[WIP] "Lexus Swapped" Subaru FR-S 86 (GS300h)

[j2digital]

TLDR: I know very little about EV conversions but enthusiastic! So enough to be dangerous? I have a 2015 Scion FR-S that I joked about to converting to an EV when the engine blew. Welp that happened a lot faster than I imagined so here I am! Since my car goes by many names (Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ/Toyota 86) I will refer to it as "86" from here on out.

Short term goal: 25+ miles of range and city driving speeds (45mph as a soft target).

Long term goal: 100+ miles of range and freeway speeds (80-90mph which the GS300h may or may not be able to do).

Phase 1: Strip all the ICE components out. Done. (Mostly)

Generic stripped 86 photo. Getting there at least!

Phase 2: Buy minimum basic EV components to get the car moving.
Oof having a good time here.

Purchased:
Zombieverter
Inverter and GS300h transmission coming from Japan via Sendico. In pieces. (11/22/2023)

Still need:
Find someone to put GS300h transmission back together, good luck to me.

GS300h Wiring Harness.

Battery Pack. Looking at LG Chem, BMW 530e, Tesla packs, and just about anything really. It would seem I am not in the greatest location for this stuff(Utah). And I'm sure I'm not looking in the right places either. (Local classified ads, eBay, classifieds here on the forum, online inventory for pick in pulls etc). So prices on these items are very $$$$$$ for me.

BMS. I think I should find the battery pack first then find a good BMS for it. I won't purchase a battery pack either until after I check that there is a good BMS for it.

Throttle Pedal.

Drive shaft. The general idea I have is to measure the size difference in the mounted length of the new transmission compared to my old transmission and then find a shop to resize my drive shaft to match while also replacing the one end with an end that matches the new transmission so I'll need a donor drive shaft too. (Please correct me on this one if needed)

high voltage gloves

EV charger + its control board etc.

Braking System.

Phase 3: Put the parts together and test on a bench.

Phase 4: Mount the parts on the car and test again. Then slow road tests.

Phase 5: "Daily" drive around town during spring/summer and add back in creature comforts like ac/heat/windshield wiper motor/fluid, stereo, locks, windows etc.

Phase 6: More polishing + more range.

Typical concerns that everyone has to go through applies to me as well. Finding decent batteries with decent specs for a somewhat humane price. A good BMS to run the batteries. Getting the drive shaft connected to the rear axel etc.

I know I am still missing things on the list and will add them as I get there.

Thanks everyone!

[Jacobsmess]

So, the power.
Electric motors deliver their torque from 0, it sill be a lot faster accelerating than any ICE engine. Also, the 105kw output is only MG2, MG1 can likely contribute another 60kw.
My 3.5T gross weight van has an ICE that only puts out 97hp and can get up to 84mph, it's all about gearing to get your top speed. With the GS300H you have 3.33 gear reduction of a likely 12000rpm motor, what is your rear diff ratio and tyre size, this will give you your theoretical top speed.

[rstevens81]

Well 75mph is probably achievable even with a high ratio diff and small tyres such as my Mazda, should be achievable with the bigger wheels of the brz

[j2digital]

Thanks for the responses guys! Wheel size is stock so 17's and I will have to check the rear diff ratio. Looks like I already messed up though and thought I could get a GS300H in the US but no such luck. I guess the hybrid model of the GS300H (2014) wasn't released in the United States which has been reflected in my search for one online. There seems to be a bunch of 450 transmissions though in varying condition so I will probably have to take my chances on one of those unfortunately!

[Jacobsmess]

Might be worth checking for the IS300H or RS or RC300H (can't remember exactly) but they all use the L210 transmission

[j2digital]

I was able to find it by searching the model # 30920-30030 and everything was very expensive- $1,000-$2,000 USD. It's probably I'll advised but I found a decent one on Yahoo Auctions Japan that I put a bid on. Right now it isn't too expensive but I am going to have to have it shipped to Sendico and then shipped to me. If I even win it haha. There are a bunch of Toyota Crown versions of it with "Buy it now" options for pretty cheap before you start adding in all the shipping and handling costs(roughly $115 - $200 USD). Might be worth it if anyone wanted to risk it. The difference is the end that connects to the drive shaft. Probably doesn't matter but I wanted to keep it as close to what people have worked with already. I'll update the post if I win it and what the final cost is. For those of us in the US it could be our best shot.

[Jacobsmess]

Wow, they're super cheap but yes shame about the shipping. It quoted £500 for shipping and I suspect there's be import tax on top... it also wouldn't quote for shipping over 70kg which obviously isn't enough for these transmissions at 90kg...

[j2digital]

A quick update: I have the car mostly stripped. The dang ICE motor is still in it though for the time being. Have ordered an Inverter + transmission from Sendico but it has not been a straight forward process. We'll see if/when I get them and how much they cost. A side note- I found some Enerdel battery packs on eBay for roughly $2k and I think these are the specs: 355VDC 50AH 17.7kwh. I saw one build using these but the person hasn't been active for a while. Too good to be true? Anyone have experience with these? Tyty

[PatrcioEV-ATX]

A quick update: I have the car mostly stripped. The dang ICE motor is still in it though for the time being. Have ordered an Inverter + transmission from Sendico but it has not been a straight forward process. We'll see if/when I get them and how much they cost. A side note- I found some Enerdel battery packs on eBay for roughly $2k and I think these are the specs: 355VDC 50AH 17.7kwh. I saw one build using these but the person hasn't been active for a while. Too good to be true? Anyone have experience with these? Tyty

I don't know anything about those particular batteries, but 17.7kWh is significantly less than the 1st gen LEAF (24kWh) and would not get you anywhere near 100 miles of range. Perhaps 40-50 miles.

