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Simplicity is a strength. This has challenged my thinking. There is not enough information here on AC. If you want mileage, and the ability to get up hills well, I think AC motors are superior (and yes.
Still, I strongly recommend this book. I mean, mistaking "then" with "than" over and over again in the mathematics section made me distrust the fact that these guys had their math right. Weaknesses:1) The future of the EV, as other reviewers have pointed out, is NOT likely to be DC (unless perhaps one is drag racing). Also, the national security implications of our addiction to foreign oil has also challenged my thinking. That is a shame.3) The strength of the EV is that it is simple, has fewer moving parts, is therefore very reliable, and is very good for the planet. It would be very easy for them to get this wrong. This is a big deal for some guys. I am referring here to the countless shade tree/home garage techs who do their own brakes, do their own oil, watch NASCAR, love cars because they are CARS, and enjoy turning ratchets.
This book needed an editor to keep reminding the authors to "keep it simple, stupid." 3) This topic is just fascinating, and it would be difficult for any remotely competent author to mess it up. After composting and planting a garden, making the house more energy efficient, and adopting a generally more green lifestyle, this is the next step. The standards of editing are similar with what you see on online reviews like this one. more expensive). There was no reason for that.
When you see how easy it is by going on line and looking at the work others have done, and start experimenting yourself, you will get VERY angry at car companies for not getting this right sooner. preferably light). This isn't some self produced book either. I hope to heck they don't do this.
Let me address the strengths of this excellent book first:1) The section on the history of the electric car, its technology, and its strengths and weaknesses is comprehensive and very convincing. this book would be more user friendly if." The editing is abominable, and is a real drawback. It really is impossible to understand how it has taken so long for car companies to wake up to the fact that we NEED EVs. It educated me on how EVs work, and I am planning my own conversion. I have decided it is time to begin the process of weaning myself and my family off of fossil fuels. Its McGraw Hill. Instead, it is a 3 star book. The strength of the EV is it is easy to understand, and that you can work on it yourself very easily, even build one from scratch with little mechanical experience.
The book is too complex, introduces unnecessary concepts (like mathematical formulas. 4) Despite what you may think about complexity, EV's are actually REALLY simple and elegant, and you are not being made obsolete and you are NOT being forced to hang up your ratchets. I do not enjoy doing oil changes. This is not a good thing.
which while fun will slow you down), and is therefore unlikely to appeal to guys who can do this conversion with their eyes closed. After reading this book, and doing some additional research, I understand how the new hybrids work, how the new VOLT will work, and I understand that I can still work on my cars and enjoy them even if they are electric. Kits for conversion are now commercially available and there are experts out there willing to answer questions for free. I enjoy turning the ratchets. If they do, I will be only driving my own aftermarket conversions from now on.
After all, as is so eloquently pointed out in Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work car manufacturers and others are busy designing products that "hide the works" in an almost blatant attempt to keep people ignorant and divorced from their machines. Exactly who was responsible to sit these boys down and say: "this section is entirely unnecessary. money in the AC camp with the new Volt, and there is a reason for that. The data are clear however, and GM has put its (umm. This is who I am, but I needed the college degree I sometimes think I wasted my money on to get through some of this book. The electric car predates the internal combustion car, and is what Mrs. 2) Really.
I was somewhat skeptical at first but after reading this book I am convinced that a) electric cars are the wave of the future, b) my concerns about them were largely misplaced, c) it is probably my patriotic duty to drive one, both because I love the US and support Israel, and d) the environment, and our pocketbooks, NEED us to move away from the internal combustion engine.2) The mathematical sections, while difficult to wade through and in desperate need of a good educator/editor to make the material more understandable, are actually quite strong if you really stick to them. our). However, it is in desperate need of a competent editor, and may be a little difficult to wade through as a result, but the content is excellent and is there for you if you are willing to dig a bit. introduce a "solid state" car or something ludicrous. I am probably not the target audience for this book.Still, my thinking on ecology has been seriously challenged by my Church (I am Catholic, and Vatican City State is the world's first carbon neutral country, and the Pope has been adamant about our duty to be good stewards of the planet). This is VERY important, and something I hope the car companies get right. However, there is so much help out there on line now that you really don't need to do any of these mathematical formulations.
these words and misspelled. You can do this with little or no mechanical experience. I am a car guy who loves working on his cars, and loves motor sports, especially dirt track racing. Learn to use the English language correctly, and if you are not strong in this area, HIRE AN EDITOR.
I dug into this book, and loved much of it. This is as unnecessary as it is stupid. how expensive is it to hire an editor. I won't miss them when they are gone.
You can relatively easily build one yourself on a used chassis (any used car. I picked up this book because I was curious. Henry Ford drove (I am not kidding). Someone who edited for the "For Dummies" series could have turned this into a world class book.
No gains in the new edition compared to the old. New cover same old story. It has no new noteworthy info on how to get down the road in an A.C. electric car. electric cars only get about 40 miles on average per charge. D.C. This book still promotes the D.C. induction multi phase motored car.
Don't expect too many details on specific how-to topics like battery ventilation or component mounting; of course you should have the ability to be creative in those somewhat non-critical areas. This book is really great for learning how to do a conversion. Overall its great to have updated info over the first edition, yet it is still limited to lower-end hobbyist conversions. Much is used from the first edition. I have noticed typos, which seems strange but they don't seem to be too critical. This is a book where a picture is worth a thousand words and I think color photos would have been a nice touch when looking at engine bays.
Some basic automotive knowledge is helpful but with that this ia a doable project. This is a great book for anyone who truly cares about taking environmentalism beyon the "I recycle" stage.Or for those taht can't imagine themselves taking a larger role in protecting the planet. It is easy to understand and a great advocacy manual for practical solutions to environmental issues
But not, in the electric car conversion world at least, a whole lot. The trouble is, much of the information still dates from 1993, and there is little to show what is new and what is old. The rest of the field lags well behind. Some things have changed in the past 16 years. Skimming through the book is the best way to do that. I'm not a fan of the writing style in the book. Still, compared to its competition, this book has taken over top spot, in my mind.
And too much from 1993 that should never have been kept in this new edition. Convert It. But that 40% has a lot of good information in it. This second edition, updated in 2008 apparently by Seth Leitman alone, adds a lot of good information. So you have to mine a little bit to find the valuable nuggets hidden among the less valuable old junk. Much of that good information, surprisingly, appears to be from 1993.
For my taste, there were too many "shout outs" to people like Paul Little or Jim Harris for their "great" conversions, especially their "magic boxes" (just junction boxes for wiring). needs its own makeover to keep up. The first edition of this book was written in 1993 by Bob Brant alone. I've only read about 40% of the book, and I'll probably never read any of the remaining 60%. Too many "."s and too much boosting of the benefits of electric cars.
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