Hello this looks like a great place to find some info on building the next generation car. we have a company Spirit Industries that builds cars. We are the manufacture and use gas powered engines. I would like to try something in ether electric or hybrid. what we realy know best is how to build the platform and make whatever drive train we want work in it. I sure would like to hang here for a while and get some of your experienced input. This looks like a great site. Thanks to the web master and the host.
Thanks for the help
[QUOTE=Sunking;7088]You will get a lot more responses here where they have members[/QUOTE]
While DIY Electric Car Forums - Electric Vehicle Build and Conversion Community is a great place and has been a great amount of help to many - there are also other sites for inspiration - like www.evalbum.com - which shows largely EV Conversions - but since you are building from start -you could build a better package with a little bit of knowledge and planning.
You would be up against the big boys and also the new boutique EV Maker - Tesla Motors, but you also could learn from them too!
Study the Chevy Volt, Nissan LEAF, and Mitsubishi iMiEV, as well as the new Prius PHV - and you will get some good reference points as to if you want to go Electric, or Hybrid.
As to Batteries - I think Tesla Motors have the most Advance, and most Energy Efficient Packs out there, but if you want to just get started - I would suggest a bit of battery research - and can refer you to my own websites - whitepapers at www.myelectricfly.com - and an large number of source and help links can also be found at www.evsociety.ca
If you want to go the route of Tesla for Batteries - I can say that when they started building the first Roadster - it was hard to get a cell - the 18650 type - with a higher capacity that about 1.8 - 2.4 Ah, and now they are generally available on the internet in sizes of 2.9 - 3.1 Ah and even up to 3.4 Ah per cell at 3.7V. There are plans to be making Cells of this size - that will be slightly heavier than the usual 45 -46 Grams - but with up to 4.0 Ah - by Panasonic, starting I think in production sometime late this year to Mid 2013 - or maybe a bit later.
Also keep an Eye on [B]Envia Systems new 400 Wh/Kg Cells[/B]! - about 4X better than the Best LiFePO4 Cells I have found at www.evassemble.com which are about 105 Wh/Kg - but still quite good cells and used in high performance EV Conversions like a BMW or a [B]Rebirth Auto Porsche 911[/B]!