HONDA Civic conversion - Reverse Motor Direction?

[lenapralos]

It seems like one of the best car conversions to do in the United States is the Honda Civic.  Reasons being that it is: one of the most common cars here, most reliable, light weight, low drag coefficient, and is pretty good in a crash.  As to whether or not the crash thing holds up with 1000lbs of batteries I don't know.

But, I'm surprised that the Geo Metro has so many more people selling adaptor plates and kits for it online.  Does this have something to do with what I heard about how Honda engines actually rotate in the opposite direction from all the other brands?  And how you are supposed to wire the motor different(opposite) or even tell the manufacturer to modify the motor slightly before it comes from the plant? 

I read somewhere that ADC motors spin more efficiently in the "normal" direction, but would like to know if anyone here knows whether or not this is absolute bogus...

John

p.s.  Does anyone know if anyone besides Electro Automotive sells adaptor plates for Honda's?  And or if they ship their orders faster than they did last year....

[Stew-2]

I remember hearing that about Honda engines also. My wifes 2000 Acura Integra has the transaxle on the opposite side of my 2004 Hyundai Accent, so without going out and actually starting both cars up and looking, that sounds right.

Drawing on my years of electric RC experience in my younger days, yes DC motors are timed to run in one direction. Well, RC motors anyway. And the more expensive ones are adjustable, you can rotate the endbell to change the orientation between the brushes and magnets.

This may not apply to the motors used for EV conversions, are there timing specs listed anywhere? Is their timing adjustable? If they were adjustable you would have to know what, if any, timing you're starting at in order to know how to time it for reverse rotation efficiency.

Stew.

[madderscience]

most EV-sized series wound DC motors can be tuned to work efficiently in either direction.  There are probably a few out there that cannot, so best bet is to not worry about it until you have identified a particular make and model of motor, then ask about it on these forums or the EVDL, etc.  BEFORE putting down money.

Geos are common conversions because they are small and very lightweight, and good aerodynamically.  The smaller, lighter, and more aero, the better.  Assuming you are talking about a modern Honda Civic, those are more aptly described as a midsize sedan rather than a small car these days, though an older one might be a good candidate.   Two honda models that I did research when I was looking for my conversion chassis (I settled on a 1985 toyota MR2) would be the 1989-1991 honda CRX and the 1992-1995 civic hatchback, and either of these, particularly the CRX, would be an excellent choice from a weight and aerodynamics perspective.  I did not investigate battery carrying capacity.

[ev-supply]

I know that changing the advance from CCW to CW on a WarP 9" is pretty easy.  I would imagine that it is similar on an Advanced DC 9", but I am not certain if the Advanced DC 9" motors ship CCW advanced by default, as the WarP 9" motors do.