Modifying an EV

[santona1937]

This is just pure curiosity... what happens to an EV when one modifies it? For example, non-OEM alloys, or lowered springs etc. Can you tune an EV or source performance upgrades from indy's? Does it mean that car tuners and their ilk will slowly be put of of business except for classic ICE cars, which will decline in number?

[tr3a]

santona1937 said:

what happens to an EV when one modifies it? For example, non-OEM alloys, or lowered springs etc.

Same as with any other car: you ruin its efficiency, only much worse.

santona1937 said:

Can you tune an EV or source performance upgrades from indy's?

If with 'tuning' you mean burdening it with aftermarket dross: of course you can. It's just a car.

santona1937 said:

Does it mean that car tuners and their ilk will slowly be put of of business except for classic ICE cars, which will decline in number?

Why would it mean that? Things are forever changing. Only those who won't/can't adapt, die.

[Len Clifton]

But like customising your fridge, not sure there will be much of a market.

[sixor8]

Really.

Wheels maybe, many EVs had and continue to have some fairly unattractive standard ones. Smaller I was thinking, not bigger, with higher walls for a (even more) comfortable ride.

[SWoll]

tr3a said:

santona1937 said:

what happens to an EV when one modifies it? For example, non-OEM alloys, or lowered springs etc.

Same as with any other car: you ruin its efficiency, only much worse.

Not necessarily. A lowered EV with a more enclosed wheel design could potentially be more efficient at high speed, where it matters most.

Len Clifton said:

But like customising your fridge, not sure there will be much of a market.

They're cars, people will want to tune and customise them regardless of how they're powered just like they do with stty 1.0 petrol and 2.0 diesel cars every day.

[Len Clifton]

SWoll said:

They're cars, people will want to tune and customise them regardless of how they're powered just like they do with stty 1.0 petrol and 2.0 diesel cars every day.

They are 4 wheeled transport appliances. I cannot believe anybody will buy one with their heart over head, which is the typical motivator for personalising something.

Prepared to be proven wrong if there’s evidence to the contrary.

[SWoll]

Len Clifton said:

SWoll said:

They're cars, people will want to tune and customise them regardless of how they're powered just like they do with stty 1.0 petrol and 2.0 diesel cars every day.

They are 4 wheeled transport appliances. I cannot believe anybody will buy one with their heart over head, which is the typical motivator for personalising something.

Prepared to be proven wrong if there’s evidence to the contrary.

99.9% of cars are 4 wheeled transport appliances. Do you think people buy 1.0 Fiestas and Corsa's with their heart? Plenty of those get modded.

I imagine cars like the Ioniq 5N get bought by people with their heart over head yes, and of course people are already modding and customizing EV's and have been doing so for years.

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/electric/ascensio...

[Len Clifton]

SWoll said:

99.9% of cars are 4 wheeled transport appliances. Do you think people buy 1.0 Fiestas and Corsa's with their heart? Plenty of those get modded.

Yes, because when you’re 17-18, your choice is limited. That doesn’t mean they don’t want to make a statement, we’ve all been there and it’s not the same thing at all.

This is quite a good idea though
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=seHWJMKwOQQ

Edited by Len Clifton on Thursday 1st May 08:04

[Oilchange]

Or just buy a proper turbo diesel saloon car and get a smooth, silent, comfortable and efficient 50mpg instead of that 35mpg Heath Robinson tat...

[Len Clifton]

Oilchange said:

Or just buy a proper turbo diesel saloon car and get a smooth, silent, comfortable and efficient 50mpg instead of that 35mpg Heath Robinson tat...

Agreed, it’s still quite cool though. Idiotic, but cool. That’s what customising is about?

1000hp AWD Tesla that does 35mpg at 65mph. What’s not to like? The car itself is about as interesting as a wheelie bin.

Edited by Len Clifton on Thursday 1st May 08:39

[georgeyboy12345]

Oilchange said:

Or just buy a proper turbo diesel saloon car and get a smooth, silent, comfortable and efficient 50mpg instead of that 35mpg Heath Robinson tat...

Smooth and silent

[raspy]

Len Clifton said:

They are 4 wheeled transport appliances. I cannot believe anybody will buy one with their heart over head, which is the typical motivator for personalising something.

Prepared to be proven wrong if there’s evidence to the contrary.

