And they wonder why they can't fill any skilled trade positions these days...............
Printable View
And they wonder why they can't fill any skilled trade positions these days...............
Hey Jim, just wondering when we will see you competing in the "E" powered Formula One type cars? lol Have you had an opportunity to catch them running anywhere? Neat stuff!
Hi Dave. Long time no see!:D
Ha! As much fun as it would be, I doubt if any owners are going to offer a ride in a half-million dollar car to an old fart like me.:rolleyes:
I've only seen them on TV, but it's interesting. They run really close (performance wise) because they are all using the same stuff. As battery technology improves and advances the cars will probably run longer races. Time will tell.:cool:
Well, it's been a while, but I'm baaaack!:rolleyes: Okay, back in early September I got an offer on my pretty blue flamed car that I couldn't turn down and I sold it to Mulberry High School. That, of course, left me with no car to race and I really didn't have time to thrash another one together right away.:(
For the October 27th race at Jenkins High School, my good friend and sometimes team mate, Rodney Schreck, offered to let me drive one of his cars. I accepted the offer and I ended up beating him by 3 or 4 laps. I would have felt bad about beating him with his own car (that I built for him), but actually I only won because he had a mechanical problem that sidelined him a few minutes for repairs.;)
I missed the December and January races, but I debuted my new car last weekend (Feb 16) at the USF race.:D The new car is a sort of hybrid; it's my old Silver Bullet design, but updated with independent suspension like my blue flame car had (see below). I won my first race by 4 laps over Rodney. Jerry Bristow drove the second race and led from the first lap. Rodney passed Jerry with 3 minutes remaining and Jerry didn't have enough battery left to pass him back. That's how they finished - Rodney leading Jerry by about 15 feet. When the laps were totaled, my car won the day by 4 laps.
The starting field was small this year - only 8 cars showed up. I built 6 of those.:HMMM: At the end of the second race only 4 cars were still running - I built all of them!! I had an offer to buy my new car, but it's not for sale... Well, not yet, anyway...:o
Very cool and congrats on all the cars doing so well! It sounds like you could make a decent living at building and selling these.
Well, Ryan, I doubt I could make a living building these, but I have made some cash to spend on my hotrod addiction...:D
OK, last Saturday (March 9) I entered the race event at Lennard High School in Ruskin, Florida. This race was held on the paved track around the football field. There were a total of 9 cars entered (I built 8 of them!) - two Advanced Battery cars, two Open Class cars and Five High School cars. I won my (Open) class first race by 4 laps over Rodney Schreck. Jerry Bristow drove my car again in the second race and he won by 2 laps. We had a total of 195 laps; Rodney had a total of 189 laps. The only car that outdistanced us was the Advanced Battery car from USF - he got 196 laps total.:cool:
Is there a reason all these cars run so nuch negative camber
I believe it prevents the spokes from breaking.
Yes, Ted, Firebird77 is correct. We are using some bicycle components for jobs they were not designed or intended to do.:HMMM:
When riding a bicycle, the rider leans into any turn he makes. The amount of lean is according to the speed and degree of the turn, but the result is that the pressure on the spokes is in a straight line from hub to rim. When turning our Electrathon cars, the wheels are held at a stationary angle regardless of our speed and sharpness of the turn. Therefore, the rims and spokes are subjected to extra stress as the wheel is effectively pushed sideways in reference to the hub.:rolleyes: The negative camber helps relieve some of that sideways stress on the spokes of the outside front wheel (The outside front wheel takes the most load transfer during a turn).
My years of building and racing these cars has led to some compromises in engineering and design. I once tried 1 degree positive camber with up to 12 degrees of positive caster - that made the car hard to steer in tight corners. I have tried negative camber up to 10 degrees - that chewed the tread off the inside of the tires and made toe-in/toe-out critical. I even tried dual A-frame independent front suspension that altered the camber angle as the car compressed the suspension in a corner, but it was too unreliable.:p I finally landed on 7 degrees negative camber and 7 degrees positive caster - it is a compromise that seems to work satisfactorily.
