Any more electric e30 conversions?

[McGyver]

W... To EV swap an E30 ruins everything it is good at aside from looking good and only stands to gain one thing: acceleration... People who want a fast car find themselves having to leave no stone unturned since the chassis is just not suited for a lot of power and can't fit much tire without butchering the car...

In the same vein of the Teslonda, I feel like it would be comically fun to put an e30 body on a tube chassis for an ev swap. Go pro street with massive rear tires and tubs, basically build a 1/4 mile car that can be driven to the track. No rational, just a "because I can" toy.

The styling on that car was not well done...the headlights were smoked (a ghetto look IMO)

Whoa dude, smoked headlights from hella were a period-correct mod. I have smoked smilies on my car and they look awesome!

there are gorgeous ev's in e30 size becoming available if you want the experience without destroying a classic. the opel manta ev has fantastic style and would be cheaper to get into than an e30 conversion.

I probably wouldn't buy this, but it is really cool and i'm glad the option exists! I think it looks REALLY good!

[ZeKahr]

the big problem with any ev swap comes down to weight. i'm not sure either the e21 or the e30 has the suspension to do it. a local university is doing an ev swap into a volvo wagon. they need the wagon space to accommodate the battery pack and have done major work beefing up the suspension to carry the weight.

edit : changing the suspension on either of those cars takes away what makes them decent. there's a couple e30's been converted already, i'd check too see what they've done to the suspension.

I'm sure they have the suspension to handle a battery provided you don't go with a super heavy pack. A single Tesla 5.3 kWh module weights 55 lbs. 4 of them will weigh 220 lbs, which the trunk and rear suspension should be able to handle without mods. Put the motor, controller, and some other hardware in the front, and you've got pretty even weight distribution. 4 Tesla modules should provide around 60-70 miles of range at 70 MPH and around 120-130 miles at 20 MPH (very rough numbers based on some math I did using an aerodynamic/rolling resistance calculator - don't quote me on these)

Either way, this isn't something I'm planning on doing for another 10 years or so. First, I'm waiting for lighter, more energy dense, affordable-to-the-masses batteries to be mainstream on the market (which should happen within the next 10 years). Those batteries will make an EV swapped E21/E30 more plug-n-play (right now we're in a homebrew/trailblazing phase of EV converted classics - I'll let the pioneers get the arrows in their backs lol). Right now this whole thing is just an idea I'm tossing around in my head.

[iansane]

Aint that the truth.

EVs are gay soulless appliances. Why pervert something so great, like the e30?

EV swapping an e30 probably appeals to a demographic that kinda likes cars, but cares more about looks and jerking themselves off at cars and coffee by telling everyone their e30 is a electric than actually driving a sports car like a sports car.

You sound like a fun guy that makes friends wherever you go.

Is there some euro equivalent to old white guys in New Balance tennis shoes getting out of their 1of1 corvette? Because this sure sounds like the same thing they'd say if you EV swapped a 'vette.

No one is saying that EVs have to be your only car or even your only e30. But if you can't see how having an EV swapped e30 in the stable would be a raucous good time I don't know what to say. Is it perfect for every scenario? Heck no, but few cars are. That's why you get many. Man, I just like to go fast. Sometimes in a straight line, sometimes around corners, sometimes even sideways! Shit doesn't have to be perfect to have fun.

[E30 Wagen]

Since starting this thread I still feel like EV swapping a busted and broken 325e would be the only e30 I'd ever consider doing it to, just to have a fun little car for local errands and stuff, and to create a sort of full circle of the "e" badging.

Yet I agree that EV swapping any sort of enthusiast driving car, including an old 325e, is a waste of a good rwd chassis so I'm not so sure any more. So for something that I'd just use for short trips on city roads it'd be better to find a broken econobox or a little SUV or truck. Honestly I just get really tired of driving manual, probably because there are virtually zero good roads around me, it's just a boring grid of city streets and farm land, and with our growing population it's just getting more congested and annoying.

[MrBurgundy]

You sound like a fun guy that makes friends wherever you go.

Is there some euro equivalent to old white guys in New Balance tennis shoes getting out of their 1of1 corvette? Because this sure sounds like the same thing they'd say if you EV swapped a 'vette.

No one is saying that EVs have to be your only car or even your only e30. But if you can't see how having an EV swapped e30 in the stable would be a raucous good time I don't know what to say. Is it perfect for every scenario? Heck no, but few cars are. That's why you get many. Man, I just like to go fast. Sometimes in a straight line, sometimes around corners, sometimes even sideways! Shit doesn't have to be perfect to have fun.

