EV West has a Redshift... and a ****load of Alta batteries

[snydes]

I follow this guys YouTube videos, he does a ton of videos on DIY powerwalls and various EV tech which is interesting. He also does some work together with EV West who sells various EV products and also does EV conversions to ICE vehicles. In one of his latest videos I caught a glimpse of a Redshift while he visited EV West. Purely speculation but this could be a possible source for electrical repairs to these bikes. I may contact them and ask if they plan on digging into one and see if I get a reply. It's only going to be a matter of time till places such as this dig into these things and see what they can do.

 

[Philip]

I asked in another thread, but I am going to ask it here as well. Are there any companies or individuals who repair Tesla batteries?

 

[schwankl]

well, one of their employees got one. R-series is sony right? Does anyone have the sku?

 

[schwankl]

vtc6 ... run cool like the r's ... i wonder where they got these pallets from

 

[snydes]

If you watch the video in its entirety, and while they don't come out and say it (other than dropping hints), it's pretty obvious those pallets are all of Altas 18650 inventory. We will most likely be hearing the final chapter of the Alta story very soon.

 

[Redwolf]

If you watch the video in its entirety, and while they don't come out and say it (other than dropping hints), it's pretty obvious those pallets are all of Altas 18650 inventory. We will most likely be hearing the final chapter of the Alta story very soon.

"Final" chapter in the Alta story???! Are you trying to make me cry?

 

[snydes]

Sorry!!! I’m always the bearer of bad news around here...

 

[Redwolf]

I guess I better stock up on tissues right away then...

 

[revoltlution]

Sorry!!! I’m always the bearer of bad news around here...

Any news is better than no news! Let's peel the band-aid...

 

[snydes]

It’s the only way to move forward. This limbo stinks.

 

[Mark911]

I ran into one of EV West's projects at this years Slam Fest at Milestone raceway. He had a converted YZ or CR something in the back of his truck. It looked pretty cobby compared to the Alta but he mentioned that the owner of EV West just started tinkering with full sized motorcycles and was kinda of "mad scientist" kind of guy. I wouldn't doubt that they saw the opportunity to get into battery packs big time with the purchase of Alta's 18650 inventory. The story and the product certainly fit the bill. So much for the liquidation sale!

EV West is about an hour from me, maybe I'll take a drive down there soon.

However, it's not surprising to me that even the R battery Pack (With the 15A Sony cells) still had thermal issues. The fact that under only 10 amps continuous the VTC6 cell managed to hit over 50C is troubling. Discharging while just sitting on the desk without 6 more cells surrounding it literally a mm apart is just about the best thermal environment that can be expected (other than liquid cooled) and it still reached a temp where many feel is too high for long term life.

 

[TCMB371]

Really crappy that we are learning the company has gone bankrupt via a youtube video showing the liquidated asset (batteries) that another company bought.

 

[OneLapper]

Well, at least we know for certain which cells the A pack and R packs are using.

A pack uses a Panasonic NCR18650BD rated at 3200mAh and 10amp continuous
R pack uses a Sony VTC6 rated at 3000mAh and 15amp continuous

 

[Philip]

Can someone with the inside knowledge say if buying a few of these batteries as spares makes any sense? Have they ever gone bad, the batteries themselves, not the connection wires?

 

[Philip]

Well, at least we know for certain which cells the A pack and R packs are using.

A pack uses a Panasonic NCR18650BD rated at 3200mAh and 10amp continuous
R pack uses a Sony VTC6 rated at 3000mAh and 15amp continuous

Notice that the A-pack Panasonic batteries are rated at 3200 mAh, compared to the the Sony 3000 mAh. Nobody has noticed a reduced range on the MXR, although our iron butt record setters have all been the MX/EX bikes. This explains it.

Also, the R-pack Sony batteries are rated at 15A continuous and 30A maximum, compared to the Panasonic 10A. So, if Alta could get 42hp out of the A-pack, then the R-pack should be able to produce 63hp continuous and 126hp maximum. Who the hell will need gears or the clutch then!

 

[TCMB371]

Notice that the A-pack Panasonic batteries are rated at 3200 mAh, compared to the the Sony 3000 mAh. Nobody has noticed a reduced range on the MXR, although our iron butt record setters have all been the MX/EX bikes. This explains it.

Also, the R-pack Sony batteries are rated at 15A continuous and 30A maximum, compared to the Panasonic 10A. So, if Alta could get 42hp out of the A-pack, then the R-pack should be able to produce 63hp continuous and 126hp maximum. Who the hell will need gears or the clutch then!

60+ horsepower would truely make this bike INSANE.

 

[Oded]

Can someone with the inside knowledge say if buying a few of these batteries as spares makes any sense? Have they ever gone bad, the batteries themselves, not the connection wires?

Good question. Would like to know as well.

 

[Oded]

Thinking about it, where do these out of business companies publish their inventory for sale?
These EV guys bought it from someone. Who is this someone? It can be very usefull for us to know what is offered.

 

[OneLapper]

Thinking about it, where do these out of business companies publish their inventory for sale?
These EV guys bought it from someone. Who is this someone? It can be very usefull for us to know what is offered.

It's possible that Alta called them. I can't imagine any OEM buying used batteries, especially when the A pack batteries had a build date in 2017. A bunch of guys like EV West is a good match.

 

[FrancoLizard]

Just in case there was any doubt that these are Alta's batteries . . . this image is from Jehu's site. Note the customer name on the box. Faster-Faster, Inc. is Alta.