After the unsatisfactory results with my dual A-frame suspension, I replaced it with a rigid mounted front axle. It was strong and reliable and easy to maintain and/or repair. The next 13 cars I built all used that same simple front end. My last two cars have independent front suspension using a split tube front axle with a tubular strut rod (radius rod) welded to the axle tube (pic below). So far it has worked well. I still set it up with 7 degrees negative camber and 7 degrees positive caster. The cars settle and deflect very little, so there is minimal camber change. The purpose of the suspension is just to make my 71-year-old bones take less of a beating on a couple of the tracks that are rough.:3dSMILE:
Congrats Jim, another great outing! Will the electric cars that resemble F-1 cars be running someplace where you can get to watch them, or have you seen them run already? I doubt they'll be running anywhere close here, maybe the F-1 track in Dallas? Haven't checked their schedule for this year, but I sure would like to watch them sometime! You mentioned an 'advanced battery' class, wondering how those are different from what you run---they sound more expensive! lol
I run in Open Standard Battery class where the batteries are Gel Cell or AGM spill proof lead-acid type and we are limited to 73 pounds of batteries. In my car (and many others in this class) I use Optima Yellow Top (deep cycle) batteries. Two of them is 73 pounds and I use them wired in series for 24 volts. There are other batteries in use with combinations up to 48 volts, but the 24 volt Optima system has worked well for me.:)
The Advanced Battery class is for Lithium Polymer, Lithium Ion, Nickel Metal Hydride, and other experimental types of batteries. Since they all have different power and discharge curves, they run in a separate class where their battery weight is regulated differently (generally much lighter). For example, Lithium Ion batteries are limited to only 15 pounds; Nickel metal Hydride is 41 pounds. The objective of Electrathon America is to keep everyone limited to approximately 1 kilowatt hour of power. The advanced battery cars, because of their different discharge curve and lighter battery weight, generally run just a bit faster than the Standard Battery cars.:rolleyes:
When I first started in Electrathon, Lithium and other advanced batteries were very expensive. In just the last two or three years the cost has come way down and now may actually be cheaper! I am still running in the Open Standard Battery class because I already have a thousand dollars worth of batteries and a $300+ charger. I am seriously looking at moving to Lithium now.:HMMM:
I have only seen Formula E on television, but I find it very interesting. As battery technology advances, electric transportation will become more common. I owned a 2013 Chevy Volt for about 3 years and loved it. We traded it off for a SUV because it sat so low that my wife and I had difficulty getting in and out of it (she has a bad back and I have arthritic knees). Hyundai now has an electric version of their Kona SUV that has a 285 mile range! I urge anyone who has never ridden in an electric vehicle to do so - the acceleration will surprise you.:3dSMILE:
I understand they accellerate very fast with instant torque curve!
Yes, Steve. My son had a 2012 Chevy Volt. If he put it in Sport Mode and turned off the traction control it would spin the front wheels! He blew the doors off a Camaro one day from stoplight to stoplight.:eek: The Camaro would run him down on longer runs, but the Volt was very quick from 0 to 50. My 2013 was quick, too; I just never raced anyone with it, but I was always impressed with how it could push me back in the seat from a dead stop.:3dSMILE:
Even my Electrathon cars will go from a dead stop to full speed very quickly if I slam the throttle suddenly wide open. It took me a long time to understand the difference. An internal combustion engine has to rev up into its "power curve" to develop maximum torque. An Electric motor is capable of max' torque as soon as the armature moves! Interestingly, the electric motor only makes big power when it needs to. The Etek motor in my Electrathon car is rated at 3.5 hp continuous (on 24 volts), but it will develop up to 8 hp under load.:whacked: Of course, when it makes big horsepower under load it eats battery power. The Chevy Volt did the same; drive it conservatively and it had a 40 mile range before the engine started. Stomp the throttle at every chance and it would use the battery reserve in about half that.:HMMM:
At the Winternationals this year, Chevy's electric Camaro was making passes in the low 10's! Just a prototype, but electric cars are progressing quite well in their performance and range.
