Electrifying your MX5 - would you?

[Igor]

Hi,

Short: would you turn your MX-5 to electric? If yes, what would you think would be an acceptable price for doing so? Maybe a "regular" and "sport" versions (regarding torque, batteries, transmission etc).

Long(er): I went on a road trip last summer and made over 5K miles of off-motorway driving in my '98 NB (drove like a charm, fuel usage about 6.7 l/100 km ~ 42 mpg (UK gallon). I saw more then a few electric cars along the way (don't like design of most of them, except notable expensive exceptions) and wondered would I like my NB electric, and at what cost. Normally, I use it on a daily basis, short distances, refill from from the last fuel gauge mark to full (around 40-42 litres) on average 2 times a month (sometimes more if I do any longer trips) for between 230 - 300 miles range (depends a lot on city/motorway and what mood I'm in) so nothing that electrics today can't handle.

There's so much talk about allowing only electric cars to be sold/allowed in some cities in 10 years time or so (I don't want to get into the "pollution relocation" discussion though). I like the way NA and NB look, not crazy about NC, ND is veeery nice but too new to pull the engine out of it but would like to see my NB around for longer.

[leamyj]

Hi Igor, yeah, it's a thing I've often fantasised about as I have a very short commute to work. There are a few videos on youtube of guys who have done it, but from what I recall the weight of the batteries is a big issue, as with all EV conversions. if you type" mx5 ev conversion" into youtube you'll get some ideas.

John

[Igor]

Thanks for the tip! Yeah, that's one of the issues I'd expect but something that's bound to be solved sooner or later. I was wondering would people even consider that and drop the engine sound etc.

On the sporty side of things, the instant torque would make it a small rocket. Of course, if it doesn't get too heavy. I'll look around what other came across.

[andrew]

No way.

One of the best things about these cars is the low weight. A heap of batteries would ruin it. Just buy a Zoe. You would also loose the engine sound and get a annoying whine. Tesla did a ev Elise as their first car. You don't see any on the track. A pointless car.

Ev in a cheap and cheerful hatchback is great for people with regular commutes and a ice car for longer runs.

Just convert to lpg!

[Steve]

Have thought about it and looked into pricing/build plans in the past (using various motors), as said the biggest hurdle is the price and weight of the batteries you'd need. You could space them around the car a bit if you didn't need storage room but the wiring would be massive.