Electric DeLorean

[Mario]

It's coming along, slowly but surely. Hopefully just a few more weeks now, then it's off to EV West!













Still feels weird to me that DeLoreans use wood in them.

[DavidProehl]

That is beautiful. Makes me want to tear down my car to the bones to clean it up like that!

[Silverbullet]

A question I have always had with electric cars... is how they do the AC? Also how well does it work, and how much of the battery it kills using it. In a D the AC is really important, mine is always on.

Craig

[Rich W]

A question I have always had with electric cars... is how they do the AC? Also how well does it work, and how much of the battery it kills using it. In a D the AC is really important, mine is always on.

Craig

Several options, from several different manufacturers / suppliers.
Some of these are fully, self contained electric powered AC units.

Vintage Air is one of these aftermarket suppliers.

From Hot Rods to the rear passenger sections of limousines,
there is a market for these compact AC options.

[Farrar]

Still feels weird to me that DeLoreans use wood in them.

Wood: the original carbon fiber.

[Chris4099]

A question I have always had with electric cars... is how they do the AC? Also how well does it work, and how much of the battery it kills using it. In a D the AC is really important, mine is always on.

EVs work the same way as most hybrids these days do. There's a dedicated high voltage DC motor attached directly to the compressor. Because the motor speed can be variable, this makes the AC way more efficient then in a gas car which is at the mercy of the engine RPM. So for example in my Tesla, the AC can take up to 6,000 watts at first if it's 100 degrees outside and the car has been sitting in the sun. However, once the interior cools down, it only draws about 500-1000 watts of power. While this may sound like a lot, keep in mind to cruse down the highway at 60MPH, I'm using about 20,000 watts! So while there is an impact to range, it's minor. I could park the car and run AC nonstop for about 3-4 days before I drain the battery. Admittedly the Tesla has a very large battery, but even my Fiat 500e could go about 2 days with its 26kWh battery pack.

Another thing to consider. Hotter days usually means thinner and less dense air. This greatly reduces wind resistance. I actually get better efficiency driving on the freeway on a 90 degree day with AC then I do on a 50 degree day with no heat or AC. Same with high altitudes. My car is faster at 5,000 feet because of less wind resistance while a gas car is slower because it depends on oxygen to run (except for the need of cooling, an EV can run in a vacuum).

Wood: the original carbon fiber.

OK, that made me LOL.

[mluder]

But, Rob, the solenoids only control the lock actuators and have nothing to do with the remote opening systems. Of course those also use actuators but in your comment you seem to be saying only the solenoids are beefy enough to consistently work the dual latch system... referring to the opening (not unlocking) mechanism.

Cheers
Steve

Sorry Dave but I'm a fly in your "universal" ointment!!!! I know that actuators are generally more reliable, efficient and lighter than solenoids. I like the lighter aspect best of all being brought up with motocross racing, sports cars, and the Lotus's chairman's Colin Chapman's philosophy of "lighter is better".

In the Delorean application however I find that the available actuators are barely strong enough to do the job and are often incapable of opening a Delorean doorconsistently. If any adjustments, or the door fit, are less than ideal they have trouble opening. They are generally designed for automotive applications using one latch systems with much lighter loads than a DMC door typically places on them.

I've had the DMC solenoids rebuilt with beefier windings, Hi-temp bobbins, and other improvements and have had one failure in about twenty five years with hundreds of them sold. The bad one had been immersed under water for some time! My rebuilts are much more reliable and stronger than stock.

One area where actuators can't compete with solenoids is speed as solenoids work almost instantly whereas most automotive solenoids use a slower screw drive which compounds problems from any uneveness in the dual latch release used in a Delorean door. For these reasons I think solenoids are still superior to actuators in this unique automotive application. Now I'm working on the lightness advantage.

My solenoid rebuilder is also an engineer and a draftsman and we have blueprints for an all new version using a waterproof aluminum housing that will at least partly negate the weight disadvantage. I am considering making these as part of my reintrodution of the first ever door "launch" system that me and "Bobzilla" developed for our own cars in 1999 but never released as a production run. We still have the two working prototypes that we installed in our own cars but somehow the "Millenium bug" got in the way of it's release. We hope to change that soon.
Rob Grady

[Silverbullet]

[QUOTE=Chris4099;172918]EVs work the same way as most hybrids these days do. There's a dedicated high voltage DC motor attached directly to the compressor. Because the motor speed can be variable, this makes the AC way more efficient then in a gas car which is at the mercy of the engine RPM. So for example in my Tesla, the AC can take up to 6,000 watts at first if it's 100 degrees outside and the car has been sitting in the sun. However, once the interior cools down, it only draws about 500-1000 watts of power. While this may sound like a lot, keep in mind to cruse down the highway at 60MPH, I'm using about 20,000 watts! So while there is an impact to range, it's minor. I could park the car and run AC nonstop for about 3-4 days before I drain the battery. Admittedly the Tesla has a very large battery, but even my Fiat 500e could go about 2 days with its 26kWh battery pack.

Another thing to consider. Hotter days usually means thinner and less dense air. This greatly reduces wind resistance. I actually get better efficiency driving on the freeway on a 90 degree day with AC then I do on a 50 degree day with no heat or AC. Same with high altitudes. My car is faster at 5,000 feet because of less wind resistance while a gas car is slower because it depends on oxygen to run (except for the need of cooling, an EV can run in a vacuum).


Good info.... Thanks,

Craig

[Patrick C]

But, Rob, the solenoids only control the lock actuators and have nothing to do with the remote opening systems.

I think Rob is referring to the remote door opening system that he and Bob Zilla created, which used solenoids instead of actuators.

[ssdelorean]

I've also had no problem with my actuators. I never had to adjust anything other than the new actuator rod. Yes they are slow and will not work with the LockZilla unless you double up on the timing caps in the Zilla.

I think Rob is referring to the remote door opening system that he and Bob Zilla created, which used solenoids instead of actuators.

I have had Toby's actuators integrated with the Zilla door locks and remote key fob for years without any issues. No mods needed. Just had to find the proper connection to plug into the Zilla unit from the actuator wires. Easily found at a computer store.

Wood: the original carbon fiber.

Ha! :-)