Jim thanks for the explaination I figured there was a reason just didn't know Y
Another outing and another first place on Saturday (4-6-19):3dSMILE:... Ok, that's a little over simplified. This past Saturday was our annual "Speed Event" where the races are shortened to 20 minutes instead of 1 hour. The shortened time allows us to gear the cars up and run much faster because we don't have to conserve battery power. Instead of cruising around watching the ammeter we accelerate off the corners and go as fast as we feel comfortable in the turns.:cool: We run this event on a flat quarter-mile oval around a football field. We had a lot of fun, as usual, and I managed to take first place, but it was a close battle. My good friend and unofficial teammate, Rodney Schreck from Miami, was nipping at my tail in both races and finished right behind me both times. When our total laps and race times were added up at the end we both ran 79 laps. I had a total time of 40:00.036, Rodney had a total time of 40:00.040.:D
The real nerve-rattling episode of the day, however, was during the sponsor's race. Once a year at this event, the event hosts, team sponsors, and mentors borrow cars from different teams and have a race. One of the visiting dignitaries was offered a ride in the USF car which he gladly accepted.:rolleyes: The USF car normally runs in the Experimental Battery class, is lithium battery powered, and is one of the two fastest cars in Florida. The new rookie guest driver jumped into the lead at the drop of the green flag and accelerated to what we guess was about 40 mph down the backstretch. He hit turn 3 at full throttle, bicycled up on two wheels, hooked the outside chain-link fence, and did two violent rolls!:eek::eek: He came to rest right-side up and was not injured (thankfully!), but the car was severely damaged.:( I have attached pics below. The first one is the car as I delivered it to the USF team last summer. The next two are as it was brought to me for repair. What a mess..!:HMMM: The good news is the roll cage did its job and kept the driver safe.;)
Maybe a licensing exam should be a prerequisite.
Do you have to let them use your car or is it by choice? In an event like this who is responsible to pay for the damages? I'd be hesitant to let anyone I didn't know or trust on any vehicle I own. They have a similar thing for some of the professional racing schools like Skip Barber. My friend teaches at one of their schools. Years ago they were sponsored by Dodge and every once in a while the execs got to drive on the track or their buddies. I guess they dreaded those days as their are always a few types who push the limits but lack the brain power to deal with bad choices he'd tell me about the vipers and a few other vehicles that Dodge would bring to the event. Very powerful fast cars, but stock not very well designed brakes for the track.....after the cars were pushed for a short period of time they would experience stock brake failures!:eek::whacked:
No, we are not required to let anyone use our cars. This was done completely voluntarily. This guy supposedly had previous experience in Motocross and sports cars. If that was true he should have known that you always take it easy in a car you are not familiar with. My opinion - he was showing off, got himself in trouble, and panicked. Two things have come from this: (1) USF will never again loan their car to an inexperienced driver and (2) the race organizers have ruled that guest drivers will not be allowed to drive Experimental Battery class cars.
Good to hear the second part and sad that a car was damaged. I take it you repair cars for others? Very cool cockpit canopy design! Was a mean looking vehicle all in black, bet it gets a bit hot out in the florida sunshine!
The car was brought to me Sunday afternoon shortly after 1:00 PM. The big rush is because the USF team members all either work or were having exams this week and they are scheduled to leave Friday for two big races in Alabama (next Saturday and Monday).:eek:
The canopy (shown in the first "before wreck" picture) got about the rear 1/3 broken off when the body was pushed up. There isn't time to order a new one from Oregon, so we cut the back off straight and sanded the edge.:HMMM:
Ditto on the rear body panels - not time enough to make new ones, so we took the remains off and cut off the support tubing underneath. the big mess was the upper frame tubes and the front axle. We used a hydraulic jack to push the upper frame rail back out where it was crushed in near the front axle right side. Fortunately none of the lower frame tubes were bent or twisted. I used a piece of 1 x 4 lumber and a 2-pound Compothane hammer to straighten the upper rails; they were pushed out slightly.
