05-17-2011 - Nice write-up on us at All Cars Electric

http://www.allcarselectric.com/blog/1059992_tesla-fun-for-think-prices-the-ev-mazda-miata-conversion#comments-area

05-16-2011 Meet us at the Maker Faire

We're excited to say we'll be at the Maker Faire in San Mateo again this year.  This is always a great event full of fascinating creations, inventions and things that shoot flames. We had a great time last time we exhibited there and look forward to another great event. If you are in the Bay Area this weekend, try to make it out - you won't be disappointed.

04-21-2011 Re-designed Web Site is LIVE!

We've redesigned the EVMiata.com web site to make it better looking and more functional. We made the home page flashier and with a digital newspaper feel. We added more details and images to the components pages and numerous improvements throughout.
We also added the ability to buy the Install Guide in advance of buying a kit. Now you can have a thorough understanding of what it takes to build an EV Miata kit before you even buy one! Plus the cost of the Install Guide is fully discountable from the purchase price of the EV Miata kit - what have you got to lose?
And that's not all, we also added the ability to download Chapter 2 of our Install Guide - Choosing a Donor Vehicle and Selling the Engine - for FREE! We don't even make you fill out one of those annoying forms - you click the button, it downloads.
So check out our new site and let us know what you think - > www.evmiata.com

04-05-2011 Luscious Garage offers conversion services for the EV Miata kit.

If you’ve been thinking about an electric Miata, but don’t want to tackle the conversion project yourself, Luscious Garage in San Francisco will do the work for you. Carolyn Coquillette, the owner of Luscious Garage, is a great proponent of electric vehicles and Luscious Garage has made a name for itself by specializing in hybrid repairs and plug in conversions, and hosting the Golden Gate Electric Vehicle Association. You provide the car, EV Miata kit and conversion components, and LG will do all the work. You simply pick up the keys and drive off in your clean, efficient electric sports car. And the introductory price for this service? A very reasonable $5,000. For more information, email contact@lusciousgarage.com

04-05-2011 New kit is ready to go!

Testing is complete and we are taking orders for the redesigned EV Miata kit. The redesign allows for a choice of controllers and chargers providing you more freedom to select the components that match your needs. The new Controller/Charger bracket will accommodate components up to 10.75” wide. 28.75” long and 6” tall. This bracket allows you to use your choice of DC controllers such as a Curtis 1231C, Zilla1K, WarP Drive and many others. Larger controllers, such as Evnetics Soliton1 or the mighty Zilla 2K, can also be accommodated by relocating the charger to the trunk.

This redesign is a big step forward for us, but not the final step. Our next redesign focuses on the  motor mount. The planned redesign of the motor mount will allow for a choice of motors to be used - DC or AC.

Stay tuned for updates on our progress.

01-09-2011 Let the testing begin!

The updates to the car are finally completed and we are pleased to say we are back on the road.

It seemed like a small project to swap the high voltage enclosure (top right in the picture) with the controller (bottom right), drop the nose rack down 2", and redesign the bracket for the charger and controller but vacation schedules and vendor issues got the better of us.

We'll be testing out the changes over the next month or so, while we update the install guide and the technical drawings used in fabrication. 

The new design will allow a number of different charger/controller combinations to be used with the WarP 9" DC motor.

12-10-2010 Sneak peek on the redesign...

Those of you who get our newsletter know that we are in the midst of a small redesign. We are moving the High Voltage Enclosure (the gray plastic box that hides the contactor, shunt, fuse and relay) to the driver side of the Top Rack and moving the controller beside the charger. Our goal is to create enough usable space above the front battery rack so that most any controller along with a reasonably sized charger could fit, while maintaining or improving the room for Lithium batteries in the rack. As you can see in the picture, the redesign uses two rails - one just in front of the Top Rack and one just inside the front crossmember. Brackets go between these two rails allowing you to mount your choice of components anywhere along the rails.


Here is a shot of the Zivan charger beside a mock up of a Warp-Drive controller (from our friends at EV-Source). As you can see, there is room to spare for this configuration.

We hope to have the car on the road soon to test these changes in real-world conditions.

We'll keep you updated.