Thread: Electrathon - A Different Kind of "Hotrod"

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I'm a little slow in getting to this, but better late than never...

My son and I took my two Electrathon cars to Brandon, Florida last weekend (Jan. 29) and had a pretty good day. Both cars finished both races (for a change). My son, Jim Jr, drove the black # 13 car to a 3rd place in the adult division and I drove the white # 94 to 4th place. There were 14 cars in the field of which 6 were adult division. The pics below are from the first race.

The 12-gauge spokes have apparently solved broken spoke problem; after two complete 1-hour races, neither car has any loose spokes. Next race is Feb.19 at University of South Florida in Tampa.

Oh, I forgot to mention, the blue & yellow car in the last picture above was the overall winner. The "Electrocutioners" from Orlando remain undefeated. They have been beaten (barely) in some individual races, but remain undefeated in overall event stats, completing more total laps than the competition in every event they have attended!

Way to go Jims! Congrats on 3rd and 4th!

OK Pop,
First off you do not wire the Caps in series, it won't work correctly. They go in parallel. In theory they reduce spikes and also make up the difference of power lost due to the length of cable. Although there is little cabling in these cars the draw and the spikes on the batteries are high. When a spike is presented to the battery system the cap is drawn from very quickly then recharged at a slower rate than the discharge occurred. Thus reducing or eliminating the spike and the hard fast draw on the battery.

that is a great finish. first place here you guys come!

Thanks, Barb. I hope you're right.., but it didn't happen this weekend. We went to Tampa yesterday (Saturday) to run a race at the University of South Florida. Jim Jr. brought home another 3rd place trophy while I tied for 5th. It looked like I was on my way to actually beating my son, but late in the second race my right front tire went flat! Oh well, that's racing.

Originally Posted by crankenstein

OK Pop,
First off you do not wire the Caps in series, it won't work correctly. They go in parallel. In theory they reduce spikes and also make up the difference of power lost due to the length of cable. Although there is little cabling in these cars the draw and the spikes on the batteries are high. When a spike is presented to the battery system the cap is drawn from very quickly then recharged at a slower rate than the discharge occurred. Thus reducing or eliminating the spike and the hard fast draw on the battery.

Seem's to make sents ,make up a in line pack that can just be added into main power cable and see what happens as a test?
And Welcome Jr.,Crankenstein.
I guess there's been no sign of Rodeny and my old "Rolling Thunder"racer?

Hi Bat.
Rodney is at all the races, but he hasn't debuted your old car yet. He told me it will probably be next season.

We are racing at Plant City this coming Saturday...

Well, I'm a bit remiss in my reporting. We went to Plant City on March 26. My son finished 2nd in the adult division and I had a DNF in the second race due to another flat right front tire! This flat tire crap is becoming infuriating...

On the weekend of April 16 I took both cars to Pensacola, Florida for the Emerald coast 120. My son was not available for an extended absence, so I had Matt Miley driving the black car for me again. Last year he drove it to a second place in the adult division and 3rd overall (14 cars). This year he almost duplicated those results by finishing 2nd in the adult division again and 4th overall (19 cars). I drove the white car to 4th in the adult division and 8th overall (not bad for an old man who is 50 pounds over the minimum weight).

On Wednesday (4-20) I sold the white car to Foundations Christian Academy in Tampa, so another team enters the rigors of Electrathon racing. I have already ordered new front hubs and will begin construction of a replacement car ASAP. I have some ideas for a few changes...


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Well, I've been remiss in my reporting - a month late, actually - but better late than never... On May 14th I ran the black #13 car (remember I sold the white car) in a race at Brooks County High School in Quitman, GA. This was the first ever Electrathon race in the state of Georgia. In practice that morning I bent the right front spindle which caused the right brake caliper to drag! I did some quickie adjustment/repair work to make the car driveable and got ready for the first race. Then the rains came... Race time came and went... Finally the rain began to subside and the sky began to show some blue; the decision was made to go ahead with the first race. I duct-taped the vents shut on the back side of my motor so the rear wheel wouldn't throw mud and water directly into the housing and got ready to race. The first race went green 40 minutes late with 10 cars running in a light sprinkle...