Finally, I cut the right end of the axle off, fabricated a new section and grafted it on. The original spindle and brake were not damaged, so we were able to reuse them.;)
It took three of us about 5 hours to make all the repairs. It ain't as pretty as it once was, but at least it's raceable again.:)
Yes, Steve, I make repairs for fellow racers sometimes.:rolleyes: I got tagged to do this job because they needed it done quickly and I built this car originally. I'm familiar with it's details. Since I got involved with Electrathon in 2003 I have built 17 cars (number 18 and 19 are under construction in my shop right now).:HMMM: Whenever I go to a race here in Florida I usually am racing against a field of cars that may be over 50% built by me. At the March race there were 9 cars in the starting lineup - I built 8 of them!:3dSMILE:
Nice! And good for you expediting the USF car repairs even if it means they are a bit lighter minus the body panels and the rear part of the canopy! Who knows might just be the edge to blow the competition out of the water... turning adversity to advantage!
I think the end result looks fine.
Do any of the drivers own a Tesla?
A big congrats on the win and sorry to see the situation with the USAF car. That sucks but at least you were able to help get it fixed back up so they can continue racing it.
.
I don't know of any of our Florida group that owns a Tesla, why?:confused: I know one who has a Toyota Prius (300K miles and counting!) and my son and I both had Chevy Volts for a few years. They were really impressive.:cool:
We'll probably re-make the rear body panels and supports later. Meantime, we only had the one afternoon to make the car driveable.:whacked: I should hear from them sometime late Saturday with results from their first race, so we'll know if my repairs are sufficient.:rolleyes:
I was wondering cause I was just watching you tube of Teslas giving Hellcats a run for their money so I thought I'd ask. I first thought they were a joke but now I'm kinda impressed.I always thought Chevy should have named them something other than Volt.
There new one is the Bolt
https://media4.picsearch.com/is?X-AC...OuU&height=191
the two names almost sound identical, not sure it that helps or hinders people knowing about them
Maybe electric ass kicker would be better LOL
Fugly works for me.
The Bolt is all electric and is in the same vehicle class as the Nissan Leaf (yeah, they ain't pretty).:HMMM: The Volt has an engine and generator so when the battery reaches its programmed low level, the engine starts and powers the system. It's the same technology as a Toyota Prius. The difference is the Prius runs the engine which runs the generator which keeps the battery up all the time; the Volt has a bigger battery which allows it to run 38 to 80 miles on a full charge (depending on the year) before the engine has to run the generator. My wife and I are retired and most of our driving is local (store, pharmacy, doctors, local entertainment), so we sometimes went months between gas stops. The Volt is out of production now, but I believe we will soon see that driveline in some future vehicles. Another one to look for will be the Hyundai Kona Electric. It has a 285 mile range on one charge and can recharge about 80% in 30 minutes.**)
I got the weekend report from the race in Chambers County, Alabama. The USF car won! It placed first in its class and first overall.:3dSMILE::3dSMILE: The driver says it drives just like it did before the crash, so I guess I got everything repaired correctly.:cool:
Today (Monday) they are racing at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. The speeds there are higher, so we'll see how it goes...:rolleyes:
Hey Jim I was checking out the Kona cool car, with great mileage range and rapid charging. Might be my next vehicle down the road!
Great job on the repair. Maybe the drag coefficient was reduced by the shell deletion.
Anyway, I sent you a PM inquiring if you'd like to play with some cabon fiber.
I sent a reply yesterday, Firebird. Sorry for the delay; I've been busy the last few days. I've never used carbon fiber before, so it would be a new learning experience for me. It would be a while before I can get to it, also. When I finish the Electrathon car I'm building for a school I need to catch up on the work on my '32 three-window plus I'm also doing some intermittent work on a '37 Chevy for a friend. The good news (for me) is racing season is almost over for this year, so maybe I can get caught up...:HMMM:
The USF car ran at Barber Motorsports Park on Monday and won again.:D:D Also, the car that finished in second place is another car that I built about 5 years ago.:3dSMILE::cool:
[QUOTE=34_40;583047]Now you're just showing off! LOL...:LOL::LOL::rolleyes::rolleyes::p:p
Yep. At the old age of 71 I finally have something worth gloating about.:D:D:D:LOL::rolleyes: