-[Zack] Okay so you've built this whole thing in your garage, right?
-[Jeremy] Yes.
-And does it move yet?
-Yes, it does.
-Can we try it?
-Let's do it.
[Music]
-So during quarantine some people sit and scroll on their phones...some people bake
bread...but this guy built an entire electric car in his garage. Let's get started.
[Intro]
So in the simplest of terms, how in the world does all of this work?
-So in the simplest of terms, we've got a Tesla motor...an electric motor run by batteries.
Let me show you. So back here we've got the Tesla motor. That's kind of the powertrain
of everything. A lot of horsepower. These are the high voltage cables. That's where
we get our power...power from the battery packs.
-Alright, so we have a Tesla motor, but are we using Tesla battery modules?
-No. No we are not!
-So how does that work?
-So Tesla just needs kind of around 400 volts of battery power. So I'm actually using LG
chem batteries. 12 battery modules. Essentially six in each pack, and I've got two packs.
That gives me roughly 400 volts.
-What did you have to do to make the Tesla motor work?
-Good question. So the Tesla motor would need a controller. And so there are only a few
companies out there that make a controller for the Tesla motor. This is a controller
here, and basically it sends can signals to the motor that kind of tell it how to run.
-So I've been watching a lot of your videos and I think I can point out most of the major
components. So should we see how far I get before...
-Let's do it.
-Okay. Let's see what's up! So, inside of this car we have the front battery pack here
which you said was LG chem batteries, right? And so these batteries...these orange cables
are the high voltage lines and they are running back to the rear battery pack which we'll
get to in a second. This here is the front radiator which has liquid inside that cools
down the batteries. So far, so good? Okay! And then these high voltage lines are going
to come across through the center of the vehicle. You can see the orange tubing right there.
And those high voltage lines come all the way back here to the second battery pack,
which we have a nice little On/Off switch there. And they also provide power to the
rear motor, which I think sums up all the big parts. So tell me about the frame though...because
obviously this frame wasn't designed for the Tesla motor, right?
-That is correct. So this was designed for a Honda Accord drivetrain, so I had to do
a few modifications.
-This goes a little faster than a Honda Accord, right?
-Yes, quite a bit faster.
-And how fast have you taken this so far?
-Probably not above 60. Whatever you can do in a parking lot.
-Okay. Let's talk about the low voltage system for a second because I want to know how that
works.
-So low voltage...this is kind of my center node of everything. I've done this somewhat
old school so everything's kind of based on relays. This is all the things to control
headlights, turn signals, On/Off switch, hazards.
-So where is the 12 volt battery at?
-So that's on the other side.
-So we have the 12 volt battery. So power comes into the car from the wall. Where's
the plug?
-So this is my vehicle charge port.
-This is still a work in progress. Duct tape is just part of the masterpiece.
-Power comes from the wall to the charge port. Right here we've got...this is our on-board
charger, so this converts it from 220 volts to probably 400 volts that can charge the
battery. Other than that you got your DC-to-DC converter. That's about the only other kind
of system.
-And the reason we need a high voltage and low voltage system is because we're not going
to have our headlights and the horn run off of 400 volts. That would be overkill. So we
have two systems, one to run the lower power stuff, and then one to run the motor and where
we need, you know, all of the big power. Speaking of big power, these wheels are insane. Check
this out. So are these from a Honda Accord as well?
-No.
-Are they part of the Tesla system?
-No. So the rotors, the suspension, that's all part of a Tesla system. The wheels are
not. The wheels are just what fit the car. So they are 19 inch rims. 325 30 19.
-So this is the rear battery pack here. Front battery pack over here. And we have one battery
cell...or I guess one battery module right here, and we're going to weigh it and see
how many...how many of these are in the car?
-We have 12 in the car.
-And this weighs....40 pounds! Oh my gosh. So 12 x 40. 480 pounds worth of batteries.
Did you know that?
-Yeah. It all came on one pallet. It was very heavy.
-So even though this whole contraption is much lighter than a Tesla, the batteries still
make up the bulk of the weight because the frame doesn't weigh that much, right?
-No.
-Okay, so you've built this whole thing in your garage, right?
-Yes.
-And does it move yet?
-Yes it does.
-Can we try it?
-Let's do it.
-Okay, sweet. I trust it, duct tape and everything. Let's go.
-Start. So basically that kicks on their 12 volt system which turns on the controller.
The controller turns on the contactors for the high voltage.
-And the engine is revving right now, right?
-We're good to go. The only sound you can hear is essentially the coolant pump.
