18650 laptop cells for increased range?!

[skyguy_6153]

Ok so recently I've been looking at some videos (search YouTube for Jehu Garcia) about how people have been taking apart laptop batteries, removing the 18650 cells inside, and using them to power their project electric cars. I was just wondering if anyone thinks this is possible with the FFE. I know there was also a video of a guy who did this with his Nissan Leaf, and significantly increased his range. The only problem he ran into was some sort of charging issue, since the car didn't recognize the batteries ( but that can easily be overlooked through hacking the ECU, right :lol: )

Another thing I learned is that these are the same type of cells used to power the Tesla Roadster, Model S, and Model X!

 

[michael]

This would be very expensive and difficult. A much better plan would be to buy an EV that meets your range need where all this work was done by the manufacturer.

 

[EVA]

The other big issue is cooling and heating the batteries you would add. Remember the FFE has active temperature management for the battery. The Leaf is all air cooled. And the DIY electric car is whatever that dude wanted to do.

And don't even think about weak 18650 batteries that might test OK, but a year later are dead.

 

[awefulspeller]

This would be very expensive and difficult. A much better plan would be to buy an EV that meets your range need where all this work was done by the manufacturer.

Agreed, spent a year going down this rabbit hole because of that crazy Mexican dude in California. Was much more time and technically intensive than advertised, for me. Plus, if you burn your car down, is your insurance going to pay for it?

 

[triangles]

It would probably be easier and cheaper to use salvaged Leaf battery cells to construct a 2nd battery that is the same voltage and can then be put in parallel with the OE battery. There would be some stumbling blocks getting it to all work together nicely and I'd imagine you'd have to disconnect and charge the other pack separately. But I only know enough about batteries and electronics to be dangerous and make things burst into flames so pay no attention to what I say. :lol: