Battery Upgrades are very possible

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i'm located In Los Angeles, but did few "not so local" upgrades. One in Atlanta, another one in Las Vegas.
 
I was following this auction for a totaled 2019 Leaf S as a possible way to get a cheap 40kWh battery. Unfortunately, there are 2 steps to the auction: an preliminary auction that acts like ebay and then a live auction that starts afterwards. I'm not privy to the details of the live auction since I don't have a paid membership so it looks like it is impossible to know how much the car eventually sold for. The first part of the auction ended at $4400, which seems like a great price for a 40kWh battery. Just as well since I don't need a project like that at the moment.

https://www.autobidmaster.com/en/carfinder-online-auto-auctions/lot/67326881/COPART_2019_NISSAN_LEAF_S_SALVAGE_TITLE_PORTLAND_NORTH_OR/
 
goldbrick said:
I was following this auction for a totaled 2019 Leaf S as a possible way to get a cheap 40kWh battery. Unfortunately, there are 2 steps to the auction: an preliminary auction that acts like ebay and then a live auction that starts afterwards. I'm not privy to the details of the live auction since I don't have a paid membership so it looks like it is impossible to know how much the car eventually sold for. The first part of the auction ended at $4400, which seems like a great price for a 40kWh battery. Just as well since I don't need a project like that at the moment.
I purchased a salvaged Leaf via Copart for my 40 kWh battery pack upgrade...and I can promise you that the auction did not end @$4400 (I paid over $12k for my 2020 Leaf in early 2021). You are correct that you need a membership (which is <$100 for what we need), but the bigger issue is many states do not allow individuals to bid on salvaged cars (only licensed dealers); Texas is not one of those states, so I was able to buy (and inspect) my car myself. In other words, you need to look for Leafs in auction sites/states that do allow an individual to purchase salvage title cars.
 
Yep, it's quite a teaser to get folks to pay for an upgraded membership. I don't think I'm serious enough to go even that far at the moment.

I did see a very nice 9-bar 2013 SV with Premium locally and thought.....if I could get a cheap 40kWh battery for it, that would be a fun project. But I don't have time for it and I don't really need an upgrade to my 2017 S.

I wonder if the 40kWh packs will be cheaper in the future or more expensive. The packs out of crashed cars are only really useful for older Leafs and with all the new EV's coming out they might become enough of a niche that the demand goes down. Probably not, but time will tell.
 
I see a teaser came out of NZ just before the holidays which suggests that this company is working on a new liquid-cooled Leaf battery pack that is intended to address the issue of declining range over time. I suspect this is still in their design computers, but maybe 2023 will produce new options?

https://evsenhanced.com/
 
HomerJSimpson said:
I see a teaser came out of NZ just before the holidays which suggests that this company is working on a new liquid-cooled Leaf battery pack that is intended to address the issue of declining range over time. I suspect this is still in their design computers, but maybe 2023 will produce new options?

https://evsenhanced.com/
Ran across a U-tube video today for them. Supposedly three different batteries, the largest will be a 74 KWH high current battery, a smaller NMC version and a an LFP version. All based on the Leaf battery pack dimensions with a new BMS and some form of liquid cooling.. Only the largest battery wattage was given. I'd guess around 45-50 KWH for the LFP and 60-65 for the NMC version. Design claims to be chemistry agnostic and appears to use blade style modules. What they actually showed appeared to be mockups or prototypes, not working models. A 45 KWH LFP battery for older Leafs would be a godsend particularly if it were priced under $8K. With the lifespan of LFP batteries, It could make a lot of sense to refurbish an older Leaf. Also they mention bi-directional charging being possible especially with the LFP battery.

Apparently, this group is already making CAN bridges for Leaf conversions to larger batteries. They were unhappy about the cost and scarcity of salvaged Leaf batteries and decided to build a replacement battery themselves. I wish them luck.
 
I see a teaser came out of NZ just before the holidays which suggests that this company is working on a new liquid-cooled Leaf battery pack that is intended to address the issue of declining range over time.

I saw that video and remember the cooling aspect of it but I don't remember it being liquid cooled. Was that specifically mentioned in the video? That would require plumbing and controls outside the battery pack itself and that seems like a much move involved project than just a drop-in replacement pack. Maybe I'll watch the video again and pay more attention to the cooling claims.
 
goldbrick said:
I see a teaser came out of NZ just before the holidays which suggests that this company is working on a new liquid-cooled Leaf battery pack that is intended to address the issue of declining range over time.

