- Tesla EV Swap Kits for All
- The 2007 Ford Mustang EV: How It Works
- This EV Mustang Runs 11.80s
- Just the Beginning
- Watch! Famed ’57 Chevy Gets eCrate Power
It’s time to put down your beer and take a serious look at EV swaps for performance-oriented hot rod guys. If you haven’t become jealous of the factory 2022 Tesla Model S Plaid that de-pantsed the Big Three with low-low-nine-second quarter mile times using street tires on a mildly prepped racing surface, you should look into it. The Plaid did the deed off the trailer with a Skechers-shod crossover tester behind the wheel—no swaggering Top Fuel pilots or professional drivers were present. You don’t need ’em; going real fast in the Tesla is an exercise in button-pushing and slapping the pedal thingy to WOT.
You’ve also likely seen or heard of Tesla-powered C10s and former air-cooled sports cars being swapped at shops around the country. Those kids are known as early adopters. They will eventually show up at your street race and hurt some feelings. Your feelings.
Tesla EV Swap Kits for All
What you haven’t seen yet is an attempt at a swap kit from the aftermarket. This 2007 Mustang GT prototype is AEM’s attempt to legitimize, if not standardize, the EV swap, so everyone can get in on the fun. EVs are flat-out fast, so put your prejudices away and take a look at what’s coming.
AEM, co-founded in 1987 by John (C.J.) Concialdi and Bob Sullivan, is best known for cold-air kits and import performance tuning during the The Fast and the Furious era. It is now owned by Holley, the company that brought the easy LS swap to the world. Put the two together and you have a small group of rebels with the pockets of a larger company to back them up. This EV Mustang is AEM’s monster.
The concept is to buy a crashed Tesla, harvest the cradle, motor, inverter, and suspension, then bolt the parts into the back of a RWD car. That’s in the garage, if possible. The batteries go in the front where the engine was, and the AEM electronics and harness connect it all together. This is a massive oversimplification, and exactly what AEM is aiming for.
The 2007 Ford Mustang EV: How It Works
The 2007 Mustang GT was found on Craigslist by an AEM engineer looking for Tesla drive units. It was originally converted by a Southern California local with an engineering background and provided the foundation that would help AEM speed the build process. It was simple but well executed, and included the relatively rare Sport version of the Tesla large drive unit (LDU). It would prove to be a good way to compare the control capabilities of AEMs controllers against an enthusiast version of a Tesla EV swap.
The focus was on the base LDU so the Sport version was removed and saved for later. The base unit from a 2013-2015 Model S was installed in the 8.8 rearend housing’s location using the stock Tesla cradle that contains the motor, inverter, axels, hubs, and brakes. It is advertised at 335 hp (250 Kw) and 310 lb-ft torque (420 Nm). The cells here are from a hybrid electric minivan, but the consumer will ultimately make their own choice of batteries. Hint: If you want to go fast, use hybrid batteries for their ability to quickly discharge current.
The key to this swap is the inverter control board. Since the Tesla electronics don’t allow anything to be added to the network, the stock control board needs to be replaced with the AEM VCU200. The inverter controls the energy distribution from the batteries to the motor. If you can control the inverter, you can control the torque applied, the launch, traction, and just about everything else needed to get this to work in any car. Using the VCU software AEM was able to boost the base LDU power to 402 hp (300 Kw) and 340 lb-ft of torque (460 Nm). The system also adds safety and redundancy that maximizes the output (read: all the power, none of the fire) while including twin TPS circuits, overheat protection, and battery management to name a few. The system will also work as a circuit panel to control ancillary items like headlights and blinkers if you are starting from a junkyard shell. Because the Mustang uses a complete cradle, the regenerative brakes are also operational.
This EV Mustang Runs 11.80s
The Mustang is capable of 11.78 at 117 mph with a 1.94 60-ft time on street tires, on a traction-prepped quarter mile track. During our track day, we were able to produce a string of 12.20 timeslips, round after round, with no cool down or charging. The difference in advertised e.t. was due to the cooler temps and the Mustang’s inability to regulate battery temperatures, a skill that is likely on the to-do list at AEM headquarters.
On the street, driveability is often abandoned in the quest for speed so it’s nice when a fast car is able to crawl to a stop without stalling and accelerate hard without spool-up time. That’s where AEM’s tuning experience shows. The Mustang didn’t feel like a golf cart as it accelerated but we noticed the urge to floor the car everywhere we went while trying to get accustomed to the pedal feel. We never thought much about how engine noise connects the brain to the sensation of acceleration and speed until we drove a car that had none. Most of the sounds and smells have been eliminated, along with traditional speeding cues. Otherwise, it drives like a tweaked 2007 Mustang GT.
Just the Beginning
EV motors provide a lot of power relative to the price, and they don’t require timing and fuel maps, power adders, octane, dry sumps, or really any additional bolt-on parts to go fast. Crashed Teslas are becoming affordable and, admit it, building a nine-second EV in the garage and handing people some losses at the street digs has a lot of appeal. Politics aside, we were a little stunned when the full-electric Tesla Plaid ran low nines without even switching to slicks. Imagine that 1,000 hp powertrain in a lightweight drag car on bolognas, with instant power and a dead-vertical torque curve. Look for it to happen sooner than later. AEM is betting that there are plenty of people watching.
Watch! Famed ’57 Chevy Gets eCrate Power
Keyword: This Tesla-Swapped Mustang With AEM Kit Runs An 11-Second Quarter Mile