Bronco EV Conversion

[voxel]

These EV conversions will be very popular and cheap. Electric motor, inverter, battery (i.e $7K 60 kWh LFP pack from the Model 3 RWD - and less flammable than a gas engine). Simple, dumb, reliable. Probably sub $15K for a new drivetrain and electronics. None of these older cars will go on long road trips and EV Restomods won't either. What's holding everything back is the drivetrains in EVs are all proprietary and you need to transport the entire car's eco-system into the older car. Other than Ford, there isn't a nice crate mod.

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[voxel]

I couldn't agree with anything more than this statement. I live in a very rural area and until they perfect the solid state battery and make driving an EV more like a normal combustion engine it will never take off especially out here. Funny enough what they have to do to get the material for the batteries produces more emissions than a normal combustion vehicle over its lifetime. I can't wait to see how this all goes.

Not with LFP nor sodium-ion batteries (which I predict will be the next boom). Cheap. No child labor. No expensive Nickel.

Solid State batteries are fake news. I can't believe folks actually believe they are legit. I have a cold fusion reactor I can sell you.

 

[pillar406]

Not with LFP nor sodium-ion batteries (which I predict will be the next boom). Cheap. No child labor. No expensive Nickel.

Solid State batteries are fake news. I can't believe folks actually believe they are legit. I have a cold fusion reactor I can sell you.

I'm not saying that they are ever going to materialize, but that will honestly be the only way that EVs will every truly catch on. I don't want to go on a road trip and have to sit at one place to charge for an hour. I would only want enough time to fuel up, go to the bathroom and maybe grab a snack. Until we get to that point it's not going to work for everyone to have an EV

 

[F-Spot]

I'm not saying that they are ever going to materialize, but that will honestly be the only way that EVs will every truly catch on. I don't want to go on a road trip and have to sit at one place to charge for an hour. I would only want enough time to fuel up, go to the bathroom and maybe grab a snack. Until we get to that point it's not going to work for everyone to have an EV

That is already a reality...maybe not in your area, but it is a reality. I have an EV, but I'm no EV preacher. EVs simplify vehicle ownership and expenses for some people and will make absolutely no sense for other people's situations. No one should be forced to buy an EV, and EV's are not stupid. If you like it and it works for your situation...great! If you don't like and it doesn't work for your situation...that's fine, its not for everyone.

 

[Cav427]

I prefer the way ICE engines sound and smell, although EV's might have sound and smell options in the future.

 

[F-Spot]

I prefer the way ICE engines sound and smell, although EV's might have sound and smell options in the future.

I completely agree with you on the sound and smell for ICE

 

[MannyG20]

Squatch!!!! get out of your echo chamber and educate yourself about the advantages of an electric motor vs an ice motor......

I am not talking about emissions or saving the planet or any of that which is an obvious hot button issue with you.....

I am talking about torque... instant torque! I am talking about opportunities to completely eliminate CVs and other weak points in a current 4x4.

I would not buy one right now. They are way too early in their product life cycle. Way too early in development. Batteries weigh way too much for off roading. BUT.... try a hydrogen fuel cell driving some capacitors with a small bank of batteries you should be able to get the weight down below current ice! Place the motors in the wheels like Rivian is doing, now you have no drive line issues to deal with.

I used to do complete frame off rebuilds on the original hybrids from the 40s and 50s; locomotives. Far Far superior to an Ice motor. It will take 20 years probably.... But it is coming. These electrics will blow the doors off what we have now. Lot of things need to happen, but they will.

I hate to weigh in on things I know nothing about but here goes……
You’re both right. You’re right in the advantages that EVs have over ICE but @Squatch is right about the current state of EVs and the continual empty promises of tech gurus. Will the tech eventually get there? Yes. But stop promising us breakthroughs tomorrow that conceivably won’t happen for 10+ years.

 

[Cav427]

I hate to weigh in on things I know nothing about but here goes……
You’re both right. You’re right in the advantages that EVs have over ICE but @Squatch is right about the current state of EVs and the continual empty promises of tech gurus. Will the tech eventually get there? Yes. But stop promising us breakthroughs tomorrow that conceivably won’t happen for 10+ years.

EV Batteries are like nuclear fusion, they have been promising a working fusion reactor 10 years from now since the 1950's. We're still waiting. Not trying to beat up on EV's or their owners, they are great for daily commutes. For all around needs, ICE is far better. The issue with EV's even with better batteries will be charging. To replace only 10 percent of cars on the road in the US we will need the energy from 1,000 nuclear reactors. I doubt that will happen any time soon.

 

[Hossfire]

Here are my counter points to EVs. Set aside the carbon-intensive Li-ion technology manufacturing and shipping. and just focus on the decarbonization benefits and total-cost-of-ownership economics. The picture isn't so rosy.

I track a lot of the electrification technologies. While there is promising research on next gen batteries, you will know it's real when Elon Musk tells you the next Tesla model refresh will incorporate them. Doing stuff in labs is not full product commercialization with production-scale economics, product safety and durability dialed in.