I saw that video and remember the cooling aspect of it but I don't remember it being liquid cooled. Was that specifically mentioned in the video? That would require plumbing and controls outside the battery pack itself and that seems like a much move involved project than just a drop-in replacement pack. Maybe I'll watch the video again and pay more attention to the cooling claims.
They do mention liquid cooling, but don't show how it would work. Perhaps a small radiator and fan at one end? Did a little more research. Company is Blue Cars LTD. They do apparently have a operating prototype in a Leaf. Last quoted cost was $14K USD ($20K NZD) for 38 KWH battery. No pricing that I could find on the new batteries that the video shows. Unless that cost is much lower for the new batteries, I don't think that there's much chance of seeing them outside New Zealand.
 
So are they getting a higher capacity in the same volume, and using a lower voltage LFP cell..?

And priced lower than a replacement pack from the dealership (if that is even possible except under warranty?)
 
nlspace said:
And priced lower than a replacement pack from the dealership (if that is even possible except under warranty?)
NZ is a LEAF grey market. No warranty, and no dealership replacement pack option.

I thought it interesting that they use the 'blade' terminology for the modules. Bought from BYD ?
 
So I realize that I'm late to the party here, but I am in the planning process for upgrading my LEAF to 62kWh.

There is no real reason to do it other than I feel the need to have at least one EV and/or hybrid in our fleet that is capable of a 130 mile RT between here in northern Orange County and central Carlsbad (the destination we are most often visiting when traveling) without en-route or destination charging and/or gas.

That said, I would also consider a 40kWh intermediate upgrade as a stop-gap measure, being as those packs are moderately more readily available right now. If I were to do that, I would also invest in a Tesla to J1772 adapter and destination charge some - the current impediment to destination charging is that my source for 240v (directly from the homeowner's service panel) has purchased a Tesla, hard wired the EVSE for it, and also installed solar, using up all the space I would use for my dual pole breaker.

From my research, I would expect to need the following:

Converter cable for the diagnostic connector.
Can-Bridge device to intercept and defeat the battery ID can communications.
Heater connector delete cap.
Adapter and spacer bushings for a 62kWh pack.
Upgraded rear springs (from a newer model LEAF) for a 62kWh pack.
Possibly also tires with a different profile, to raise the car slightly and account for the 62kWh height differential.

From those items, the adapter and spacer bushings would seem to be the only things that would be harder to come by - they look simple enough, but I have no fabrication skills and they don't seem to be commercially available. Finding a 62kWh pack at the right price could be somewhat problematic anyway, at least until more of them start to wreck out too.

Converter cable - so far as I feel, the choices are between Dala's and EVs Enhancecd. I prefer the look of the ones from EVs Enhanced and have found a TX based supplier. The supplier appears to have a version that does not have the can-bridge connector built-in, and I'd go with that for the reasons below.

CAN-Bridge - Dala has done amazing work on this, so I see no reason to not go with his. Not only does it install inside the car, which feels like it would have a little bit more protection from the elements, he has also completely defeated the need for battery ID CAN messages. Again, the supplier in TX has stocks of these devices.

Heater connection delete cap - has to be EVs Enhanced's version really. What an elegant solution compared to some of the alternatives.

Springs - 2019 on LEAF, part number 55020-5SA2B. There also appears to be a 62kWh specific shock absorber. Does anyone know what the difference is over the 40kWh version?

Tires - haven't looked at the alternatives yet. Just recognize that raising the car slightly to accommodate a 62kWh pack that sits slightly lower to the ground when in the car might be necessary. Or not. Either way, I'm due tires again fairly soon anyway.

Am I missing anything?
 
Springs - 2019 on LEAF, part number 55020-5SA2B. There also appears to be a 62kWh specific shock absorber. Does anyone know what the difference is over the 40kWh version?

I'm speculating here, but with more weight on the suspension from the heavier pack, you'd want more aggressive damping - probably larger cylinder bores with different valves. OTOH, if you never carry more than one passenger, then the 200lbs or so of extra weight won't exceed what the car was designed to carry. That would effectively leave the car a two-seater, though, unless you and your wife are light and you carry light children.
 
