BMW E46 Touring (IS300h + long range)

[Domt177]

Had my E46 touring project for a while now, had a GS450h gearbox, then a Leaf stack in it and wasn’t happy enough with either to keep them (too much space taken up).

I’ve now settled on an IS300h gearbox and inverter, which takes up significantly less space and is a bit lighter

The specs I’m eventually going for:
200hp
200mi range (~65kwh liquid cooled battery)
22kW AC Charging
CCS + Chademo DC charging
No interior space removed
Openpilot retrofit (basic self driving)

So far I’ve mounted the Gearbox and inverter and have a temporary Leaf gen3 6.6kW PDM mounted under the boot. (I’ll post details soon)

[philbrennan]

I'm interested as to how much less space the 300 takes compared to 450.

[FFMan]

Hi OP

as per my post elsewhere, interested in how you dealt with the fault codes thrown when the engine was removed. I'm part way through and have removed the engine but have 3 pages of fault codes. Not sure if the MOT tester will care as they're all engine related.

I see you're in West Midlands, I'm in Bicester. I'd be interested to take a look at your conversion some time if that's possible.

thanks

[johu]

These specs outperform many expensive production EVs
Will it have a trailer hitch?

[Domt177]

Been a while so time for an update.

‘Phase 1’ of the car is going to be pretty simple, IS300h gearbox & inverter, 3.3kW Outlander OBC / DCDC and a 8.8kWh VW GTE battery pack with CHADEMO and SIMP or EVS BMS. Later on I plan to add at least 11kW 3 phase charging, 50-60kWh liquid cooled battery and CCS. (Will probably add a second VW GTE pack in the mean time to get 50ish mi range.)

So far I have had the 300h Gearbox in, mounted and test driven, all seemed to work but I wasn’t happy with the mounting setup so I’ve re done it:

Gearbox back in, this time I have mounted it at the back using the original bmw mounting holes, and at the front using the sump guard / skid plate mounts. One thing I perhaps should have added was a bushing between the gearbox and sump guard mounts.

All painted up with under seal spray and onto inverter mounting:

Have also added a stand for the power steering pump (usual zafira pump with tubes made at pirtek) on the left, bought a ready made stand to save a bit of time. (Search for Astra power steering stand)

Thing on the top is the junction box, has my HV contractors, ZombieVerter and 12v relay / fuse box inside

[Domt177]

These specs outperform many expensive production EVs
Will it have a trailer hitch?

Most definitely will

[mfox]

How did you fit driveshaft to gearbox ?

[Domt177]

How did you fit driveshaft to gearbox ?

I mounted the gearbox in place, then measured the length from the Lexus gearbox end, to the CV joint in the driveshaft, then went to a local propshaft company who welded them together and made it the correct length. Costed £72

[mfox]

CV joint from e46 driveshaft fits lexus gearbox Joint ? ?

[philbrennan]

wow great progress.
mfox its that the spline with the 3 bolt flange seems to fit the lexus box. the cv joint then joins on to the rest of the bmw driveshaft

[Domt177]

CV joint from e46 driveshaft fits lexus gearbox Joint ? ?

No, it did on the GS450h but not on this is300h, the picture is the Lexus gearbox rubber mount (gearbox to driveshaft) to the bmw central propshaft CV joint

[Domt177]

Outlander charger now mounted in, with the junction box mounted on top.

Cooling system is: radiator out -> pump -> inverter -> charger -> radiator in

Next step is to re-program the simp bms to add support for the outlander charger, then install the battery pack

[Bigpie]

It's pretty simple to add outlander, I've got code on my GitHub if you need it, but will still need changing a little as I use a different can library but pretty simple.

[Domt177]

It's pretty simple to add outlander, I've got code on my GitHub if you need it, but will still need changing a little as I use a different can library but pretty simple.

Thanks, that’s what I was going to start with

[GreenElite]

Great work. I'm watching with great interest as I'm about to go similar route on my project.

[steveknox]

Do you have any pics of the rear mount for the gearbox? I'm considering converting my e46 touring. I've already got the is300h gearbox and inverter, so keen to see how it fits.

[Domt177]

Do you have any pics of the rear mount for the gearbox? I'm considering converting my e46 touring. I've already got the is300h gearbox and inverter, so keen to see how it fits.

Yep, its a pretty simple one as the 300h gearbox mounts point straight down.

[Domt177]

Another update:

With huge thanks to Jamie, I now have the outlander charger working from my SIMP BMS, have hooked it up to my VW GTE 8kwh hybrid battery and charges up fine.

One thing to note if someone else is using the outlander charger is the numbers on the connector itself are the wrong way around (I.e the pin labelled 1 is actually pin 6, the diagram on the wiki page appears correct)

Connected it up temporarily to a type 2 charging socket from a Volvo.

[baha]

Hey Domt177 !
Sorry if this is a stupid question, I'm new here!
Will you be able to get this 200hp with just the gearbox + inverter from the IS300h (and good enough battery) or am I missing something?
As, as far as I know (and it's not much!), the IS300h motor is capable of 140hp, but the battery of only 23kW or so.. Not sure about the inverter as I failed to find such specs so far...
So, if you don't mind, can you tell me a bit more of how is that gonna work?

I ask as I currently own an IS300h and I'd love to modify it, add bigger/better battery, plug-in charge and hopefully unleash all 140hp from the electric motor for both extra power and more pure EV drivability for commute!

Thanks in advance!

[aaronmcg]

Hey Domt177 !
Sorry if this is a stupid question, I'm new here!
Will you be able to get this 200hp with just the gearbox + inverter from the IS300h (and good enough battery) or am I missing something?
As, as far as I know (and it's not much!), the IS300h motor is capable of 140hp, but the battery of only 23kW or so.. Not sure about the inverter as I failed to find such specs so far...
So, if you don't mind, can you tell me a bit more of how is that gonna work?

I ask as I currently own an IS300h and I'd love to modify it, add bigger/better battery, plug-in charge and hopefully unleash all 140hp from the electric motor for both extra power and more pure EV drivability for commute!

Thanks in advance!

pretty sure when the front spline is locked you then get the power from both motors which increases the overall power output through the rear spline to propshaft

[aaronmcg]

also, as a side question,

anyone know the part number for the IS300h Inverter wiring harness?

[chrskly]

also, as a side question,

anyone know the part number for the IS300h Inverter wiring harness?

=> https://openinverter.org/wiki/Toyota/Lexus_GS300h_CVT

[Jacobsmess]

How are you finding the is300H transmission? I'm wanting some assurance it can deliver motorway driving speeds comfortably without exploding but I've found no evidence as of yet and as it's early in development in the EV conversion world there isnt a wealth of knowledge from running projects.