Not one, but two companies this month unveiled something electric car enthusiasts have been asking for for a long time — electric “crate motors” that can be pretty easily swapped into whatever gasoline-powered vehicle they’ll physically fit into. Batteries not included.

According to Autoblog, upstart Electric GT (EGT), led by Eric Hutchison, plans to soon offer both a single- and dual-motor EV conversion kit.

Both can be bolted onto manual transmissions, and many motor mounts and plate adapters for various gearboxes have already been developed; the company can custom-design adapters, too.

Not one, but two companies this month unveiled something electric car enthusiasts have been asking for for a long time — electric “crate motors” that can be pretty easily swapped into whatever gasoline-powered vehicle they’ll physically fit into. Batteries not included. 

According to Autoblog, upstart Electric GT (EGT), led by Eric Hutchison, plans to soon offer both a single- and dual-motor EV conversion kit.

Both can be bolted onto manual transmissions, and many motor mounts and plate adapters for various gearboxes have already been developed; the company can custom-design adapters, too.

The new e-crate motor is shaped like a classic V8 motor, except it’s about 5 inches longer than most classic Chevy or Ford small-blocks. The single-motor kit makes 140 hp and 240 lb.-ft.; while dual-motors make 240 hp and 340 lb.-ft.

For more go to https://driving.ca/auto-news/news/electric-crate-motors-make-turning-your-gas-car-into-an-ev-easy

Please check your mailbox for an email from St LAC inviting you to share your thoughts about the details for our upcoming AGM.  You should either receive the survey in the form of a link or embedded in the email.

It’s our plan to meet for fun and figures ($):

With the limited budget that 30 members represents we have some soul-searching to do as to costs and your input is valuable.

So, you wanna be a rally car driver, huh?  Why not!  There’s no end to the excitement and heart-stopping action.

Meet new people!

No one will mind where you wash your car.

And parking is never a problem.

RSO has released the schedule for this year:

Brad Hulton of Inside Track magazine plans on renting Shannonville for the evening of Sunday, October 20th.  He expects the cost to be $100 or less.  Contact information to follow.

Most of our membership belong to a select group that, for them, tires are of the utmost importance.  So much so, that price isn’t usually the first consideration.  But is this the case when it comes to our more mundane transportation; namely, the commuter car?  I came across this from Consumer Reports and thought it might help when it comes to the latter.

Tires are a global commodity, and many of the major brand names that Consumer Reports tests are manufactured in China. But those tires are designed and manufactured to quality standards dictated by the original manufacturers. Chinese tire brands don’t have that oversight, and some may not have the marketing foresight to design products well-suited to the specific requirements of the U.S. consumer.

It seems that the Pegasus tire as tested was not actually manufactured for its design owner–Global Pacific Industries.  It would appear that even cheap products get the knock-off treatment.

Aside from the performance lows, if value is a high priority, consider that the Pegasus cost about half as much as a top-scoring tire, the Michelin LTX M/S2. But keep in mind that the Michelin will last almost three times longer. Factor in the cost of buying two additional sets of tires, plus mounting and balancing, and you could save hundreds of dollars, not to mention get a better all-weather performing tire, if you choose the Michelin.

Certainly if you are on tight budget, and who isn’t nowadays, buying a cheap tire is better than riding on worn-out tires. But as our tests show, buying bargain-priced tires such as these Chinese models isn’t the right choice for the long haul.

Consumer Reports has removed its ratings for the Pegasus Advanta SUV tire originally reported on page 60 of our November issue and online. Although we purchased the tire through normal retail channels, Arizona-based American Pacific Industries (API) notified us that, based on the DOT tire identification code on our tires, the model tested was not produced or distributed by an authorized Pegasus vendor. The “unauthorized” Pegasus tires performed relatively poorly for snow traction and tread life. We have not tested “authorized” Pegasus tires.

Source:  https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/09/chinese-truck-tires-are-no-bargain/index.htm

It’s rather pleasing to know that there are those who seem to enjoy my attempt at humour in an otherwise serious sport.  My thanks go out to Inside Track magazine for another minute of future fame.

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