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Thread: Car audio & electric cars - does it work?

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    Car audio & electric cars - does it work?

    More each day, I'm convincing myself that it's time for an e-car. I don't drive that much - run what errands I can on bikes and work close to home. I don't need to drive a lot. So an electric makes sense. Still not settled on the car, but one thing I haven't really explored is what this means for car audio. I don't have a lot to work with now - 85A alternator, and it's plenty with modern efficient amps, but I'm still going to want more than what the factory audio can provide.

    Anyone have any ballpark estimates on what I can expect for available power use in maybe a mid-tier electric? Any other surprises to consider when going from gas to electric? I do live in a climate which sees extremes in the Summer & winter. It can range from 0F to 100F and either side of that. So I would expect a great deal of demand for heat and cooling in the Summer & Winter. The good news there is that I'm rarely driving more than 15 miles in a day, so wouldn't expect range to be an issue, but would like to have ample power available for at least a kilowatt of audio. Reasonable?

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    Wave Shepherd - aka Jazzi Justin Zazzi's Avatar
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    Re: Car audio & electric cars - does it work?

    I'm curious too. I think some vehicles will have a bulk storage battery pack at high voltage that drives the wheels, and it also "charges" a standard 12v battery for vehicle electronics. I think the equivalent of an alternator is the DC-to-DC converter between the big pack and the 12v battery.

    I hope that's close?
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    Noob JCsAudio's Avatar
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    Re: Car audio & electric cars - does it work?

    I had a listen from a factory Tesla Model S last year and for a factory system it sounded pretty good. Sounded like there was a small subwoofer under the front dash too.

    This was the car. It went 0-60 in 2.5 seconds at the time but I let off at 50, lol. https://youtu.be/Z4WcrLzq0QE
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    Senior Member Haakono's Avatar
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    Re: Car audio & electric cars - does it work?

    Short answer - yes it works

    Electric cars are pretty common here in Norway, something like 50% of all new cars sold here are pure EV, and about 80% are hybrids (electic + gas/diesel).

    Pretty much all electric cars run a high voltage setup for the motor(s) with a step-down converter to 12V to run all the car electronics like lights. wiper motors, fans, OEM stereo etc. This converter does not power everything directly, but through a 12V battery (regular car battery).

    From what I've seen, most newer EV cars will support a pretty decently sized setup just fine (say a 4x100w component amp + 5-700w monoblock class D amps). The most extreme setup I've seen and heard was a Tesla Model S with about 3kw of amplification including 2000w for the Digital Designs 9912 subwoofer hidden in the rear "footrest" area (you can get the Model S as a 7-seater where the two seats in the back is rear-facing, basically inside the rear trunk.) All that was done to support the power requirements for that size system was to add two more AGM 12v batteries as power reserve.

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    Re: Car audio & electric cars - does it work?

    I'm planning on building one - but that affords me the option of designing in my own isolated 12v system - and possibly two. So maybe that's not what you are really asking.

    As a teen, my first car was a 1973 VW Super Beetle. I put a built 1776cc motor into it, lowered it, and customized the hell out of it. That thick, egg-shaped sheet metal roof is unbelievable for taking a pretty mild sub and turning it into giggle-worthy SPL at the front seats... as a teen working a part time job and building more than just a stereo, my budget was limited and that was such a cool surprise.

    I have a 1995 (single owner!) Civic that's sadly largely sat unused for a few years. So I'm fixing that up now... Planning to sell it to buy an electric drivetrain, maybe Tesla, and then can start shopping for a VW to swap it into. And clearly I'm an audio guy so...

    My plan was the 350v system for the drivetrain. If course.
    And a separate 12v system for everything else (maybe two) -

    If you think about it, this isn't much different from a gas car:

    You have an alternator that creates a 12v electrical system in the car, charging the 12v batteries.
    An electric car has a DC-DC converter to create a 12v system, charging the 12v batteries.
    In both cases, the current for the 12v system really comes from the main powertrain - whether it's gas or electric.

    It is interesting to think of the impact of the 12v system on the main powertrain - that's something I think lots of people surprisingly don't think about today...
    Even though big alternators create drag that reduces horsepower and mpg - less power and range. Same as an electric car, if you designed a system with a huge current draw.

    So I think that's step 1 - design an efficient system. It's one reason I'm wanting to play with this new generation of class-D micro amps.

    And it's a reason I'm intrigued by these "super capacitors"...
    For a car with an alternator - a cap is a necessary buffer to slow voltage drops to where transfer to the alternator at least doesn't damage battery plates.

    In an electric car, or seems critical to add 12v reserve capacity - more batteries - but also to protect that DC-DC converter.

    I'm thinking we can use our creativity in the car audio realm to add capacity (and capacitance!) to the 12v side of an electric car...
    Then you can add a "big" system.
    And again - I think efficiency matters... So "big" should be as small as works.

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    Re: Car audio & electric cars - does it work?

    Here’s a post specifically about the Tesla and making sure current isn’t pulled too quickly.

    https://www.travisllado.com/2019/05/...mmary-and.html

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    Re: Car audio & electric cars - does it work?

    Quote Originally Posted by dgage View Post
    Here’s a post specifically about the Tesla and making sure current isn’t pulled too quickly.

    https://www.travisllado.com/2019/05/...mmary-and.html
    Actually they seem to claim that particular DC-DC converter is so efficient, you don't even need stiffening capacitors.
    Since that exchanges voltage for current with the same ratio, time has to stay constant, so that must help.
    Still - with stiffening caps (or ultra-caps) it seems extra smart to not risk screwing up Tesla bits.

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