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I use EMT conduit and weld it with a wire-feed welder using flux core wire. I use 3/4" conduit for the roll cage and the main tube of the front axle. The rest is 1/2" conduit. The main side rails are triangulated for strength and rigidity. The body sides are .025" aluminum "kick panel" normally used in screened porch installations and the tops of the nose and tail are made from .060" polycarbonate plastic (Lexan). I cut them to fit and rivet in place, so they become structural members and add to the overall strength of the "tub".
EMT conduit is, of course, just mild steel thin wall tubing that has been zinc coated. It welds best with flux core wire. I have used regular MIG on some of it in the past and the zinc splatters and interrupts the arc. The flux core wire welds more consistently because the spattering zinc doesn't affect the arc.
I have built 18 cars since 2004. A couple of them have taken violent flips and the roll cages have held up fine. Both of those cars, after some repairs to other components, are still competing.
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I thought I remembered the EMT conduit, but I wasn't sure about welding it with any strength. Sounds like you've proven it to be good for the service, and using the flux core wire to offset the zinc is a good idea! I welded a bunch of rigid conduit that was galvanized, making deck railing sections, and didn't consider flux core. I do remember the fumes giving me mild flu-like symptoms for a half day or more....
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Here is a series of pics showing one of the cars I built that took a nasty flip. I originally built this car to order for the Electrical Engineering group at the University of South Florida (Tampa) [Pic 1]. The car was an instant winner.:3dSMILE::cool:
Then they let an inexperienced person drive it in a "celebrity and sponsors" race. When the idiot ran into a turn at full throttle, the car "bicycled" up on two wheels, hooked the chain link fence, did an end-over-end somersault, landed on the roll cage, and then flipped side-over-side and came to rest upright.:eek: The damage was extensive [Pic 2]. Fortunately, the driver was totally unhurt. If you look closely, you can see where the paint is scraped off the roll cage.
The car was brought to me the day after the crash (Sunday); it was scheduled to leave the following morning for a trip to race in Pensacola and then Alabama.:HMMM: The full weight of the car and driver had landed on the cage and, according to my measuring tape, it only moved 1/4 inch! I cut the damaged rear body and supports off, trimmed the rear section off the broken canopy, and set about straightening the front of the frame. After pushing the frame back into shape with a hydraulic post jack, I cut off the right half of the front axle and fabricated a new piece. Five hours after the car arrived at my shop, it was ready to race again [Pic3].:rolleyes: The USF team took the car to Pensacola and Alabama and won their class (Advanced Battery) at both events. The car still looks like this today and is still competing.:)
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Love the black, looks stealth! I bet it gets hot though with the Florida sunshine and humidity! Very cool that you were able to get it back on the track so quickly! Built well Obviously!
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I'm a little slow to report our latest results; I was waiting to get some pictures...:rolleyes:
As I said above - after the December 11th race I cut out the 1/8 x 5-inch plate motor mount and replaced it with 1/4 x 6 plate. Our next race, and the first one of 2022, was a return to Plant City High School's front parking lot on January 8,2022. This is a long front straightaway and a backstretch with a double chicane, joined at the ends with hairpin turns. It's a bit tricky for first-timers because it's easy to overdrive the turns after such long straights. Once a driver learns the patience required to run this course, it's not too bad. It is, however, hard on tires and spokes.:HMMM:
My new #13 car, with all its bodywork in place this time, performed flawlessly all day. I finished both races with a little battery power to spare. Unfortunately, the driver (me) was not as flawless as the car. At the drop of the green flag, and after the first turn, I realized I had forgotten to put on my gloves!:eek: Gloves are required for drivers of open-cockpit cars. I knew I was in violation of this safety regulation, and I wondered how long it would take for the race officials to catch me. The answer is 13 minutes... Yep, 13 minutes into the first race I got black-flagged. I had to go into the pits, find my gloves (I was sitting on them!), and put them on. By the time I got out of the car, donned my gloves, and got strapped back in (with the help of the Plant City emergency crew), I had lost about 6 minutes. Those 6 minutes put me about 9 laps behind the second place car and a bunch more behind the leader. A deficit like that is almost impossible to recover from, so I just took it easy for the rest of the race. Since our overall finish for the day is a total of both races, I began the second race with a significant handicap. The only hope I could have was for one of the other Advanced Battery cars to have a problem that would sideline them for a while so I could make up the lost laps. It didn't happen - all three of us finished both races, so I got another 3rd place, more or less by default.:o
Meanwhile, Jerry Bristow drove my purple #94 car in the Open Standard Battery class. In the first race he beat Rodney Schreck by 2 laps. In the second race, Rodney beat Jerry by 2 laps. That gave them the same number of total laps! So how do the race officials break a tie? They use the two competitors' total elapsed times. Rodey beat Jerry by 0.16 second - the closest finish in Electrathon Florida history!:LOL::D
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The race above was run on January 8th, 2022. The next race, last weekend, was run on February 19th. This was our yearly visit to University of South Florida in Tampa. The USF race has been a popular venue for years and usually has a good turnout. This year was no exception as 14 cars took the green flag.:3dSMILE: There were 4 cars in the Open Standard class, 4 cars in the Advanced Battery class and 6 High School class cars.
