Automotive Design and Production

JUN 2013

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3 What Happens When You Don't Have a 1.4-liter Inline 4. 2 More Than a Swap. Although the Fiat 500e generally appears to be a 500 with the powertrain replaced by an 83-kW electric drive motor and the gas tank by a 24-kWh lithium ion battery with a liquid and cooled thermal-management system, this wasn't a case of taking a car of the line and saying, "This one will be an EV." (Speaking of the line: Fiat 500s are manufactured at the Toluca Assembly Plant in Mexico, along with the Dodge Journey. To prepare for the build of the 500, extensive changes were made in the plant, ranging from new torque tooling to 110 new dies, from fve new automated closure lines to a fully automated PVC sealant application system.) As Brett Giem, 500e chief engineer points out, the battery pack, which is packaged under the foor, midship and slightly aft so as to provide a weight distribution of 53/47 (the gasoline-powered 500: 64/36), weighs 600 lb. The 500 has a gas tank that holds 10.5 gallons, which is a liquid weight of 87.63 lb. Consequently, they had to develop a new lower-body structure to accommodate and protect the battery, which led to a 10% improvement in bending stifness. Also, they had to redesign the suspension. Spring rates are increased, and there is unique front-strut and rear shock tuning. The 83-kW permanent-magnet, three-phase synchronous drive motor provides 147 lb-ft of torque. That's available from start. To put that into context, the Fiat 500 Abarth and 500c Abarth have a 160-hp 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that provides 170 lb-ft of torque—at from 2,500 to 5,500 rpm. Not from the start. The 500e is peppy. And quiet because you don't have the engine noise in the background. So the engineers had to address cabin noise in a big way. They added additional mastic patches on the foor, and an additional 8-mm acoustic pad to the rear foor. They installed a new carpet mass layer. They added sound-deadening material in the rear quarter body cavity, and acoustic pads to the wheelhouse liners. They put a new gasket between the mirror fag and the door. New noise absorption pads are placed in the front doors. There's new acoustic windshield glass and improved door glass belt and channel sealing. There are new seals for the door and A-pillar, and new upper channel door foam. There's even a new antenna. 49

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