⚡Watt Rods

We convert combustion vehicles to electric power.

Any and all vehicles, old or new, four wheels or two, big or small, on road or off, fully customised to your requirements.

Our full service Lower Hutt based workshop can take care of as much (or as little) of the conversion as you like.

Convert? How?

It can be pretty simple...

Remove all combustion related bits, e.g. engine, fuel tank.
Frabricate parts to fit, e.g. battery box(es), motor mounting bracketry.
Build a battery and install in the battery box.
Install EV components, e.g. motor, battery pack, charger.
Wire everything up.
Obtain LVVTA certification to make road legal.

Why?

To keep cherished vehicles on the road. To turn that "used on occasional weekends" classic into a reliable cheap to run daily driver. Or a drag strip monster. No more having to tinker, or it leaking "soul" all over the garage floor.

EV conversions offer...

... improved driver experience

Responsive - electric motors deliver 100% torque from standstill; get up to speed, fast.
Smoother - no kangaroo throttle or gear changes, only relentless torque.
Quieter* - hold a conversation easily at highway speeds.
Simpler* - motor has one moving part supported by bearings, basically maintenance free.
* optional, noise can be made, clutch & gearbox can be retained.

... improved ownership experience

More reliable - use it every day or leave it standing for months without worry.
Lower maintenance costs - nothing on the battery or motor, maybe a transmission oil change after 100,000km.
Lower fuel costs - could even be free if you have solar.
Handy in a pinch - it could power home essentials for days during a grid outage.

How much?

Very dependent on customer requirements. The best case scenario outlined below would cost ~$40,000 (inc GST and cert).

Conversion using all Nissan LEAF bits
24kWh battery (~120km range)
80kW (107hp), 254Nm (187 lb-ft) motor
3.3kW AC charging, 50kW DC charging.
1990 or earlier vehicle, servicable with current WoF and rego.
Single battery box of simple shape.
Minimal fabrication for motor and battery box mounts.
Minimum dashboard modifications.
No power steering or assisted brakes.

How long?

Again very dependent on requirements and build complexity. Best case above would take couple of months.

What's the worst case?

Build costs and time increases with complexity. Some examples of things that add to complexity...

Power upgrade, e.g. dual Tesla motors 640kW / 850hp AWD (~$35,000).
Range upgrade, e.g. 100kWh+ battery with liquid cooling (~$35,000).
Upgrades - uprate suspension, brakes, or other components.
Difficult vehicle requiring complex packaging of EV parts.
Custom dashboard and instrumentation.
Power assisted brakes.
Power assisted steering.
CANBUS integration.
Vehicle restoration / reVIN.

This doesn't make financial sense!

It's about keeping cherished vehicles on the road, and improving them so they can be reliable cheap to run easy to maintain daily drivers. Or drag strip monsters.

Unless driven tens of thousands of km a conversion is unlikely to save more money than it cost. If you want a cost effective EV buy a modern used vehicle that began life as an EV.