Many car enthusiasts work on their own cars. They have peers who help each other and change accessories like wheels, suspension and engine upgrade parts. As large communities, they share upgrade tips in websites pertaining to the car they own. Many car magazines have technical articles that show readers how to modify their car. Customizing, modifying and performance upgrades has been a part of enthusiast automobile ownership since there were cars.
In visiting electric car clubs, like the Electric Auto Association, I find many people converting internal combustion cars to electric. Most homemade electric car conversions are rolling death traps. When 700+ lbs of battery is added to an older car, scary things can happen to the brakes, chassis and handling. This article looks at how they can be safely upgraded to protect the driver and the general public. Safety issues must be addressed with the addition of electric propulsion.
In this article, obvious parallels are raised between the enthusiasts and the electric car home mechanics. Brakes, chassis reinforcements, suspension work are common among both groups. The idea is to one day unite them as one family working on upgrading electric vehicles, and ELECTRON is there to bridge the gap, safely of course.
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©2010 Yee Chan & Art Center College of Design