Jerry Bristow, in my purple #94, finished second in the first Open Standard race, two and one-half laps behind winner Rodney Schreck. In the second race, Jerry finished second again giving him an overall second place in the Open Standard class.:)
In the Advanced Battery class, the #48 USF car encountered a brake problem and only completed one lap.:rolleyes: Shortly after the halfway point I was considering dropping out to save tires. I figured the best I could do was 3rd place; after all, the #48 car was out and couldn't possibly make up all their lost laps. The #039 car was leading by several laps and #444 Fortuna was also ahead of me by a few laps I could never recover. About the time I was about to head for the pits, the #039 car suddenly stopped.:HMMM: Now I figured I might as well stay on the track and make up some of the laps I was down, so I stayed in the race. When the checkers flew, I was firmly in second place.;)
Between races it was revealed that the #039 had broken the end off his armature shaft!:eek: I sked the driver, Cliff Rassweiler, if he would like to drive my car in the second race. He agreed and, after a scramble to find ballast (he's over 100 pounds lighter than me!), he drove my #13 car to a strong first place finish.:D Altogether, the #13 car ended up second in the Advanced Battery class for the day. Cliff and I will be listed as co-drivers in the official results.:cool:
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After my last Electrathon update I was vacillating on which car I would drive at the April 9th Brandon race because Jerry, my other driver, was scheduled to go back home to Indiana.:HMMM: After some consideration I settled on the purple #94 car. It’s a proven competitive front-runner, so it wasn’t really a difficult decision. It proved to be the right decision as I finished a strong second in the Open Standard Battery class.;) The surprising part is I didn’t get beat by my good friend, Rodney Schreck, as usual (He had battery problems). Instead, I got thrashed by a 14-year-old girl driving her first race!!...:eek: OK, so she and her car have an 80-pound weight advantage on me and mine, so her batteries don’t run down as quick, but she’s got finesse and the nerve of a much more experienced driver. I was impressed.:cool: Anyway, 2nd out of five cars in our class is better than 3rd out of three in Advanced Battery class, so I'm pleased.:3dSMILE:
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13 year old's can be surprising! Glad you've got some competition!
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First, a correction! Breanna Dye, the young lady who whipped us all at Brandon was 15, not 14. Since that last event I think she may have turned 16. Anyway, she is a competent driver and a force to be reckoned with as she proved at our season finale.:HMMM:
OK, let me digress... There was an event at Plant City on April 30th that I did not attend (other family obligation).
Our season-ending race took place on May 7th at Mulberry High School (Mulberry, Florida) on a brand-new parking lot. It was a large layout, and the new asphalt was as smooth as could be. I took my purple Open Class car again, so there were 5 cars in Open Class. The first race was halted at 50 minutes due to rain. Rodney Schreck finished 1st, Breanna Dye finished 1 lap down in second, and I ran 3rd, four laps behind the winner.:(
In the second race, Rodney won again with Breanna second and me in third, all on the same lap.:D We had exchanged the lead a few times, but in the end, as our batteries started to wane, Rodney pulled ahead and that's how we finished. Breanna was about 10 seconds behind Rodney and I was 31 seconds behind her.:cool:
After the races we adjourned to the local VFW post for our year-end banquet and awards presentations. My purple car #94 was awarded 2nd place in season points:3dSMILE: (Open Standard Battery class) and my red #13 car took 3rd in season points:3dSMILE: (Advanced Battery class).
