Weight Reduction Improves Regen?

[cashcow]

Hi Guys,

Since Regen looks to be on a preset setting I'd guess that weight reduction on the RAV4 EV would cause it to stop quicker through regen? Doing the opposite (more weight) would cause the rav4 ev to stop later with regen use only? Regen seems to be preset to X level @ X speed value on Odo + some extra regen based on Brake Depression + Speed Value on Odo (That's why you see extra bars gained @ speed when you depressed the brake pedal). Has anyone driven the rav4 ev fully stripped and seen if it was anything noticeable? About how many pounds of weight would a fully stripped rav4 ev weigh? Any estimates? I'd guess the rear bench and passenger seats would be the heaviest things that'd be removed? Trims? Not as much I'd think. Any guesses?

 

[TonyWilliams]

Perhaps the smartest weight reduction is the wheels.

There is lots of things you could remove to lighten the car. Swap the heavy 12 volt lead-acid for a small, lightweight lithium one.

Replace the thicker EV windshield with a conventional RAV4 windshield.

There's a large, clunky piece of metal on the bottom of the motor assembly that you could remove.

 

[jimbo69ny]

Ive been wanting to replace the wheels with lighter versions. I think lowering the unsprung weight would help a lot but I havent heard of anyone doing this and confirming.

 

[cashcow]

Perhaps the smartest weight reduction is the wheels.

There is lots of things you could remove to lighten the car. Swap the heavy 12 volt lead-acid for a small, lightweight lithium one.

Replace the thicker EV windshield with a conventional RAV4 windshield.

There's a large, clunky piece of metal on the bottom of the motor assembly that you could remove.

Hi Tony!

I did not know our EV windshield was thicker than the regular ravs. That makes me feel special :lol: . Speaking about Wheels aluminium or magnesium seem to be the lightest picks out there for weight reduction. I believe our rav4 ev has steel wheels? I never actually checked, but I think I saw it mentioned at the forums. There does seem some concern on mag wheels being more susceptible to damage or bending when driven aggressively and magnesium sounded more delicate.

Another thing about wheels is that would we want thicker or thinner? Thinner from what I recall would be better for range while thicker would be nicer for 0 to 60 acceleration. Also less grip = longer stopping distance? Grip being affected by the width of the wheel and wouldn't whole wheel tire fairing help a wider wheel deal better with the drag co calculations?

I personally hate that I can't floor the pedal to the floor with out loosing all grip on the road

anyway if we are taking drag co the biggest gains like you said is in a full size boat tail for the rav4 ev which I kind of want to try out. I've seen some card board models @ eco modder which look nice. Maybe plasti-dip the tail for a nicer finish and to make it rain proof....

As for the lead acid battery I got an AGM from pepboys I did not know you could make your own lithium ion 12 v for the car. If this one was lighter I think I might have gone with that option at the time

Also speaking about getting things from the other ravs of the same generation... what stuff can we get? I think phil got the power seats installed in his rav... I also I think I read that the sport or L version had heated side mirrors? And there was a thread before talking about the the rav4 sport having a thicker sway bar than what we got

http://www.myrav4ev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=671

what do you think on that?

 

[laguna_b]

Perhaps the smartest weight reduction is the wheels.

There is lots of things you could remove to lighten the car. Swap the heavy 12 volt lead-acid for a small, lightweight lithium one.

Replace the thicker EV windshield with a conventional RAV4 windshield.

There's a large, clunky piece of metal on the bottom of the motor assembly that you could remove.

Hi Tony!

I did not know our EV windshield was thicker than the regular ravs. That makes me feel special :lol: . Speaking about Wheels aluminium or magnesium seem to be the lightest picks out there for weight reduction. I believe our rav4 ev has steel wheels? I never actually checked, but I think I saw it mentioned at the forums. There does seem some concern on mag wheels being more susceptible to damage or bending when driven aggressively and magnesium sounded more delicate.

Another thing about wheels is that would we want thicker or thinner? Thinner from what I recall would be better for range while thicker would be nicer for 0 to 60 acceleration. Also less grip = longer stopping distance? Grip being affected by the width of the wheel and wouldn't whole wheel tire fairing help a wider wheel deal better with the drag co calculations?

I personally hate that I can't floor the pedal to the floor with out loosing all grip on the road

anyway if we are taking drag co the biggest gains like you said is in a full size boat tail for the rav4 ev which I kind of want to try out. I've seen some card board models @ eco modder which look nice. Maybe plasti-dip the tail for a nicer finish and to make it rain proof....

As for the lead acid battery I got an AGM from pepboys I did not know you could make your own lithium ion 12 v for the car. If this one was lighter I think I might have gone with that option at the time

Also speaking about getting things from the other ravs of the same generation... what stuff can we get? I think phil got the power seats installed in his rav... I also I think I read that the sport or L version had heated side mirrors? And there was a thread before talking about the the rav4 sport having a thicker sway bar than what we got

http://www.myrav4ev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=671

what do you think on that?

The curb weight of the vehicle is ~4000lbs. It seems to me that you would have to reduce that by 10% (400lbs) have any significant impact. I know when I complained I had no spare tire or jack, Toyota told me it was to reduce weight. I bought a spare wheel and jack because getting stuck and having to wait 90+ minutes to be towed to a dealer for another 2-3 hour wait seemed like a bad idea. (assuming they are open)

The hood seems like a good candidate for weight reduction. I saw carbon fiber ones for sale for like $600 but not sure if they made them for the 2012 style RAV4. In the end, I think it would be really hard to justify costs for a small weight/ range improvement. Tony's Jdemo might be a better idea so you just charge faster.