LeftieBiker said:
I'm speculating here, but with more weight on the suspension from the heavier pack, you'd want more aggressive damping - probably larger cylinder bores with different valves. OTOH, if you never carry more than one passenger, then the 200lbs or so of extra weight won't exceed what the car was designed to carry. That would effectively leave the car a two-seater, though, unless you and your wife are light and you carry light children.

Good point. I'll most likely do shocks too. Passengers are a rarity, but never say never.
 
Muxsan does shock upgrades for both their extender batteries and for >40 kWh pack swaps too. The co-founder, Emile Nijssen, is the guy who developed the popular CANBUS bridges that make battery swaps possible and luckily he made that an open standard so that anyone can do battery swaps.

So, doing exactly the same suspension upgrades they do is probably a good idea.
 
(not quite an open software - the hardware is open source but firmware is shared between three people in the community - me, a colleague of mine in the Netherlands and Dala)

Also, to be absolutely clear: not the shocks but the rear springs are to be replaced. We have them custom made to be 15% longer and 10% stiffer, which almost exactly corresponds to a 150kg extra load in the rear. We're considering making another batch that is even stiffer for a slightly better ride/handling (once this batch is depleted). The shocks, while useful to replace every 200 000km or so, don't need to be unless they're leaky or otherwise worn out.

Ideally, when fitting 62kWh packs, you want to upgrade both front and rear suspension. However, because the front is McPherson, it's a lot trickier to do that. Combined with the relative rarity of those packs, we haven't made a solution for that yet.
 
mwalsh said:
So I realize that I'm late to the party here, but I am in the planning process for upgrading my LEAF to 62kWh.

There is no real reason to do it other than I feel the need to have at least one EV and/or hybrid in our fleet that is capable of a 130 mile RT between here in northern Orange County and central Carlsbad (the destination we are most often visiting when traveling) without en-route or destination charging and/or gas.

That said, I would also consider a 40kWh intermediate upgrade as a stop-gap measure, being as those packs are moderately more readily available right now. If I were to do that, I would also invest in a Tesla to J1772 adapter and destination charge some - the current impediment to destination charging is that my source for 240v (directly from the homeowner's service panel) has purchased a Tesla, hard wired the EVSE for it, and also installed solar, using up all the space I would use for my dual pole breaker.
Here's a blog/article I did on my upgrade experience from 24 kWh->40 kWh (https://www.myeva.org/blog/keeping-your-nissan-leaf).
Obviously, the hard part is finding a donor battery pack...which is one of the reasons I went with 40 kWh. After doing the upgrade, I ended up being glad I didn't try and go the 62 kWh route. It's hard to believe what a perfect (mechanical) fit the 40 kWh is for our old Leafs...and that doesn't even get into the ground clearance issues, etc. YMMV.
 
Hello Guys I just completed an upgrade to my 2013 Leaf SV. I put in a 62 kWh battery pack from a wrecked 2019 Leaf S Plus. I bought the whole car and am glad that I did. Having the whole car allowed me to see how Nissan dealt with installing the taller battery. it also allowed me to have all the extra parts needed for a good installation. I had all brackets, plastic covers, rear springs and front springs which were part of the strut assembly. I did not swap out the rear shocks and it seems to ride just fine....but maybe I will. I was rough cutting some heavy aluminum to machine into spacers and adapters. It was taking hours on my small band saw. I looked at one of the pieces that I cut off and said to myself "that looks the size of something I all ready have". I picked up a piece of 1 5/8 " uni-strut. It was close enough to the 40mm that I was looking for. I laid out the hole locations, mounted it to the side rails under the car and bolted the battery pack to it. I flashed the CAN bridge with one of Dala's files and installed it. Please don't ask me about the cost yet...it was a lot. I will not know the final cost until after I part out the donor car. Battery Pack upgrades are possible. I am very pleased with the upgrade and I want to thank all that provided/shared there information on the internet.
 
you should put the inverter from the 2019 s plus onto your 2013 as well, Dala did a video, double your power!
 
good luck with the part-out kmcmahan!

i gave up after having to spend $2000 on front steering balljoints and realizing i could buy a used Bolt (64 kWh battery with active cooling) for $16k. but then again that was 2020.
 
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