-This thing is sweet. Alright, let's go. This is so small it's almost like getting in Dan's
Roadster. Alright, so we are missing a couple things, like a windshield. Do you have seat
belts?
[Music]
Alright, I'm ready.
[Music]
-Whoa!
[Music]
So your problem isn't power, your problem is traction.
-Yes.
-You can't stick to the ground long enough to actually get full speed.
-Yes, that is true. So right now we are at about two-thirds power. So we're at about
340 kilowatts. So it can go up to 620. 475. So 620 horsepower.
-Alright, so even though it's cold...what is it? Like 32 degrees? It's like freezing.
Even though it's cold, we're going to try to see how fast we can accelerate and see
what the 0-60 time is. Whoa! The tires are just gone...as soon as it starts spinning.
-That's on me!
-Okay, it's the driver. Round two.
-We hit 60...I don't know how fast...
-Yeah getting out of the seat belt is much easier than getting in it. So like we mentioned
earlier, there are 2 battery packs and they are supplying enough volts to this motor that
it is overdoing it on the power side of things. We are just losing traction with how powerful
this is. Are you ready? [Laughing] Oh my gosh! That's insane. That's incredible. Every time,
huh?
-Well if you want it to, yeah.
-When you use a Tesla motor, what do you get?
-So again, it's kind of the controller. The motor is a motor – very powerful motor.
The controller is kind of what allows you to apply that power. So depending on what
controller you have and what settings you have, that kind of allows you to do kind of
whatever you want.
-That's incredible.
So basically in here we have the Tesla motor, but we have none of the Tesla safety precautions
which makes it a whole lot more fun. How would traction control work if you wanted it, I
guess.
-We would need wheel speed sensors in the front to kind of make sure that it knows when
the back wheels are spinning faster than the front.
-So right now when he peels out, the tires are slipping but the computer has no idea
because there are no sensors where the tires are at. Which for some people would be an
inconvenience...I kind of like it though.
-So the only thing that's kind of glitchy is the gear selector.
-So you have to take off the steering wheel to get out?
-Trust me, it's necessary.
-Is that going to be fixed later on, or is that just how it is forever?
-With this car that's how it is forever. So can you imagine the steering wheel on?
-Right. So now if I take my foot off the brake...
-Put on the gas.
-Rolling backwards a little...ooo wow. Alright! Yes! This is so smooth.
-Yeah.
-It's like...cuz in a normal car you have everything protected and you have..
-Yeah, this is very raw.
-This is like a skeleton, no safety sensors. I mean I have...the steering wheel falls off.
This is sick. This is just like a Roadster. Now that we're both sufficiently frozen, what
is the hardest part of building your own DIY Tesla?
-I would say it's perseverance. I think you've got to really love the build. That's I think
the hardest part.
-Because you started with just a bare metal frame, right?
-Yeah.
-There are so many components. Because you have to think about it...there's the steering,
there's the braking, there's the headlights, taillights, there are so many different parts
to this thing. Are you a normal guy who just decided to do this? Or are you an expert in
vehicles?
-Pretty normal guy. To me, like I said, it's kind of always been a passion of mine to build
a car. So just finally got the guts to do it and I've loved it. So again, it's all part
of the process. You know, if you don't like the build, you're not going to like building.
-And so you wanted to build a car but you didn't want to start with something old school
like a Mustang or something. You wanted to start with the hardest components...electrical
components to work with.
-That's right.
-So I know you're not done with this project yet, but on your next project what would you
change?
-I'd start from scratch.
-Like frame and everything?
-I would. I think it's been one of my biggest challenges is trying to squeeze things into
spaces they weren't designed for.
-So we are back in the garage again and I think one of the next steps is this. So what
steps do you have left to finish off the body of your electric vehicle?
-Yeah, so these are all the panels that I have left to put on. A lot of fiberglass work.
A lot of just fitting the panels so it gives it a good look.
-Alright, let me know down in the comments...I'm sure he already knows what color he's going
to end up painting it, but let me know down in the comments what color you think he should
paint it. I'm kind of thinking we should go glow-in-the-dark, but that's just me. Anyway,
if you want to see all of his videos about building this whole contraption, they are
pretty impressive. I'll leave a link to his channel over here. And to finish this off,
what is one word of advice you would give, or one sentence of advice you would give to
someone who's going to attempt a project like this themselves?
-Perseverance. Stay with it. It's worth it.
-It's the long haul. Thanks a ton for watching. We'll see you around.
[Music]