[jrbe]

Have ordered an Inverter + transmission from Sendico but it has not been a straight forward process. We'll see if/when I get them and how much they cost.

I'd love to hear how this works out for you. It's hard getting some of the good stuff the rest of the world has into the US.

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

A quick update: I have the car mostly stripped. The dang ICE motor is still in it though for the time being. Have ordered an Inverter + transmission from Sendico but it has not been a straight forward process. We'll see if/when I get them and how much they cost. A side note- I found some Enerdel battery packs on eBay for roughly $2k and I think these are the specs: 355VDC 50AH 17.7kwh. I saw one build using these but the person hasn't been active for a while. Too good to be true? Anyone have experience with these? Tyty

17kWh alone will not be an enjoyable experience. Two packs in parallel is starting to be in the right ballpark, but even then 100 miles would be a stretch.

It might be worth considering a Model 3 pack. You'd need to try to find a way to fit the large modules, but I've seen several M3 or MY packs on ebay for around $4k.

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

I don't know anything about those particular batteries, but 17.7kWh is significantly less than the 1st gen LEAF (24kWh) and would not get you anywhere near 100 miles of range. Perhaps 40-50 miles.

I agree. With 22kWh of capacity to stone-cold dead, I got almost exactly 50 miles. Granted, I don't know how the drag of an 86 compares to my brick, but 17kWh is still pretty damn low.

[j2digital]

I need to clean up my original post and revise some goals. Long term goal is still100+ miles of range. Short term I am okay with 25 to get it moving. I didn't go with that pack though. I am currently researching some LG Chem batteries, Tesla batteries, or waiting to find a decent price on a BMW hybrid pack that I have seen in a bunch of recent conversions. Sendico had to take apart the transmission to send it to me so that will add another layer of complexity when it arrives. I never said I was smart haha but I'll get it figured out. I wish I had more to show but as of right now its just a gutted car. On the bright side at least the Zombieverter got here!

[j2digital]

I'd love to hear how this works out for you. It's hard getting some of the good stuff the rest of the world has into the US.

Here is a screenshot/quick breakdown of my Sendico experience:

The inverter was 10,500 yen ($71.31 USD) and the transmission was 36,509 yen ($248 USD). To be able to ship it to me they had to partially take it apart, clean it(I think the 20,000 yen/$135 charge), then pack it. So there was a few extra fees + shipping which was the last big payment. All together from a random conversion calculator it put me just shy of a grand at $999.03.

All things considered it isn't "that bad" with all the variables of other transmissions or purchasing this same transmission from a different country. I found a GS300h on eBay coming from the UK that had free shipping for $600 something USD but it got returned to seller for being too big to import and new shipping estimates were $1k-$1,200 iirc.

I also got a few "yes" and "no" answers from Sendico saying they would and wouldn't ship it to me. It wasn't until one of their Discord admins stepped in that everything got figured out. So your mileage may vary based on that as well. I also think they have updated their website to filter these types of parts out to not have to do this again but that is just my perspective. Once I get my "work bench" cleared off I will take pictures of the transmission and inverter and post them as well. It wasn't as torn apart as much as I thought it was going to be but still enough for me to fk it up trying to put it back together so we'll see how I tackle getting it in one piece again.

[Steamboater]

Curious what makes the GS300h the preferred motor? In my (brief) research these are similar/same as the Toyota Highlander Hybrid motor, which has been available stateside for ±15 years and are pretty cheep on ebay (±$500). Sounds like you are a ways ahead of me on researching all this, so correct me if I'm wrong

[Jacobsmess]

Curious what makes the GS300h the preferred motor? In my (brief) research these are similar/same as the Toyota Highlander Hybrid motor, which has been available stateside for ±15 years and are pretty cheep on ebay (±$500). Sounds like you are a ways ahead of me on researching all this, so correct me if I'm wrong

They're 100kw peak with a second motor (mg1).
300nm of torque form MG2 also. They were used in the IS300H, RC300H and GS300H and the Toyota Crown not sure about the highlander.
They are preferred because they are smaller, lighter and less complex than the GS450H with similar toque and power. Although they have a fixed ratio of 3.33 for MG2 whereas the GS450H has a selectable gear ratio of 1.9 and 3.9.

[twinkelmann]

Hello ! Just popping in to give a quick advice.
You wrote in your first post you need a throttle pedal, however you already have the perfect pedal in the GT86.
It's pinout is similar to the popular Prius throttle pedals. Therefore, it's compatible with the Zombiverter VCU.

In fact, every* Toyota electronic pedals are "the same". To give one more examples, the ones out of Lexus IS200d (78110-53041, 78110-53040, etc)
The advantage of the GT86/IS200d/"probably many others" pedals vs the Prius pedals is that they have a metal rod, not a plastic structure, thus it's easier to adjust the position and angle of the pedal with an angle grinder, steel rod and welder.

Obviously in your case, there is nothing to adjust Plug and play

Good luck with your conversion !

Tim

[thomaa]

I'm fairly new to the world of ev conversions and am particularly interested in a gt86 conversion.

The two 86 conversions I've seen so far is yours and zaptero's completed build. Interested to see if the lexus transmission form factor will give you much more engine bay space for batteries...

It's quite brilliant to find there are others who have had similar ambitions and have had some success.