In our Electrathon format, each event is comprised of two races run back-to-back. The total laps of both races determine your finishing order for the day. My purple #94 car was entered in 7 events this year for a total of 14 races. Ryan Norden drove the first two races and finished 2nd. Jerry Bristow drove eight races and got 4 wins and 4 seconds. I drove the final 4 races and got 2 seconds and 2 thirds.
My red #13 cars were entered in 5 events for a total of 10 races. Rodney Schreck drove the converted go-kart in one race and got a 4th place (DNF- sprocket key). Cliff Rassweiler drove the new car in one race and won! I drove both cars in the remaining races with a combination of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place finishes.:rolleyes:
We're all done now until mid-September when we start the 2022-23 season. If the good Lord lets me stay alive and keep my mental and physical faculties, I'll be there!:whacked:
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Congrats Jim. This is one of my favorite threads!
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A good season indeed! Well done Jim, congratulations!
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Fabulous season. Truly exciting stuff.
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I got off to a really slow start this season. I had my second round of Covid in late July (Yes, I am fully vaccinated and boosted) and I had the post-Covid fatigue that hung on until after Christmas.:( On top of that, I pinched my sciatic nerve in mid-September and it almost crippled me. I walked with a cane for about a month and I still have a limp when I get tired. Therefore, I missed the first half of the racing season because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get out of the cars after a race!:rolleyes: So.., the first race of the season was rained out and I just didn't go to the next four.
Finally, on February 11th I went to the University of South Florida race in Tampa. I took my red #13 car to run in the Advanced Battery class. I ran this same car at this race last year and hadn't run it since. Nothing was changed, so I expected to do OK with it. Unfortunately, I was involved in a little "bump and grind" incident with another car about 10 minutes into the first race that knocked off my chain.:mad: (Damage shown in pic 1 below) I coasted to the pits and, after re-installing the chain, I ran the car on the jack to check chain tension, sprocket alignment, etc. Everything seemed good (pic 2), so I strapped back in and rejoined the fray. Something was wrong, though, because every time I went around a right turn at speed, the chain was screaming.:eek: I made 3 laps and the chain jumped off again. I coasted to the pits and quit.
During the break between races, I re-inspected everything. Chain alignment was good. I tightened chain tension slightly. When the second race started, the chain was making bad sounds again on every right turn. I was puzzled; it lasted 11 minutes and the chain jumped again. I coasted to the pits and parked it for the remainder of the day. The only thing I could imagine was something must have been bent slightly in the earlier episode and I would have to investigate later when I could remove the body panels and do some measuring.
I finally got to spend some time on the car on Wednesday after the race. I couldn't find anything wrong at first. Everything measured correctly and everything looked normal, so I started looking for less obvious problems. Finally, I noticed on the left end of the axle, it appeared that the nut had moved in the fork flange!:HMMM: I grabbed a wrench and, sure enough, the axle was not completely tight on that end. It was snug, but not tight. I tightened it, of course, and I found no other faults anywhere. I hope it's fixed. I cleaned the tire marks off the rear body panel and bumped out the dent with a composite hammer. The white finish is a little discolored where the tire burned it, but it's good for now (pic 3). Next race is March 11th; we'll see what happens then.:cool:
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Shame you couldn't finish the race and the scar adds character... I know, easy for me to say.
Thanks for the update -I always enjoy reading about your races,
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Glad your fealing better. A friend of mine got covid around the same time as you. Just when he felt a little better he got pneumonia, and then the Flu. He took a big hit physically and is just now able to do things without rapid fatigue. I have sciatica on my left hip, it rears it's ugly head when I don't get out and exercise enough. I feel your pain litteraly. Glad you figured out the chain issue fingers crossed for your next race.
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Glad your able to get back in racing. Is there a place you can test it before the race?
