads and hope you keep pushing forward!
Tyler
Well-Known Member
I've got this system in my Alfa, installed by Alfaholics in the UK. Very compact and effective.
Rek
Well-Known Member
I like the idea of this for my own car. There are more manual steering boxes around which are in good condition than there are power steering boxes.I've got this system in my Alfa, installed by Alfaholics in the UK. Very compact and effective.
This is a really cool build! Unfortunately, most of these r&p conversions are going to have bump steer if the e9 OEM control arm setup is maintained. That's why guys like Brenden ended up fabricating a new k member and control arms. I looked at the Golf rack noted in this thread as well, and while it was close, it would still bump steer.
Why hasnt this taken off. If its correct it solves both the transport an C02 issues
Few years went by from last update here.. Though project Instagram channel @electric_e9 there has been some updates in pictures. Maybe time to update something here as well 
After last update here, which was about battery box and air suspension install.. and problems with Citroen C2 electric power steering.. they have all been sorted out and much more has happened. Oh yeah, and car is drivable! Just missing the dash and some cosmetic parts like Alpina front lip, side rocker covers .. and maybe putting the rear bumper back.
Paint job looks so good, and pretty close to original. This is modern BMW Chestnut Bronze paint.
New interior is perfect. Leather is super nice and seats support well, while still retaining the look of that era. Seats have electric height adjustment
Car drives very nicely. Suspension works well and car is super stable. Steering is very direct and sharp. Power is limited to original power, to get it inspected for road use. Haven’t yet tried how that 300kW to rear wheels feel like
Currently working to get the dash showing speed, state of charge and maybe something more. Canbus related things, configuring and updating inverter firmware, tuning settings for charger, bms, etc. Adding one Arduino to handle power steering to adjust related to speed.
After last update here, which was about battery box and air suspension install.. and problems with Citroen C2 electric power steering.. they have all been sorted out and much more has happened. Oh yeah, and car is drivable! Just missing the dash and some cosmetic parts like Alpina front lip, side rocker covers .. and maybe putting the rear bumper back.
Paint job looks so good, and pretty close to original. This is modern BMW Chestnut Bronze paint.
New interior is perfect. Leather is super nice and seats support well, while still retaining the look of that era. Seats have electric height adjustment
Car drives very nicely. Suspension works well and car is super stable. Steering is very direct and sharp. Power is limited to original power, to get it inspected for road use. Haven’t yet tried how that 300kW to rear wheels feel like
Currently working to get the dash showing speed, state of charge and maybe something more. Canbus related things, configuring and updating inverter firmware, tuning settings for charger, bms, etc. Adding one Arduino to handle power steering to adjust related to speed.
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Looks great. Super clean trunk. I'm sure we could swap some stories.... Post some pics of your final steering and front battery box setups. You appear to have two modules stacked in the trunk. And how many up front, 12 (a previous photo showed 10)? If only 12 total then how's that working because voltage would be awfully low. Or did you hide two more elsewhere? Your original trunk floor looked flat but now I see a bump above the motor. What happened? What did you do for instrumentation? (forgive me, I'm not on IG).
Thanks @jefflit! I've been following your car progress when it started. Need to do some catchup now, I noticed some 20 pages of unread posts Love your build.
Yep, only 12 modules. So roughly 220v - 302v. Haven't seen any problems with that yet. Currently output current is restricted to 400A, so giving out roughly that 130kW. It's snappy and fun to drive even with that.
I don't have good picture of front, but there is basically one black box. Nothing else to see. Or well, you can see oem airbox and wiper motor. Original airbox has electric heater element in it and micro switches for cool / neutral / hot air. Control switches are original inside. AC compressor is on cardan tunnel, so is the front junction box. Wiper fluids are next to headlights (bag type). I'll grab a pic tomorrow.
Steering setup is really straight forward. Just Citroen C2 electric power steering with Citroen EPS ECU. Sending citroen motor & other can signals to it via RasperryPI.
Floor was flat in one pic, before putting the motor back. After putting it back, we realized it won't fit with the new floor, so we did this "power" hump
Love your build.Yep, only 12 modules. So roughly 220v - 302v. Haven't seen any problems with that yet. Currently output current is restricted to 400A, so giving out roughly that 130kW. It's snappy and fun to drive even with that.
