Electric-powered racing article

#1 07-30-2007, 11:57 AM

Here's another read that I think some of you will find interesting:
E-dragsters go for gas-powered records - Automotive - MSNBC.com

Ian
DragRacingOnline.com

#2 07-30-2007, 02:38 PM

"In professional drag racing I expect to see the electrics eventually pass up the fuel dragsters"
"We have a chance of actually taking away some nitromethane records, perhaps the overall record"

this guy is NUTS!

#3 07-30-2007, 06:08 PM

Electric motors are vastly more efficient than reciprocating piston, internal combustion engines. In the early days of automobiles gasoline engines won out because gasoline is a relatively light and portable form of energy with superior range to the electrics' batteries or the steam engine's water supply.
Improvements in battery technology may work wonders in allowing us to use the inherent advantages of electric motors.
When Henry Ford was building tri-motors, airplanes wore biplane wings and radial engines. Today, except for the horizontally opposed engines used in light aircraft, most airplanes use turbines (a form of "jet") or jet engines with a single large wing for lift and a smaller one at the rear for downforce to compensate for the weight of the engines and keep the craft level.
The electric racer may be nuts. He also may be correct.
They laughed at Edison.
Cheers,
Ed

#4 07-30-2007, 08:13 PM

I dunno about you guys, but I'm impressed that a car running on LI batteries can run mid 11's. And 8.22 @ 156 on a electric bike? That's nuts! I can't wait to read more about this guy after he gets his "second-generation" motors. Verrry interesting......

#5 07-30-2007, 11:01 PM

its possible.... the biggest factor for electric powered any thing is weight.. and with the recent jumps in power with the new lighter Li-po and Li-on cells... it could be done....

my hobby of r/c drag racing has many cars with 66ft times of .820 sec.. yes 66 ft not 60ft... and 132ft in 1.4 secs at close to or over 100mph..

#6 07-30-2007, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Billy Weeks

its possible.... the biggest factor for electric powered any thing is weight.. and with the recent jumps in power with the new lighter Li-po and Li-on cells... it could be done....

my hobby of r/c drag racing has many cars with 66ft times of .820 sec.. yes 66 ft not 60ft... and 132ft in 1.4 secs at close to or over 100mph..

I will admit that this is impressive, but sounds (pun intended) boring.

#7 07-30-2007, 11:24 PM

Ya sure, The only way you'll beat a fuel car is with a battery the size of a Peterbuilt.

#8 07-30-2007, 11:39 PM

That article stated the bike ran 8.2, but the KillaCycle has run 8.1

KillaCycle - World’s Quickest Electric Motorcycle

And good air, bad air, doesn't affect electric motors.

#9 07-30-2007, 11:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Gonzales

I will admit that this is impressive, but sounds (pun intended) boring.

yeah the sound is nice.. i run nitro and electric r/c drags.. but speed is pretty impresive.. the electric cars sound like a jet car when they go by...

Tim... carefull.. i said the same thing.. many years ago in a different arena.. came back to bite me as well...

All i am gonna say is its going ot be interesting when it happens....

for years several of the electric speed run cars on the salt flats have used sub -c nicads and nmh cells... but switching to the new li-po and li-on cells have lost ove 1000pds... with the same voltage/amp out puts..... and had a massave speed increase due to the loss of weight...

Billy

#10 07-30-2007, 11:53 PM

http://home.comcast.net/%7ejustin101...g/1stround.WMV

#11 07-31-2007, 12:00 AM

Would anybody pay $$$ to watch Electric Drag racing??? I can always turn off the Volume on TV if I want that!

#12 07-31-2007, 12:09 AM

I watched that bike run 8.16 at 155 at the ADRA drags at Firebird earlier this year. I have to tell you, it is impressive. What is really cool is that it sits on the starting line basically silent. Then it leaves the line with a very low electric motor noise, and blasts down the quarter mile, almost silently!

You have to see it to believe it.

#13 07-31-2007, 01:52 AM

Here from Phoenix a gentleman named Dennis Berube who's a welder repairman by trade runs an electric dragster. It's touted as the fastest 1/4 mile electric car in the world and to my knowledge, he's maintained that honor for about a decade.

You can say it's no fun to hear or watch but we always got a real kick out of watching him run and listening to him talk about the future. Dennis is very intelligent and well spoken and he constantly works on new technology. The latest battery technology will be earthshaking to say the least.

I remember one evening at Speedworld, Ted Hoover, rest his soul, was walking across the top end of the track between runs when Dennis came by him at 150 or so MPH. Ted had just cleared his lane by a couple feet and Dennis never saw him. Needless to say, Ted started using his visual senses as well as the audible sounds from the track thereafter.

#14 07-31-2007, 12:26 PM

Fascinating!

Hey, I didn't like Pro-Stock bikes when I first heard them either(Kawas and Suzukis) .
I really like to see innovation.

#15 07-31-2007, 12:42 PM

I'm not sure how much a complete fuel burning blown Hemi weighs but I would guess around four or five hundred pounds. Lets use 7000 H.P. as a realistic number for output.
I suspect it will be a long while before an electric motor will make that kind of power at that weight and size.
And what good is it without the smell of nitro and the ground pounding noise!!

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