There are EV tuning stores online now in the UK, selling a range of upgraded parts.

This one sells a Steinbauer power module for a Model S P85D that offers the following upgrade to power and torque (those power modules are available for a range of EVs)
Stock Power (kW) 345
Stock Torque (Nm) 967
Enhanced Power (kW) 414
Enhanced Torque (Nm) 1160

https://evtuningstore.com/products/steinbauer-powe...

These guys sell KW V3 coilovers for the Ioniq 5N (amongst other things)

https://evtuningshop.co.uk/products/kw-v3-coilover...

One chap down my road has a modified Model 3 Performance. Aftermarket rims, bodykit and seems lowered even further than stock.

I know it might sound hard to believe, but people do modify EVs.

[Paul_M3]

Len Clifton said:

SWoll said:

They're cars, people will want to tune and customise them regardless of how they're powered just like they do with stty 1.0 petrol and 2.0 diesel cars every day.

They are 4 wheeled transport appliances. I cannot believe anybody will buy one with their heart over head, which is the typical motivator for personalising something.

Prepared to be proven wrong if there’s evidence to the contrary.

There are plenty of people on the MG4 X-power forum who think it's the most fun car they've ever owned, including a guy who used to own and track an Escort Cosworth.

There are already bodykits, wheels and Lowering springs both available and being fitted to them. Not to mention all the little minor cosmetic mods that multiple people are doing because they are genuinely enthusiastic about the car.

The springs for example are made by Eibach, not some unknown company. So they already see a market in the EV world.

And that's just what's happening on a not particularly exciting EV.

So yes, you're very wrong.

[clockworks]

No reason why people won't modify all types of EV, same as they modify ICE cars.

It's just the really pointless and annoying "performance" mods that can't be done, like intake and exhaust swaps.

[GT6k]

There is already a burgeoning EV tuning sector. In the 80s the same things were said about fuel injection, people used to remove the EFI to fit webers because you couldn't tune injectors. I seem to remember Apollo emerged as the first after-market EFI and the rest is history.

[phil4]

There's a few Tesla owners that do short sprint racing in their Tesla's, modeified suspension, tyres etc. All non standard.

As above there's people who will patch the motor battery stuff too.

And if you really wanted, buy motors and batteries second hand and like Electric Classics pop whatever you want in the chassis to give you the power and range you want.

In some ways the compactness of the motors and the lack of fuel lines means it's far easier to swap bits around if you're handy with a spanner.

[ZesPak]

Len Clifton said:

They are 4 wheeled transport appliances. I cannot believe anybody will buy one with their heart over head, which is the typical motivator for personalising something.

Prepared to be proven wrong if there’s evidence to the contrary.

Buying it 6 years ago it came in a lovely blue with chrome everywhere and silver wheels. It was definitely a head over heart decision but we've all come to love it.
After 4 years and I usually swap cars, but the car's been really good for me and the wife and I couldn't find a replacement after looking for months. So I thought I'd treat it to a different colour, chrome delete, new wheels and some other bits and bobs. Not to everyone's taste, but that's what individualization means. We all love it and get showered with compliments at every party we go to, which is nice.



I know plenty of people "tuning" their EV in similar ways and tbh people that would find it hard to believe that these exist must be living in some sort of cocoon or under a rock.

Edit: And to the person saying "buy a proper turbo diesel saloon" I've owned a slew of those. It would take a lot of money to get me back into one of those.

Edited by ZesPak on Thursday 1st May 11:22

[GT6k]

Today's white goods are tomorrows classic. I had a mate in the 90s used to call his Golf GTI white goods. He had an MG midget for when he wanted driver involvement and character. (Although my memory was driver involvement was primarily staring under the bonnet and swearing)

[gangzoom]

I want to put a bigger battery pack in our soon out of battery/motor warranty EV......More power, more range so essentially like sticking on new/adding forced induction, but costs at present are far higher than adding stuff to combustion engine cars despite the physical 'work' been much easier.

I expect prices though should drop as marker demand goes up.

[Oilchange]

georgeyboy12345 said:

Oilchange said:

Or just buy a proper turbo diesel saloon car and get a smooth, silent, comfortable and efficient 50mpg instead of that 35mpg Heath Robinson tat...

Smooth and silent

Well, unless it's a Mercedes, their diesels are as refined as a tractor...