My employer has been working an iron-air vendor for several years on long duration energy storage. While this tech has great promises, the round-trip efficiencies are much lower than Li-ion.

Other thing to consider:

• Grid decarbonization has hit a brick wall, despite increasing levels of renewables. Electrical consumption by data centers is the biggest driver. Also, the environmental lobby's war on natural gas has kept coal plants running longer and increased dependency on fuel oil during peak demand hours.
• Power prices over the long run are rising much faster than gasoline/diesel prices. That's because of all of the 'hidden' costs of renewables:
  • Investments in the grid to handle a more variable/ less predictable energy generation profile.
  • Investments in battery storage to shift power output from the high renewable output times of day to the hours when customers use it.
  • Payments to fossil fuel and nuclear generators to keep them running in an environment where wholesale power prices are permanently depressed by renewables.
  • States that require their utilities to buy renewable energy sign long term contracts at prices far higher than market rates.

These are big headwinds to electric vehicle acceptance. The cost of the batteries will go down, and vehicle maintenance should be cheaper, but the fuel cost advantage isn't going to be there.

Also, look at Norway. Very high electric vehicle sales. Carbon emissions are not going down. Why? Families in Norway (like much of Europe) have two cars: one is a little fuel-efficient car to commute and make errands around town. The other vehicle (small by US standards) is a larger vehicle use for family vacations. Guess which vehicle the EVs are replacing? Yep, the 'around-town' car that was already really efficient and while used often, total annual milage was pretty low.

 

[voxel]

Here are my counter points to EVs. Set aside the carbon-intensive Li-ion technology manufacturing and shipping. and just focus on the decarbonization benefits and total-cost-of-ownership economics. The picture isn't so rosy.

I track a lot of the electrification technologies. While there is promising research on next gen batteries, you will know it's real when Elon Musk tells you the next Tesla model refresh will incorporate them. Doing stuff in labs is not full product commercialization with production-scale economics, product safety and durability dialed in.

My employer has been working an iron-air vendor for several years on long duration energy storage. While this tech has great promises, the round-trip efficiencies are much lower than Li-ion.

Other thing to consider:

• Grid decarbonization has hit a brick wall, despite increasing levels of renewables. Electrical consumption by data centers is the biggest driver. Also, the environmental lobby's war on natural gas has kept coal plants running longer and increased dependency on fuel oil during peak demand hours.
• Power prices over the long run are rising much faster than gasoline/diesel prices. That's because of all of the 'hidden' costs of renewables:
  • Investments in the grid to handle a more variable/ less predictable energy generation profile.
  • Investments in battery storage to shift power output from the high renewable output times of day to the hours when customers use it.
  • Payments to fossil fuel and nuclear generators to keep them running in an environment where wholesale power prices are permanently depressed by renewables.
  • States that require their utilities to buy renewable energy sign long term contracts at prices far higher than market rates.

These are big headwinds to electric vehicle acceptance. The cost of the batteries will go down, and vehicle maintenance should be cheaper, but the fuel cost advantage isn't going to be there.

Also, look at Norway. Very high electric vehicle sales. Carbon emissions are not going down. Why? Families in Norway (like much of Europe) have two cars: one is a little fuel-efficient car to commute and make errands around town. The other vehicle (small by US standards) is a larger vehicle use for family vacations. Guess which vehicle the EVs are replacing? Yep, the 'around-town' car that was already really efficient and while used often, total annual milage was pretty low.

Right tool for the right job. In stop in go traffic - EVs are unbeatable for efficiency which is why all delivery vans - Amazon and Walmart - are becoming EVs. Long-haul transport it makes sense for combustion because of energy density of gasoline/diesel. As for hydrogen fuel cell... lololol. I don't know where to begin except to say you can't cheat physics and Elon also thinks it's a joke.

As for gas prices falling... that is to be expected since peak global gas car sales and peak global gas usage was in 2018/2019 and declining since China has moved to EVs.

 

[G1D1UP]

Would still like to drive an AI generated, EV concept Bronco.

 

[SierraBronco]

Is this a quote from Clarkson?

 

[zoober]

EVs have two large hurdles before they are mainstream. Charging networks, and the power to feed said network. The competition for electricity is growing fast. I hear about it daily regarding XAI in Memphis.
Car companies just don’t have the pockets to compete for power with the growing chip and AI requirements. Renewables do not generate near enough to fill the void.

 

[OrangeBronco22]

I am not sure this in unbiased group to be debating EV versus ICE. For 1 the number of folks referencing Elon is misguided. Elon didn’t invent anything he just implemented and marketed it. Second, yes we have an infrastructure problem with EVs, but there is a clear group that is holding that progress behind (not opening this to politics). Third, for all those who quoting ICE engines as great they were 30% efficient in the 1950s and are ALMOST 50% efficient 75 yrs later (that ain’t great progress). EVs are in there infancy but the progress being made now is much faster than the progress of the ICE over the last 75 yrs.

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