The car sits very high, while most cars sit as low as possible. Obviously it wouldn't be good on short road courses. Does this design have a lower drag coeffeicient? Have you done any actual wind tunnel testing?
We do not have access to a wind tunnel or anything else of the sort. The car does sit high, Which is out of the ordinary for our designs but it is not necessarily a bad thing. This car proved effective. Not being complete and running in poor weather conditions (rain, a lot of rain) in Kansas we still managed to average over 55 mph for the hour and hit speeds of over 60 mph.
Though this car was originally intended strictly for long courses, I wouldn't be so quick to say it couldn't be used in short courses. Our other cars similar in size and turning radius have managed to win quite a few tight track courses.
It's true, we haven't done yellow. That's a nice bright color! I'll be sure to mention that. ;)
G'day from Australia guys. We're trying to get electrathon up and running over here on the west coast of Oz. Shannon I really like your car, even though I'm more of a cycle-car kinda guy. My design we're building at my school at the moment follows the trend of having a higher ground clearance for aero reasons - is that why you went with that concept for this latest car?
G'day from Australia guys. We're trying to get electrathon up and running over here on the west coast of Oz. Shannon I really like your car, even though I'm more of a cycle-car kinda guy. My design we're building at my school at the moment follows the trend of having a higher ground clearance for aero reasons - is that why you went with that concept for this latest car?
Is there an active group currently in Australia? Electrathon has its roots from there.
Not yet, but we are working on it. We have a race in the west called the eV Challenge. It's basically like electrathon however the car rules are different - only 432Wh capacity maximum, and the dimensions are limited to max length of 2250mm (roughly 88 1/2 inches or 7 1/2 feet) and a minimum track of 1000mm (3 and a bit feet). We need three drivers in the hour so at least 2 pit stops are required.
Unfortunately the eV Challenge was only 1 race a year and the organisers were not willing to put more races on, plus the safety rules leave a lot to be desired. So a few of us who race in the eV Challenge are trying to get Electrathon up and running in West Australia and eventually spread it to the rest of the country.
If you've got any info on the original australian races that would be awesome though. I'll let you guys know when things get off the ground here - you can come over and race down under some time...
The history seems to have gone away from the website. I did find this:
Clark Beasley is the Former Australian National Champion. He introduced the "Electrathon" to America in the early 90's, and won the 1998 United States National Championship in his old Australian Slingshot
No worries. It's a gravity racer - think soapbox racer. That means no motor/batteries just gravity powering it. I called it the Blowfish, with the blow standing for Bloody Lot Of Work! It's a simple 3/4 inch tube spaceframe with a fibreglass body. Steering is kart style and the wheel covers are all identical built from a mold. Uses 20 x 1 3/8 racing BMX wheels and 4 wheel disc brakes. Has 2 pedals, one for the front brakes and one for the rear brakes.
I built it for a gravity race at Australia's premier race track, Bathurst, back in 2008. I was hoping that the race would be an annual event so my students could build cars to race there as part of an Engineering course but the organisers never held another race.
Nice.
Was the track steep enough to need brakes?
We tried separate pedals for the left and right brake on a three wheel tadpole style electrathon! thinking if we had to waste energy braking, we might as well turn too. Combined with steering, it might have helped a little. We moved to regenerative braking instead.
The Blowfish might make a slick electrathon vehicle. If you can't fit lead acid, you might have room for Li poly pack. How to add a drive system, DIY Hub motors?
I've got an older video from someone last year showing the Australian races and some very old footage showing what the Cloud cars looked like back in the day. Not only does it show Clark Beasley, but it shows Dave Cloud at a younger age as well!
No, I don't think it would work for electrathon. It would probably have enough room for a LiPO pack yes, however I'm not too sure about running twin hub motors - plus the track is about 1400mm which is too wide for electrathon. The pedals were ok but we had issues with the balance left to right on the front despite using a balance bar, which caused a spin at approximately 110km/h! We didn't need to use the brakes on the run (although committing to a blind 120 degree corner at 80-90km/h took a few deep breaths) only at the finish, which is where I spun.
In terms of the old video Zaine would you mind uploading it to Youtube and posting a link here?
I know my dad has a few pictures and videos from 20+ years ago when it first started here in the states. And I am pretty sure he has some contact information for Mr. Beasley. I will see what I can find out!
Clay, As far as the higher up design, the original point was yes for aero reasons. It seems to work okay, but the car has proven to be a bit picky.
I think what Shannon means is the car has a couple problems that still need to be worked out. That's what she means by "picky." What that would be I wouldn't have a clue.
