Hello everyone in bronco land. I hope all are well. I just wanted to ask if anyone has had experience with converting an old bronco to electric drivetrain. I recently went down this rabbit hole on you tube and I thought it would be best to ask the bronco experts. I have a 69 and am just looking for any input. Thanks for any response.
One factor that's hard to get around is the brick-like aerodynamics of the Bronco. At low speeds, this is less of a factor, but driving above 45mph, aero losses will require more powerful motors the faster you want to drive, and battery capacity will need grow significantly. My rig is not the best example being lifted on 37s, but it takes 75-95 hp to push it down the road at 75mph depending on the wind direction.
85 hp is 64kw of shaft power. Motors are ~90% efficient combined with a controller that is ~95% efficient, requiring 74.5 kW from the battery.(There are many other sources of losses, but let's ignore that for now.) The largest Telsa Model 3 battery is 82 kWh and assuming a max depth of discharge of 80% for Li-Ion chemistry, the power available from the battery is 65.6 kWh, giving you a driving range of 66 miles compared to 300-400 miles for a Tesla.
Lower speeds will result in better range or smaller batteries, but you get the idea.