I don't have good picture of front, but there is basically one black box. Nothing else to see. Or well, you can see oem airbox and wiper motor. Original airbox has electric heater element in it and micro switches for cool / neutral / hot air. Control switches are original inside. AC compressor is on cardan tunnel, so is the front junction box. Wiper fluids are next to headlights (bag type). I'll grab a pic tomorrow.
Steering setup is really straight forward. Just Citroen C2 electric power steering with Citroen EPS ECU. Sending citroen motor & other can signals to it via RasperryPI.
Floor was flat in one pic, before putting the motor back. After putting it back, we realized it won't fit with the new floor, so we did this "power" hump
Oldbmwcoupes
Well-Known Member
I love how you’ve made the car your own! A job superbly well done. I love your interior/exterior color combinations. i Hope that you can Finish (haha) soon and really start to enjoy and show your unique car. Thanks for circling back and updating the post
dj_efk
Well-Known Member
Kudos to you for the progress - fascinating.
Do you know roughly what real-world mileage range you’ll have?
Do you know roughly what real-world mileage range you’ll have?
Thanks!
I drove about 180km with that last week when I transferred it home. Battery went from 75% -> 28% .. I calculated that I can do around 400km with one charge
More than enough for this cars needs. I think even 200km would have been enough for this type of car. Consumption was about 15-16kWh per 100km. Battery is total about 63,6kWh. If I would do it again, I would use smaller capacity battery modules to get voltage up to 400V. More voltage, more power .. and less weight.
Current weight is about 1370kg. Dry weight of E9 in registration says 1440kg and max loaded weight 1750. So it's under the original weight still, even though it carries almost full battery pack of Model S 75D. 75D has 14 modules, this has 12.
Love reading all of these fascinating ideas, problem-solving and out-of-the-box thinking. You and @jefflit and @JetDexter are true retro-pioneers.
Amazing and cool car. Paint looks great and the engineering is inspirational.
Curious about your suspension particularly: the air ride seems to be a practical solution for weight, adjustability and ride comfort.
Did you compare/consider traditional alternatives?
Do you feel like it is a manageable system for everyday/touring driving? Any negatives that you have identified?
Would you use it again if you were to do another car - ICE or electric?
Curious about your suspension particularly: the air ride seems to be a practical solution for weight, adjustability and ride comfort.
Did you compare/consider traditional alternatives?
Do you feel like it is a manageable system for everyday/touring driving? Any negatives that you have identified?
Would you use it again if you were to do another car - ICE or electric?
Thanks!
Didn't really compare. I wanted air because I was thinking it's softer and comfier .. but thinking about it now, I think traditional coil setup can be equally as good and easier to maintain. One additional benefit was the auto-leveling with position sensors. I could get rid of sway bars, and lose weight.
I really haven't had time to play with it yet, as the car needs MOT. I haven't even read the instrucions .. remote just says "manual" and bar readings are bit off on every corner
Totally manageable. I don't see any downsides with it. It's just more complex to install and maintain. No negatives yet.
Would I do it again..? Maybe .. depends on the car type and purpose. If doing more like a racing car, then coils .. if cruiser type, then maybe air. But as I don't have much experience with that yet, it's hard to say - yet
Got the car inspected and road legal! But after couple days of tweaking, I blew the inverter due bad setting on BMS. New one is already installed and car is back on streets. Blown inverter pic below.
Biggest problem right now is the steering. It won’t properly return to center. Yesterday we swapped anther Citroen rack, which moves bit smoother but centering issue is still there. Wheels move freely and normally when on a lift and there is nothing binding. Good amount of caster and alignment has been done two times, and values are good. All ideas welcome, if there is something typical to E9s that can cause this?
Biggest problem right now is the steering. It won’t properly return to center. Yesterday we swapped anther Citroen rack, which moves bit smoother but centering issue is still there. Wheels move freely and normally when on a lift and there is nothing binding. Good amount of caster and alignment has been done two times, and values are good. All ideas welcome, if there is something typical to E9s that can cause this?
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On a coupe, binding in the strut caused by an upside down cup washer under the strut bearing causes this.
Thanks for suggestion, but the struts are brand new and they move freely when disconnected from tie rod.
Question: Does stock E9s return wheel to center after turn? (I don't remember anymore, as I could only drive my car for two times before that already faulty engine gave up)
Question: Does stock E9s return wheel to center after turn? (I don't remember anymore, as I could only drive my car for two times before that already faulty engine gave up)
They will always return and they will move freely even with upside down cup washer.