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Well, I've been remiss in my reporting, so I apologize for that...
The March race was supposed to be our annual "Dash races" on a high school oval. That's where we suspend the 1-hour format and run 20-minute races. We get to gear the cars up and run as fast as we dare since battery life is not an issue in a 20-minute race. Unfortunately, the school where we were supposed to run cancelled the venue and the race organizers had to move the race. They moved it to a parking lot course at a different school that is a big triangle with one unusually tight corner. I don't think that particular course is suitable for the high-speed Dash races. Also, that venue is 3 hours away from me. I decided not to attend and I'm glad I didn't. The bad corner I mentioned caused two rollovers and one crash. The crash, thankfully, didn't cause any injuries, but one of the rollovers caused some severe bruising on one driver.
In April we raced at the Solar Energy Center in Cocoa, Florida. This is a course we have run several times and it seems to further deteriorate every year. It was so rough in one section this year that I dropped out of the race after about 15 minutes. I was running my purple Open Class car. At least two other cars dropped out because the beating actually broke something in their steering or suspension. Between races, the race organizers rearranged the course to eliminate the rough section. I finished the full hour in the second race and got enough total laps to get second place!
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The final race of the season was at Mulberry High School in Mulberry, Florida (just south of Lakeland). I took two cars to the race, my purple #94 Open Class car and my red #13 Advanced Battery class car. The original intent was to let Isabella ("Bella") Burkhardt drive the purple car and I would drive the red car. However, when I got to the track, I ended up letting Jason Gaschel and Brian Kitchner share the driving duties in the red car.
Bella drove her first race of any kind ever to a 3rd place finish in a 6-car field. Jason and Brian garnered a 2nd place in a 4-car field. Bella, Jason, and Brian are all representatives from Florida Power and Light. They were getting a first-hand taste of Electrathon competition because they are recruiting and helping sponsor some new teams for next season! Thank you Jason, Bella, and Brian and thanks to FPL.
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The 2023-24 season kicked off on September 16th at Hillsborough Community College. Unfortunately, I didn't get to go. My collapsed left arch decided to flare up and keep me off my feet all week, so I didn't have my E-car ready to go.:( The second race was at the Kirkland Ranch Academy in Wesley Chapel, Florida. I didn't attend that one either - it's a 3-hour drive to get there and almost 4 hours to get home because of afternoon traffic in and around Orlando. It's just not worth it to me...:HMMM:
This past Saturday, November 4th, we had a race at Plant City High School. I took my Open Class car. The racecourse is set up in the front parking lot. It's a long narrow space, so the course has two long straights connected by a hairpin turn at each end. The backstretch has a double chicane in it to make it more interesting for both drivers and spectators. The surface is relatively bump-free, but it's old sunbeaten asphalt that is very hard on tires.
There were 11 cars entered, but only 3 in the Open Standard Battery class. The first race went smoothly. I hadn't driven since last April, so I was taking it easy and getting re-acquainted with my car and its "feel". Rodney Schreck won it by 4 laps over me and a new entry from Florida State University. I got second by a scant half lap.;) For the second race I picked up my pace a bit and was running with the leaders. The FSU car dropped out at about 15 minutes with a flat tire, so I thought it would be an easy run to second place. At about the 30-minute mark, the FSU car rejoined the fray with a new tire. We were red flagged a few laps later because the scoring apparatus had come unplugged and laps were not being counted!:eek: After a 6-minute delay we continued. All was going well until about 19 minutes to go when my rear tire went flat! I limped to the pits and became a spectator.:mad: In the end, Rodney Schreck won our class by 20 laps and the FSU car beat me by 4 laps. Maybe next time...:rolleyes:
During the previous week, I had switched motors in my E-cars. My Open Class car now has the Motenergy ME-909 motor. It has a higher power rating than the Etek I took out. Because it runs at a different rpm, the ME-909 requires a lower gear ratio. The end result is faster acceleration when needed and better efficiency overall. The Optima Yellowtop batteries I have are 7 years and 9 months old! I wasn't sure they could even last a full hour, but they did. However, they do start showing some weakness after the 35-40 minute mark; I guess it's time to replace...