OnlyDreaming
06-22-2015, 12:02 PM
Hello everyone,
So I've had a passing interest in the 818 since I first found out about it about a year ago, an interest largely limited by the lack of a coupe version. Naturally, now it really has my attention, and the gears in my head are turning. A healthy budget could make for a badarse 818.
Here are the problems. I want it to be -electric- and daily drivable with a lot of usable bandwidth, I have chronic health issues that preclude me from building one myself, and to even attempt it, I'd have to give up my amazing 2014 Corvette Stingray, which is my 3-season daily driver (winter vehicle is a 4WD truck).
I know cars well, I know EV's (conversions and OEM's alike) fairly well, and I've skimmed through several electric 818 builds so my initial thoughts tell me that this is not a rational or feasible idea. Problem is, I am obsessive-compulsive and I will spend the next month obsessively researching and planning out every nut and bolt of the build, full of page long parts lists, costs, calculations, spreadsheets and all, then I'll come to the realization that this will never happen, then I'll just get depressed about the situation... until the next crazy idea comes along that is. Wash, rinse, repeat.
This time I thought I'd try something different. You experienced folks can shut me down before I get started. At worst, I might get some builder insight on something I find interest in regardless of outcome, and at best, this will be a reality-check thread for some other highly disfunctionally-aspirational people like myself. Either way, thanks for your time. :)
So my initial requirements for my 818e coupe dream would be around 200 whp max (a bit less would be acceptable), a real-world 60 mile range *at 70mph* (in other words, 100+ miles for typical range quotes), downpour-drivable (watertight), A/C and heat, at least a basic covered interior, and at least a simple 2-speaker stereo. It would probably be the heaviest 818 ever (more like an 1118, if you will, but that would be okay with me) if the required kWh would fit at all then it definitely wouldn't have any cargo space whatsoever except for the passenger seat, and it would certainly be expensive. My budget would be $50k which would be a lot for an 818, but I still don't think I could hit these goals with that if I built it myself, much less if I had someone else build it for me. Nissan Leaf battery modules, while still relatively hard to come by, are coming around and they're a relatively easy to package fairly stout cell. For paint I'd go cheap-ish (properly applied gallons of blue Plasti Dip) but everything else would need to be good new stuff for proper reliability.
Now please tell me how close I am on that, and how insane I would be to let go of my perfect 2014 super grand-tourer (non-Z51) with 460 hp, 30+ mpg highway (yes, honestly) daily driver with all the creature comforts and bells and whistles, a GREAT interior (finally!), 5000 total miles, and almost 4.5 years of warranty left... Just to wait a long time and suck gas in a miserable commute for a full size truck to finally get a limited use kit car, which might still not be as good but would cost as much as a used Tesla Roadster.
...On second thought, nevermind. I think I just worked it out for myself (how about that!). If you read all that, thanks anyway! You can still chime if you want to. :)
So I've had a passing interest in the 818 since I first found out about it about a year ago, an interest largely limited by the lack of a coupe version. Naturally, now it really has my attention, and the gears in my head are turning. A healthy budget could make for a badarse 818.
Here are the problems. I want it to be -electric- and daily drivable with a lot of usable bandwidth, I have chronic health issues that preclude me from building one myself, and to even attempt it, I'd have to give up my amazing 2014 Corvette Stingray, which is my 3-season daily driver (winter vehicle is a 4WD truck).
I know cars well, I know EV's (conversions and OEM's alike) fairly well, and I've skimmed through several electric 818 builds so my initial thoughts tell me that this is not a rational or feasible idea. Problem is, I am obsessive-compulsive and I will spend the next month obsessively researching and planning out every nut and bolt of the build, full of page long parts lists, costs, calculations, spreadsheets and all, then I'll come to the realization that this will never happen, then I'll just get depressed about the situation... until the next crazy idea comes along that is. Wash, rinse, repeat.
This time I thought I'd try something different. You experienced folks can shut me down before I get started. At worst, I might get some builder insight on something I find interest in regardless of outcome, and at best, this will be a reality-check thread for some other highly disfunctionally-aspirational people like myself. Either way, thanks for your time. :)
So my initial requirements for my 818e coupe dream would be around 200 whp max (a bit less would be acceptable), a real-world 60 mile range *at 70mph* (in other words, 100+ miles for typical range quotes), downpour-drivable (watertight), A/C and heat, at least a basic covered interior, and at least a simple 2-speaker stereo. It would probably be the heaviest 818 ever (more like an 1118, if you will, but that would be okay with me) if the required kWh would fit at all then it definitely wouldn't have any cargo space whatsoever except for the passenger seat, and it would certainly be expensive. My budget would be $50k which would be a lot for an 818, but I still don't think I could hit these goals with that if I built it myself, much less if I had someone else build it for me. Nissan Leaf battery modules, while still relatively hard to come by, are coming around and they're a relatively easy to package fairly stout cell. For paint I'd go cheap-ish (properly applied gallons of blue Plasti Dip) but everything else would need to be good new stuff for proper reliability.
Now please tell me how close I am on that, and how insane I would be to let go of my perfect 2014 super grand-tourer (non-Z51) with 460 hp, 30+ mpg highway (yes, honestly) daily driver with all the creature comforts and bells and whistles, a GREAT interior (finally!), 5000 total miles, and almost 4.5 years of warranty left... Just to wait a long time and suck gas in a miserable commute for a full size truck to finally get a limited use kit car, which might still not be as good but would cost as much as a used Tesla Roadster.
...On second thought, nevermind. I think I just worked it out for myself (how about that!). If you read all that, thanks anyway! You can still chime if you want to. :)