Is a 80s to 90s BMW a good candidate for electric vehicle (EV) conversion?

[maclaren65]

Hi All,

I love the design and build quality of the BMWs from the 80s to 90s, and was thinking a 3 or 5 Series would be a nice vehicle to pursue as DIY petrol to electric vehicle (EV) conversion project. Mixing a car that has a classic style with a modern electric motor, that in some cases would produce more power.

I am exploring cars that would be a good EV conversion for use as an around-town vehicle for errands and as a general utility vehicle. Something more sporty and classic than a pickup truck.

The 318ti comes to mind as one candidate, as it is a light car that could benefit from a powerful electric motor. :) Thoughts?

This Electric E36 Makes 850 lb/ft of Torque at the Wheels!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVkJjt_Peg0&t=342s

[Mihir]

It could be done. I've seen a Miata converted, so an E30/36 shouldn't be any more difficult than that. But to make it worth while, you need to achieve a good balance between pack size/weight and output. Any way you do it, you're likely going to have a torque-y but more sluggishly handling car than you started with.

Other concerns more generic to the field of course, range (its gonna be poor) and of course price. If you do a lithium pack conversion, most of my earlier concerns are minimized, but with the traditional lead acid approach it'll be challenging.

**I've got a couple E30s, but I've also put together a mid 80s Ranger into a in town EV. It runs on a 120v lead acid pack (20 6V deep cycles), with a 120v motor mated to the stock 4 speed (so that the driveline didn't have to be re-engineered). Can tow light loads and use it for stock runs at the shop as so on all the time.

[maclaren65]

It could be done. I've seen a Miata converted, so an E30/36 shouldn't be any more difficult than that. But to make it worth while, you need to achieve a good balance between pack size/weight and output. Any way you do it, you're likely going to have a torque-y but more sluggishly handling car than you started with.

I found a series about a E36 EV conversion.

[TobyB]

Yes.
The trailing arm configuration really lends itself to clever packaging-
stick the motor onto the diff, basically sitting in the back seat,
and then you have both engine bay and trunk for batteries, controller, charger, etc.

It's pretty much an ideal 3- box platform. And why the ti and z3 kept trailing arms well beyond their
'sell by' date... they're very space- efficient.

t

[Mihir]

I found a series about a E36 EV conversion.

That's awesome actually. What the other poster mentioned about mounting to the diff directly makes sense.

Controlling it isn't the hard bit. Batteries will be under the hood, and so long as you get the cooling good in there it'll work. As I said before though, it's definitely gonna drive worse than the stock car.

[Das Delfin]

I'd say do that with an e21 since they're more of a cool/weird than the e30 is. Also motor in the 320 didn't have as much power as the 325 so you'll end up closer to how it was to begin with.

Actually if you want to maximize the cool/weird factor, get an old saab 900

[SkiFree]

Just a thought, keep an eye out for a 2002 shell and do a replica of sorts (with new battery tech obviously) of the original electric 2002's they used at the 72 Olympics.

http://blog.caranddriver.com/orange-juiced-bmws-first-ev-paved-the-way-for-the-i8-amid-an-olympic-tragedy/

[jeffnhiscars]

There was a converted e30 at the Blue Ridge BBQ a few years back. He used a fork lift engine with a trunk full of batteries. I'll upload a pic is I find it

[Northern]

There was also that FWD electric E30 demonstration car, built off an iX chassis... but that doesn't sound nearly as fun, plus trying to drive an E30 through iX front hardware alone would be painful (assuming you're trying to put more than 100 ftlb through it)

[DrJosh]

http://jalopnik.com/5671494/this-electric-bmw-e30-is-fast-and-green

[Vincent Brick]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVkJjt_Peg0&t=342s

Heh, I was the manager at the time of the shadeball tuning shop where that dyno footage was filmed.

I was under the impression that EV West actually makes a kit for the E30.