I need an honest answer: Can a TIV (or T1) do what I want it to?

[vintagefilm]

Just wondering if adding air conditioning could be accomplishing by using a Prius style electric compressor. That could free up your options.

BTW, my T4/T1 has power left at 80mph--4000rpm but its really loud...

[eskamobob1]

Just wondering if adding air conditioning could be accomplishing by using a Prius style electric compressor. That could free up your options.

BTW, my T4/T1 has power left at 80mph--4000rpm but its really loud...

I did play with the idea of using electric heating and cooling, but ultimately the power draws are just far too extreme. For something like a 15k BTU system, your compressor can be as high at 2500W with heaters being roughly the same (and keep in mind a high capacity AC system will be 20k BTU+ even for a car as small as a bug). This is not to mention the fact that most of them are 18/24V systems and as such require an inverter or separate system entirely.

That said, the higher voltage requirement can actualy help us out. Say our entire system draw is now 3000W (about 500 for standard equipment and assume you wont ever have the ac and heater on at the same time). If our heater and AC are 12V and have to be run off of one system, we are going to need not only a 250A alternator minimum, but we also need a battery system that can handle that kind of draw so that we dont damage our batteries. With the heater and AC being 24V though, you can get a bit tricky. Instead of running one system and an inverter (either stepping up to 24V and needing high amp or stepping down to 12V and having lots of other issues) you can run 2 entirely separate systems.

You have your standard equipment off of a more reasonably sized 50V 12V alternator that charges your main battery and runs everything from your lights to the starter, to the radio. This system also controls input portion of your relay/contractor for your heater and AC system. You then run a second alternator and battery setup, but this time it is a purely 24V system. This allows you to get a 110A 24V alternator (something you can actualy find) and have a much more modest battery setup as 110A batteries are not that hard to come by. Obviously this leads to some wiring trickery to make the systems work together as well as have a master cutoff with the key work at 2 different voltages, but it is still the best way to do it even when considering those issues and the mounting/running of a second alternator IMO.

The last thing to consider is cost. We have some pretty damn great kits out there for south of 2k, but without getting real creative and/or dumpster diving you will be hard pressed to source just the compressor or heating element for that price on an electric system. Im not sure how the weight would workout between the styo types of systems, but I think they would be pretty comparable as electric allows for much cleaner runs to/from the compressor and you dont need added fuel for the heater. I also suspect the power draw would be similar. a 110A 24V alternator will require 5-10HP or so and with how efficient compressors have gotten I cant imagine they would be much worse for a similar BTU output.

[sideshow]

Weird, I have never seen anything on a beetle that was can bus ready, also one has a hanging pedal cluster, the other is floor mounted (I would plan on keeping hydraulic brakes if it was me)

As a hobby I weld/mill/fabricate random stuff to relax...oddly my day job is wiring harness (no kidding)

Replacing every control point tesla needs (ignoring bms) can be done, I have no clue how to estimate cost.

A stock'ish t-4 donor, oddly the smaller sedans produce the best cores (larger bus sourced are slightly worse statistically) with 40IDF's can create a very drivable 5400 rpm mule, good flat torque curve easy on fuel consumption, solid 100hp

Better than a warmed up 1.6 or very mild 1.6 +400cc cost wise and slightly cooler IMHO

100 hp street torque can be duplicated starting with only aftermarket t-1 also, but you have to wade through crap to get there

[eskamobob1]

Weird, I have never seen anything on a beetle that was can bus ready, also one has a hanging pedal cluster, the other is floor mounted (I would plan on keeping hydraulic brakes if it was me)

haha. The last classic bug was produced before CAN was designed. Maybe some of the mexibeetles use it for something but I pretty highly doubt it (and even if they did it would be a very old version of it). The standard setup when doing tesla swaps from what I have found for other cars is to either use a cable run TPS (if you are direct drive live a bug is)/reuse your old TPS and then leave your breaks completely stock. Your regen is then independent of the actual breaks. It does mean you need to adjust your brake bias though.

As a hobby I weld/mill/fabricate random stuff to relax...oddly my day job is wiring harness (no kidding)

Replacing every control point tesla needs (ignoring bms) can be done, I have no clue how to estimate cost.

Haha. Im kind of an all a rounder at work and at home. Im a automation engineer so I do everything from hydraulics (though not a ton of it) and pnuematics to sheet metal design and wiring/controller programming. At home I work on my car and build mechanical keyboards. Only real shame is I have 0 welding experience. That is my next goal after I get myself a mill. The last company I worked at was an EV aircraft company, so thats realy what got me looking into EV conversions. Ultimately though, I do kinda want to keep my car gas if it possible (which it seems like it is)

As for the swap, a ready made wiring kit/ECU/BMS to utilize tesla motors and batteries runs about 7k from what I could find (so that is what I was using), but they do still require programming yourself.

A stock'ish t-4 donor, oddly the smaller sedans produce the best cores (larger bus sourced are slightly worse statistically) with 40IDF's can create a very drivable 5400 rpm mule, good flat torque curve easy on fuel consumption, solid 100hp

Better than a warmed up 1.6 or very mild 1.6 +400cc cost wise and slightly cooler IMHO

100 hp street torque can be duplicated starting with only aftermarket t-1 also, but you have to wade through crap to get there

So look for a 411/412 or a 914 engine? That is kind of what I had figured already tbh, but im just waiting for a good one to pop up (vaguely) near me. I have heard you have to be wary of head cracks on the 914 2.0, but I havent look into much else of what to look for yet. Im not sure who it was the metioned it, but I remeber reading through an old thread that the 1.8 914 engines were one of the major T4 builders favorite cores so that is kinda what I have been aiming for

[sideshow]

Electric airplane? There once was a really smart guy, Jim Fueling crazy smart untimely early death...I remember he thought that was good idea, no clue how far or what he was doing

I feel the days walking in back fields and having great choices in what rain water filled cores are over.
On a budget I don't feel you can dictate the source and past history, You live in a world of take it or pound sand.

Heads are generally consumable, I got away very nice samba sourced 1.7 refurbed. Many cross state road trips, truck duty for a few years including two Shasta Snow Trips and my luck ran out, at least 1 valve burned, guessing on the lifters I removed there is no cam wear Would do it again

I also waver between trying new OEM heads or what I really want, the basic model HAM mild street model. But a mild type-none runs so well and can defrost and I hate seasonal swaps

[wreck]

A type 4 is still the best starting point for a high mileage medium power street engine in a warm climate ,but then I’m biased ! Maintenance is easier because of the spark plug location . No need to cut Weber windows in the body . A bug cabin is small so only a small compressor is needed . On the Ghia I used a sanden 7176 compressor . The crank pulley is small so the power drain is small ,I don’t even feel it cycle in .I also use a LPG based refrigerant (hychill) that runs with lower head pressure then 134a . I do need a 75amp alternator to run 2 oil cooler fans ,2 AC condenser fans and the evaporator fan as well as the rest of the normal stuff , I ran an extra cable from the alternator straight to the start B+