All was going well for a while. I was holding my own, taking the left-hand turns easy so I wouldn't further damage the weakened right spindle. Then, about 30 minutes into the hour, the rains came again. Visibility was bad and my glasses fogged up making it even worse. The rain water was sloshing around in the car; I felt like I was lying in a bathtub with my clothes on while it was slowly filling with cold water. Needless to say, I was wet and miserable and I have never been so glad to see the end of a race.

After a two hour break for lunch and car prep, the second race started under bright sunny skies on a dry track. We were running the course in the opposite direction now and most of the turns were right-handers, so I was able to drive the car harder in the corners without worrying about the weakened right spindle. By the time the race was over, my clothes had dried out and my spirits were much improved. I ended up fourth overall for the day and first in the Open (adult) Division. At this race, however, trophies were only given for the top 3 overall and not for the different divisions, so I came home "empty-handed", but pleased with my overall performance.

Don Morgan and crew put on a great event and the track turned out to be a real challenge with the nearly 15 foot change in elevation from its highest to lowest points. All the drivers liked the course and everyone is looking forward to running this one again next year.

The final race of the season was held May 21st at the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds near Tampa, FL. This course was an oval set up in a large parking lot. It had straightaways that measured approximately 625 feet long. At one end the straights were connected by a simple, sweeping U-turn, but at the other end the turn had a decreasing radius that made it a real challenge. I had repaired and reinforced the front spindles on my car after the previous week's race and changed the gear ratio to the same as I ran at Pensacola. I was ready!

The first race went without a problem. I finished in 2nd place in the Open (adult) Division with my batteries still pulling fairly strong. The second race was not so easy. We were only about 8 minutes into the hour when my right front hub blew apart! Fortunately it happened close to my pit and I managed to limp in under my own power, but the brake caliper was badly damaged. I had a spare wheel with me, but didn't have a tire mounted on it. (Hey, I've never had a problem like this before and didn't expect it.) By the time I got the tire on the wheel, the wheel on the car, and the brake caliper working again I had lost over 20 minutes.

With batteries that are 20 minutes fresher than everyone else's, you can run a car pretty hard - and that's just what I did. Passing other cars inside and outside in the corners, blasting past on the straights, sliding around the short-radius turn 3. Well, I made up a few laps, but there's no way to recoup 20 minutes of time lost in the pits. It sure was fun running without regard for saving the batteries, though. I racked up enough laps in the two races to finish 3rd in the Open Division, so I brought home another trophy.

My white car, now owned by the Foundations Christian Academy, finished 2nd in the Student Division in their first outing with it. Needless to say, they are pleased with their purchase. If I could sell a few more of these I could make this hobby pay for itself...

Way to go Jim. Dealing with all the problems and coming thru in placing position is pretty darn sweet! It was fun reading the last few entries, kinda like watching a race on the edge of your seat, hoping for a good outcome. Must have been fun zooming past everyone, not worried about how much juice you were using! Now if you could just get some solar cell skin for the new car!

Thanks, Steve; glad you enjoyed my stories. Yes, it was a blast. The performance of these cars is sometimes pretty astounding. That was some of the most fun I've had all season...

Solar cell skin would put me in a different class and I don't want to run alone. Besides that, have you ever looked at the price of solar cells? UGH!

Hi Jim,
Good going there. I been off site for some time,just could not get it to work for me when it got update or what ever,but seems OK now.
I had not herd from Rodny at all with my old racer? Anyway been helping my son on his T-bucket,near done. He looked into getting some upholstery done and holly cow the cost was stupid high I think. So as is my way,I know zip about sewing,but jump in both feet and learn on the WWW for 3 weeks an did his seats and door panels for him. I posted that Here;
HOME MADE rod seats and panels
I was told by some pro's not too even try doing vinyl car seats with a old housewife sewing machine,an't that like a dubble dair ya or something!!

Hi Bat,
Long time, no see. Yeah, I had a pretty good year with Electrathon. I'm too heavy (fat) to run in front of the pack, but I can't resist having the fun of driving myself. My second car trophied every time out, though, with lighter weight drivers. I have just started building the replacement for my white car...

I took a look at your thread on your upholstery job. Amazing! I commented over there.