AWD drivetrain from a JDM I.C.E. i

jray3 · Feb 9, 2012

I know that the petrol-powered i (I.C.E.= infernal combustion engine) is available as AWD in Japan, but haven't found any photos of the running gear. What I'm wondering, of course, is whether the front driveline could be transplanted to an iMiev and turned by a series DC motor on a second controller, and likely a second battery pack, which could remain dormant during commuter use without terrible parasitic drag, but really tear up the pavement for weekend racing.

(The second battery pack would most likely be LiPO cells in a suitcase that could be quickly removed from the car.) Leaving it connected when not racing very well may offer effective range extension, and would certainly offset the extra weight and parasitic drag. (Though range would be extended, efficiency would suffer.)

FiddlerJohn · Feb 9, 2012

jray3 said:
I know that the petrol-powered i (I.C.E.= infernal combustion engine) is available as AWD in Japan...whether the front driveline could be transplanted to an iMiev

Instead of using the I.C.E. (inferior combustion engine) drive train, we might use the MIEV (Mitsubishi In-wheel motor Electric Vehicle) drive train.

http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com/corporate/about_us/technology/environment/e/miev.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIEV

The Mitsubishi i is the first MiEV where the "i" in MiEV stood for "innovative", as it eschews the in-wheel motors in favor of a more conventional array of batteries, motor and inverter to replace the rear engine and fuel tank of the conventional car.

jray3 · Feb 9, 2012

I'd be pleasantly surprised if that prototype wheel motor was actually obtanium. There's a lot of reasons that wheel motors haven't actually made it onto a production car since around the time Ferdinand Porsche drove 'em during WWI.
Unsprung weight, bearing seals, vibration issues, constant flexing of a copper cable, cost of multiple complex motors vs a single simpler one, etc. etc... I think that highway-duty electric wheel motors will remain a pipe dream for years, but would love to see that nut cracked. I mentioned the AWD front axle and a series motor/controller because those are all off-the-shelf parts that are well-proven and reasonably priced. Just depends on how the iMiEV real estate up front compares to the AWD JDM i.

jray3 · Nov 25, 2013

I just did another search, and have no clue on where to find photos, let alone specs or availability and pricing on a an AWD JDM i front axle (salvage is good). Putting a series-wound dc motor up front with a sprag clutch could make our cars quite the red-light rocket.
Anybody good at navigating the Japanese web? :?

jray3 · Sep 15, 2015

Now that non-salvage i-MiEV prices are getting down into play-toy territory, I'd love to get serious about hot-rodding an i-MiEV with the front axle from a JDM AWD i-MiEV (adding dc series motor torque up front). Anybody got a clue about sourcing JDM salvage parts? My web searches have been unproductive.

PV1 · Sep 15, 2015

I was just thinking about this the other day. Looking under the car, adding the front transaxle would be tough, as the AC Compressor looks like it's in the road.

jray3 · Sep 15, 2015

PV1 said:
I was just thinking about this the other day. Looking under the car, adding the front transaxle would be tough, as the AC Compressor looks like it's in the road.

What self-respecting hot rod has air conditioning! (Would have to be careful if retaining CHAdeMO after deleting A/C, though).

Ben Nelson is ready to part ways with his flooded Raspberry. That would be a great donor to do a standard series-motored conversion with, resulting in a tire-burning i-MiEV, but no regen. The stock gearbox wouldn't be ideal, but going direct-drive with the motor bolted to the pumpkin of a differential shouldn't be too challenging. Even the funky De dion rear suspension could likely be retained, given the way it curves around the gearbox... OF course, direct-drive with one motor on each stub axle could be even more exciting, as the Tropic demonstrated, in its anemic way...

PV1 · Sep 15, 2015

Just making that known, as some have had issues with the car even achieving READY without the AC functional

. But, if you're doing away with the stock powertrain, then it can go.

I was under the assumption you have a separate electric drive system on the front wheels, but leaving the i-MiEV otherwise stock for RWD.

jray3 · Sep 16, 2015

PV1 said:
Just making that known, as some have had issues with the car even achieving READY without the AC functional . But, if you're doing away with the stock powertrain, then it can go.

I was under the assumption you have a separate electric drive system on the front wheels, but leaving the i-MiEV otherwise stock for RWD.

You're correct- I'd prefer to have a stock drivetrain with front axle augmentation. If I didn't already have a conversion project, a 'sleeper MiEV' with a torquey DC rear drive would be a very tempting project... Thanks for the clue- who'da thunk that the air conditioner was such a critical system as to prevent the car from driving! :roll:

Don · Sep 16, 2015

I think you'd have better luck modifying a JDM car as opposed to a North American car, which was designed from the ground up NOT to be AWD

Don

jray3 · Sep 16, 2015

Don said:
I think you'd have better luck modifying a JDM car as opposed to a North American car, which was designed from the ground up NOT to be AWD
Don

Indeed- a higher likelihood that the front axles would at least fit! BUT- importation of a JDM car that's less than 25 years old into the US (15 yrs for Canada) seems problematic. At least the AWD JDM i should be cheap in 2030, if there are many remaining... I have parts inquiries out.

PV1 · Sep 16, 2015

I've seen reviews of the ICE i turbo before the i-MiEV was announced. They were driving around LA. Maybe try reaching out to some of the car reviewers to see if they know what happened to them.

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