Like many, Michael dewest dreams of owning an electric car but is delayed by high prices.
Unlike most people, DeVuyst decided to master things by converting gas
An all-electric car
He started at the age of 18.
Seven years later, after hundreds of hours of repairs, DeVuyst became a proud owner of a street this summer --
Mazda Miata MX-1990, all-electric, legal
5 can be redeemed with the official (green number) granted to the owner of the electric or hybrid plug
Vehicles in Quebec.
DeVuyst, 25, said: "When the hood was open, the passing people (who saw a battery shelf and the engine was supposed to be there) said: 'This doesn't look like it should be. He recently found a job at Lockheed Martin in Montreal. million-
Three US dollar commercial jet engines-
One year degree in aviation maintenance.
"Then they said, 'Wow, 'and 'good job. ’ It’s nice.
I'm proud that I'm finally done, "he said at his home in Green Park on Friday.
"It doesn't have a spectacular range, but the upgrade is coming and I look forward to embracing the future of the car.
As the City kicks off from the Formula One electric car race this weekend, the peak of electric cars --
Car technology funded by the huge budget of f1 and its global sponsors, DeVuyst is an example of the other end of e-commerce
Limited budget car revolution spectrum, a small family garage and a tank-
Full of passion and determination, can do.
In 2010 he came up with the idea as a high school graduate living in Virginia, near Washington. C.
While watching the documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car", the documentary recorded the rise and fall of the American electric car in 1990.
The only all-electric lithium
Ion-powered cars were on the market for $110,000. S.
Tesla sports car.
DeVuyst chose a used Miata for less than $3,000 and quickly removed the engine.
It turned out to be a premature decision because soon after he moved to the Montreal area to live with his father and go to school.
He had to drag 1,000 kilometers in the trailer.
DeVuyst had little print information but turned to YouTube videos and converted online pictures to show him this way.
He originally wanted lithium.
Laptops and ion batteries for mass use
He made electric cars but couldn't afford $10,000 so he chose 10 leading cars
Acid batteries like gasoline-
Electric cars, weighing 43 pounds, cost $3,000 a car.
He found an electric motor called Warp Impulse 9 online for $1,800, and he suspected that the motor's name had been affected by Star Trek.
Most of the parts were found online in the United States. S.
He ended up stacking most of the batteries that the engine used to be in and the rest of the batteries that the tank used to be in.
The hardest part is the modulation of a metal adapter board (with the help of metal workers) and other modifications in order to connect the new DC motor to the existing transmission.
Then there is the wiring and a series of safety measures required by the Quebec government, including automatic cut-off
So he can't drive away when the car is plugged in.
In addition to satisfaction with success, the main positive factor is cost savings and the use of clean energy, DeVuyst said.
This car can be in the normal 120-
After about five hours, the price of the voltage socket is about $2, similar to the price of two dryers.
While his top speed is kept at 110 km/h, his acceleration has become "mind --
Because the new motor provides direct power to the wheel, the effect is better.
The conversion cost of the material is close to $10,000.
However, his range is only 35 kilometers, which means he can only work or shop close.
It runs in the winter (an electric heater is installed to replace the previous radiator system), but he thinks the cold temperature has reduced his range by 20.
As far as he knows, this is the only modified Miata in Canada.
DeVuyst estimates the price of lithium-
In the next year or two, the ion battery pack will drop to about $5,000, when he plans to upgrade and expand the range to 300.
He started a GoFund me page () to help support his future projects and to enlist support for the technology he deeply felt.
He said the ePrix series this weekend has done a lot of work to push the sport forward.
"It helps people to accept the idea that electric cars are not something as slow and slow as golf carts," he said . ".
"It's great and informative.
I think it will help people switch and change and help them not to think of electric cars as electric cars, but to think of electric cars as another way of charging, not gasoline.
Like the quiet but fast Cherry of DeVuyst
Red, Electric Mazda Miata.
For more examples of DeVuyst conversions, see an example of how a person converts a gas