Thanks for noticing, I do

What would an electric e30 be good at? Burning tires? Maybe going fast if it could even put that kind of power down? What kind of range could you even get, knowing space is limited for batteries? How much time and money would it take to make a reliable electric e30?

It seems like you'd be taking a well rounded car and making it.... shitty.

But hey, if you want to EV swap an e30, go for it, bud. Hell- buy two and swap them!

[rturbo 930]

But if you can't see how having an EV swapped e30 in the stable would be a raucous good time I don't know what to say.

Ah yes, a more or less silent vehicle that requires no driving input from me beyond steering and brake/gas. Basically an upscale golf cart. That's what I think of when I think of a raucous good time in a car.

This is part of why I hate EVs and the people pushing them. Stop trying to tell me that EVs are cool. They're not. And they're not gonna save the planet either, if anything, they're probably worse for the planet than ICE cars. That doesn't mean they don't have their place, and I think they make far more sense in a luxury vehicle, where the qualities of an EV actually contribute to the end goal of the vehicle. Luxury cars are supposed to be smooth and quiet, and that's really a perfect fit for an EV, since they don't even shift, and they've got lots of torque instantly. They'd also be well suited to something like a mail truck, a city car, or maybe even something like a Model A where the engine is relatively useless in the modern day. But for a sports car, they're terrible. I think driving an EV would best be described as anticlimactic. They can do 0-60 very quickly, and then... that's it. And since they don't make noise there's no real sense of event, and there's not much driver engagement. What's the point?

I don't really care if someone takes a beat up E30, of any year, and makes it into an EV. If you bring a car back from the dead, as far as I'm concerned, you're free to do as you please. A nice example is a different story, I would be opposed to someone swapping a clean original E30 of any year/model.

[AceAndrew777]

You sound like a fun guy that makes friends wherever you go.

Is there some euro equivalent to old white guys in New Balance tennis shoes getting out of their 1of1 corvette? .

... that's oddly specific.

Howabout dozens of young university students with all kinds of backgrounds? Burgundy's perspective (although not quite so colored) was mirrored en masse at a group meetup among campus engineering clubs when electrifying classic cars came up in conversation a couple weeks back.


I do like ZeKahr's plan to wait a while though. IF one really feels compelled, then it makes sense to wait for the next couple generations of battery improvements.

[MrBurgundy]

he probably didn't like my use of the word gay

heh heh heh

[ZeKahr]

Now I’m curious lol, what would you guys hate more, an EV-swapped E30 (assume the swap is undoable) or an E30 with an M10 and an automatic transmission?

[MrBurgundy]

Now I’m curious lol, what would you guys hate more, an EV-swapped E30 (assume the swap is undoable) or an E30 with an M10 and an automatic transmission?

oooof that's a hard one lol..

If I had a gun to my head, I would pick the M10 only for the sake of period correct vibes, but I would hate it.

I would def consider a factory EV. but the swapped one, specifically an e30 just doesn't do it for me.

My buddy just picked up an EQB Mercedes and we went for a ride last night.. That car is actually pretty nice for a daily commuter. It doesn't have any gimmicky EV design features in the interior, which cant stand. It looks like the gas version's interior. I think it actually drives nicer than the shitty dual clutch turbo 4 banger that the GLB is in ICE form. No one wants to hear, the throb of a high strung turbo 4 anyways, let alone drive in traffic with their DCT that jerks the car around.

[82eye]

Now I’m curious lol, what would you guys hate more, an EV-swapped E30 (assume the swap is undoable) or an E30 with an M10 and an automatic transmission?

lol

[82eye]

he probably didn't like my use of the word gay

heh heh heh

lol

[82eye]

Now I’m curious lol, what would you guys hate more, an EV-swapped E30 (assume the swap is undoable) or an E30 with an M10 and an automatic transmission?

i'd hate an e30 with an m10 and automatic with white crappy paint over factory polaris on bags about the same.....

[McGyver]

Ahhh, but an m10 boosted like crazy with some fancy racing automatic transmission could be fun. I'm thinking a small displacement huge turbo drag car with an auto so you don't loose boost pressure on the shifts.

[82eye]

Ahhh, but an m10 boosted like crazy with some fancy racing automatic transmission could be fun. I'm thinking a small displacement huge turbo drag car with an auto so you don't loose boost pressure on the shifts.

here ya go - you're half way there with this one

https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/forum/general-forums/general-discussion/10100893-toxic-r3vlimited-facebook-group