 |
Sunday, September 05 2010 |
A UK resource for owners, supporters and builders of serious electric vehicles
Electric Performance
by Richard Ladds - editor MGOC magazine
I pressed down warily on the accelerator and we moved away incredibly smoothly and in complete silence, as we rapidly picked up speed the only noises were the usual sounds of an open MGF...
Electric Performance
Richard Ladds
Electric powered vehicles have come a long way since the Sinclair C5 but for the average classic car enthusiast the image remains deeply unattractive, cars like the G-Wiz will not set many pulses racing and very few petrol heads would aspire to possess a vehicle that doesn’t run on petrol. Neil Hutchinson is a life long MG fan who has owned his MGB GT V8 for thirty years and still loves the burble of the V8 and the whole classic car driving experience. But Neil is
also an electronics engineer and when he spotted a suitable electric motor for sale on the Internet he saw the potential to build an electric powered car but set himself the extra challenge, he wanted to build something that was actually desirable, he wanted a real driver’s car. A friend had given him a Corgi model of the MGF and it was when contemplating this model that set off a train of thought, the MGF’s mid-engine twin subframe design made it particularly suitable for conversion to electric power. Also it would be possible to buy an MGF reasonably cheaply thanks to the frequency and high cost of head gasket failure making them something of a second-hand bargain. More importantly if you could build an electric MGF that would perform and handle just as well as the petrol version but with the enormous benefit of dramatically reduced running costs, then you would indeed have constructed a desirable electric car.
The first thing I noticed about Neil’s MGF was
that it looked exactly like a normal production model, the ride height was the
same and the exterior virtually unchanged apart from chrome EV badges front and
rear and ELECTRIC scripted boldly below the boot lid. Closer inspection reveals the lack of an exhaust pipe and
the filled-in front radiator grilles. Even inside the cockpit there is very little evidence to betray this
MG’s alternative power source. There’s a discrete chrome toggle switch to select Drive, Neutral and
Reverse on the centre console just in front of the switches for the electrically
heated seats and there’s also a tell-tale indicator on the dash. Neil had taken a lot of trouble to
achieve a standard ride height, before buying the expensive lithium items, he
had acquired the equivalent weight in old lead acid batteries for a test rig.
On the road
I’ve not driven an
electric vehicle before (apart from my son’s Sinclair C5) so I was not really
sure what to expect. You turn the
ignition switch, the alarm warning chimes until the key fob button is pressed as
normal and then you turn the switch fully for power on. The total absence of engine engine
noise is uncanny, Neil has retained the gearbox as a part of the final drive so
the gearlever is still present but there’s no clutch and the car usually runs
permanently in third. There are
only two pedals as on an automatic, I pressed down warily on the accelerator
and we moved away incredibly smoothly and in complete silence, as we rapidly
picked up speed the only noises were the usual sounds of an open MGF, the wind
rushing past, tyres on the road, the odd creak from the body or slight rattle
from the hood frame but absolutely no engine note. The pick-up from the torquey electric motor was excellent
and gave a real push in the back, as the pedal is pressed down hard. Hills present no problem as the torque
is instant and the MGF pulls really strongly. Although the overall weight is slightly greater than a
petrol MGF the electric version has the almost the same handling
characteristics, it feels just like a proper production model. The brakes are sensitive and provide
excellent stopping power, in addition they have a regenerative function, so
when first applied they also act to put a charge back into the battery
pack.
Driving the Electric MGF along the narrow,
twisty lanes of Dorset I kept thinking, I could live with this, here at last is
a viable transport alternative, and not only is it practical but it satisfies
Neil’s principle aim, by proving to be a desirable road car. It is too early to give absolute
figures but Neil reckons a 0-60 of around 11 seconds which I felt was rather
conservative as the Electric F was certainly no slouch, as it gave a really
decent shove in the back under acceleration. Neil has recorded a top speeds in excess of 80mph so
far which is more than enough to get a speeding ticket but perhaps more
importantly the car has usable range of over 70 miles, this figure is likely to
improve because it simply represents the furthest Neil has travelled to
date.
This Electric MGF is primarily designed for
commuting to work and local short runs, which of course it performs with great
style, Neil has been using it every day since he put it on the road. With petrol currently priced around
£1-24 a litre and almost certainly on the rise I believe that vehicles like this
have a real future. The MGF’s are
normally charged over a few hours at night, from a standard 13-amp socket using
economy rate electricity. It would be possible to fast-charge in as little as
30-minutes, but this would need a special heavy-duty power supply.
