Convert Car to Electric - Is it Right for You?

Posted by Timothy Staylor on September 30, 2008

How are oil prices affecting you these days? with the latest rise in oil prices, it seems like the price fluctuations will never end. We never know if it will go up one day or down the next day. However, with this last price fluctuation, we were not affected at all because we recently made the decision to convert our vehicle to an electric car.

We have just completed converting our car to an electric powered car. The old days of being totally influenced by the price of gas are gone. You may be just where we were. We wanted to convert our car but we were not sure if it would even work.

To answer this question, we went out and did some research on electric car conversion. We wanted to know if electric car conversions work, the cost expected to complete a conversion, and how to even get started. We aren’t mechanics, but we dabble a little in home improvement projects. So, we wanted to know if we really could be successful since we have very little automotive experience.

To perform a conversion, the options are either to hire a professional or to do it yourself. Hiring a professional can be relatively expensive compared to the cost of performing it yourself. As the demand rises for electric cars due to high oil prices, then the cost to hire a professional will continually climb as well. If you are interested in performing the work yourself, then there are systems available that can assist you to complete your conversion for less than $500. This is equivalent to the monthly cost of gas in many families today.

The conversion process was easier than we initially thought. We had the right tools and equipment in place thanks to the help that we received. The guides available really help to take a beginner through the process step by step. The whole electric car conversion process can be performed in a timely manner depending on your knowledge level.

To build an electric car, it only requires that you replace your current engine that runs on gas and replace it with an electric motor. Rechargeable batteries are used to power this electric motor. Your motors and batteries will play a big role in your vehicle performance. They will simply determine the distance you will be able to travel before you need a recharge.

Using an electric car how to guide will assist in taking a beginner go from start to finish. Guides that provide complete instructions with pictures and diagrams are the best to get started with. A well written guide will also have resources available to you to show you were you can get your tools and parts for very affordable prices.

Electric car conversion is a definitely an option to eliminate the money you pay at the pump. It has helped to remove our dependency on oil as our primary vehicle fuel source. We are able to pass by the gas station and not blink one eye when we see the daily price of gas.