You have made it to the build page of Luxi! The TESLA POWERED HILUX!
This is A build list and guide to how I Built Luxi. Hopefully, this is useful for future EV BUILDERS!
Parts list:
Tesla SDU motor from a Model S Tesla
Custom De-Dion axle
Tesla Model S GEN 2 10KW charger
Tesla Model S GEN 2 DC-DC
BMW I3 33Kwh battery pack
Dilithium BMS
Contactor’s
EV Controls T2C
Tesla water pump
Smart car PreCharge resistor
Tesla Model 3 rear hubs (5 on 4.5” pattern)
Tesla Model 3 and S axles
Lots of wire
Lots of relays
From this list, I will cover more details on these parts and how they work below.
Tesla Model S SDU motor
These motors can be found all over eBay for a decent price. Just search for “TESLA MODEL S SDU”. Usually priced from 1500.00 to 4500.00
2. Custom De-Dion axle
This was a custom-made axle with 3” X .250” wall tubing. It has custom-made mount plates to hold the Tesla Model 3 hubs in. The tubing ends are 6” x .250” wall tube. Needless to say, it’s beefy!
This charger is awesome! It will charge at 10Kw max and will challenge any breaker to a duel.
These can be found on eBay for around 400 to 500 bucks or so.
Here are some links on how to use one of these. They require a logic board replacement from EV BMW, here is the link https://www.evbmw.com/index.php/evbmw-webshop/tesla-boards/tesla-gen-2-charger-logic-board-kit
And here is some information on how to set these boards up.
https://openinverter.org/wiki/Tesla_Model_S/X_GEN2_Charger
3. Tesla Model S 10Kw charger
4. Tesla Model S GEN 2 DC-DC
These are pretty easy to deal with… Add 12v positive and negative plus a 12V positive to the ENABLE wire. As for the 400v side, I found info here about how to set one of these up…
https://openinverter.org/wiki/Tesla_Model_S/X_DC/DC_Converter
You can usually find these on eBay for about 300 bucks.
5. BMW I3 33Kwh Battery pack
This battery pack can deliver a punch! I have seen current from this pack around 650amps. These cells are rated at about 400 amps from the factory so I suppose they have a little extra in them.
You can find these on eBay for around 3000 bucks on up.
Here is some more info on the cells inside these packs.
https://pushevs.com/2018/04/05/samsung-sdi-94-ah-battery-cell-full-specifications/
6. Dilithium BMS
These BMSs are great for cell voltage monitoring. Here is a video on how I set one of these up on the BMW I3 battery pack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrOVquOgY70
These can be found at several shops online. Just search “Dilithium BMS”
Also, note that you can use the BMS in the battery itself with a CANBUS controller from SimpBMS. Here is a link for that.
https://www.secondlife-evbatteries.com/products/simp-bms
These can run around 1000 bucks since the 400v 96s battery pack needs one master and 3 satellites to work.
7. Contactor’s
These are the things taking massive current while I am smiling ear to ear accelerating to light speed. I replaced the stock BMW I3 contactor’s because I needed more ampacity ability. The stock contactor’s would have melted. I used Economized contactor’s as required by the T2C system. I explain what that means here in this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCf40t2870M&t=1s
They can be found in many online stores. Just search “ev contactor economized” Usually about 120 bucks.
Also, you will need a fuse for this. I ended up with a 600 amp 400-volt slow burn fuse.