Neil has not yet worked
out a cost per mile but it’s going to be only a fraction of the price of the
petrol equivalent. In addition the engine is ultra low maintenance and
therefore servicing is minimal, only the tyres, suspension and brakes will suffer
the same wear and tear as the petrol car. Although the electric F does require an annual MoT it is in a zero-rated
taxation class.
Since many families run more than one vehicle it
would make perfect sense to have an electric runabout for commuting and local
trips alongside a petrol powered larger saloon or estate for those occasional
long journeys. Recently a
second-hand G-Wiz was on the forecourt of a local garage but tempted as I was
by ultra low running costs because I now seem to be spending most of my wages
on petrol, I simply could not contemplate the thought of driving such a vehicle
however frugal. By contrast the
Electric MGF is a completely different proposition, above all it’s a desirable
car, it looks great, goes really well and will not cost the earth to run, in
fact it will not cost very much at all to run. Here is a modern attractive and practical sports car that
you can use regularly and at the end of the day park it in the garage alongside
your gas-guzzling classic. As Neil
says using the two MGs regularly means that he can offset the BGT V8 against
the Electric MG and regard himself as carbon neutral.
How was it done?
The separate sub frame of
the MGF appealed to Neil because it enabled him to build up the power unit and
drive train on the bench before installation.
However, eliminating the petrol engine creates a few
extra problems, for the brakes Neil had to install an electric vacuum pump to
provide appropriate vacuum assist. Similarly having no engine means no circulating hot water and the MGF’s
heater had to be converted to an electric ceramic type which although not
blisteringly hot will provide adequate demisting, for additional winter comfort
the seats were recovered and fitted with electric heating elements. The MGF’s electric power steering
relies on input from rpm and road speed which above idle needs to correlate
approximately otherwise the ECU will cut the steering power, so Neil had fit a
device that simulated the idle revs input to get the power steering to operate.
The MGF’s electric motor does not generate high levels
of heat but it is water-cooled and for this a small capacity cooling system had
to be added with an electric water pump to provide effective coolant
circulation.
Neil is a perfectionist and his Electric MGF is
presented to a very professional standard, in fact the whole conversion was
carried out as if it were a production car. All the MGF’s instruments are retained and operate appropriately. The F’s fuel gauge is currently being converted
to provide an accurate measure of the power reserve remaining and will function
as it would on a petrol-powered car.
Technical Specification
Siemens AC Three Phase
Electric Motor originally designed to propel the Ford Ranger Pickup truck
Siemens Controller
designed for AC vehicle applications
Rechargeable Lithium
batteries – 90 cells producing a system voltage of 300 volts
Standard 12-volt system
Regenerative braking
system
What’s Good?
Great looking soft top
sports car that you’d not be ashamed to be seen in.
Production MG levels of
performance and handling.
Nil cost road tax.
Zero congestion charge,
free parking and charging in London
No exhaust emissions.
Low running costs.
Saves the planet.
What’s Bad?
Cost of the conversion.
There has to be downside
of course and really the only problem is the cost of the Siemens Electric
Motor, Siemens Controller and the lithium batteries. Neil was able to source his motor brand new but at a knock
down price while his controller was second-hand it was still expensive. Admittedly the cost was a great deal
more than a replacement petrol unit for the MGF and if he were to buy the
equivalent components brand new today on a one-off basis a figure of around
£12,000 would just about cover it (excluding the cost of the labour to fit up
the unit). Although this all
sounds like a lot of money you need to bear in mind that the nearest equivalent
to the Electric MGF is the £87,000 Tesla Sport.
* Following this article,
the running costs are estimated to be 1.6p per mile and the ROI (Return on
Investment) time is around 5-years.
 |
 |
 |
I pressed down warily on the accelerator and we moved away incredibly smoothly and in complete silence, as we rapidly picked up speed the on... 
Michael “Flea” Balzary likes to break new ground. With band mates Red Hot Chili Peppers, he pioneered funk metal, a sound that m... 
This project was to take a standard and widely available British sports car and convert it to an all-electric drive. Part of the purpose was... useful links
designed by pi-marketing limited
v1.05