WKU News

At WKU’s Innovation Campus last week, Holley Performance Brands (NYSE:HLLY) showcased the Company’s 1992 Chevrolet 1500 which has been converted from internal combustion to EV. This particular truck has been in the Holley family for nearly 20 years in Bowling Green and many at the Company affectionately call the truck Thumper - recalling fond memories driving on Power Tour and using the truck in trade shows to demonstrate the Company’s latest technology in performance over the last two decades.

Currently, the R&D team at Holley converted the truck to EV using an ecosystem of power electronics from Holley’s AEM brand, including the latest AEM VCU275 (Vehicle Control Unit) which just launched to the public last week – simplifying full vehicle control of battery management, motor/inverter control, and the overall enabler of multiple subsystems in the vehicle, communicating primarily over CAN bus, which is a vehicle bus standard designed to allow microcontrollers and devices to communicate with each other. Beside the AEM VCU275 lies the AEM PDU-8 (Power Distribution Unit) which provides the ability to program and control high-voltage contactors, cooling fans, headlights, brake lights, turn signals, windshield wipers in the vehicle.

Between the frame rails of the vehicle and under the cabin is the 400 Volt battery enclosure, keeping weight low to the ground and in the center of the vehicle optimizes vehicle dynamics and ride quality. In Bowling Green, Holley’s R&D team fabricated the battery enclosure which houses approximately 50 kWh of lithium ion battery modules monitored and managed by a combination of AEM’s BMS-18 Satellites, each capable of measuring up to 18 cells and 3 temperatures (thermistors) which are then linked into AEM’s BMS-18 Master via a high-speed serial interface (isoSPI) that allows additional satellite units to be daisy chained together.

The truck is charged using a J1772 port located within the gas tank door which links to the AEM CCU (Combined Charging Unit) which serves a dual purpose as an On-Board Charger (OBC) and a DC-DC Converter (DCDC). The OBC charges the HV Battery Pack by taking 120v or 240v AC energy from the grid, converting it to high voltage DC and charging the high voltage battery in the vehicle. The DC-DC converter takes the high voltage from the battery pack and converts it to low voltage to maintain the charge in the vehicles 12V battery. The DC-DC converter performs the duties that the alternator does in an ICE vehicle. The CCU is fully controlled by the AEM VCU via the CAN bus and the OBC and DC-DC report voltage, current and status information back to the VCU.

Powering the rear wheels is a Tesla Small Drive Unit, commonly found in salvaged Tesla Model S & X front and rear configurations, which has been upcycled and modified through the use of AEM’s SDU Control Board which communicates directly to the VCU275. With AEM’s SDU Control Board, the Tesla Small Drive unit produces over 300 horsepower or 220+ kW.

In the interior, AEM’s CD-7 Digital Display and AEM’s 8-Button CAN Keypad retrofits instrumentation and improves haptics for driver controls. The team also used a full catalog of parts from Holley including Baer Brakes, Brothers Trucks restoration parts, and Detroit Speed suspension products to make Thumper special.

The Holley R&D team will continue to use the truck for development purposes as it looks to simplify internal combustion to EV conversions for aftermarket applications. To find out more about Holley Performance Brands’ AEM EV Conversions, please visit www.aemelectronics.com and www.holley.com.

For more photos visit the WKU Innovation Campus Facebook or Linkedin account.