This is the Official A123 Racing Support Forum and your question is
I am starting a new project converting a vehicle to an EV, and would love to hear your expert opinions on which batterys to use.
Seems to me their can only be one correct answer.
A123 cells.
I am sure they will cost more than the normal marine flooded batteries, but haven't looked to see how much more.
They will cost a great deal more.
Example my field charging source is a pair of 125Ah (250Ah total) flooded deep cycle batteries. Cost me $145.
Similiar voltage and capacity with A123 cells would be min. of 324 cells at min. of $10 ea for a total of $3240. Cells would be even more expensive from most sources.
Charles