Quote:
Originally Posted by freebeard
redpoint5 -- If you built an Electrathon racer, do you know Mark Murphy? His BugE is essentially a street legal Electrathon car.
That said—anything that is at the limit of its handling at 45, and tops out at 55 on a track, might not be up to general road conditions. Remember, you have to re-engineer a Bonneville car for every 10mph gain.
I doubt you can tweak your way from 45mph to 65mph. Suspension would be a good place to start.
Look at it parked next to a golf cart. They're essentially a 'neighborhood vehicle'. Where those are allowed they are limited to a 35mph top speed IIRC.
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The car I built wasn't actually for the Electrathon, but for a similar program in the Pacific Northwest sponsored by Portland General Electric. So no, I'm not acquainted with Mark. I built the car in 1999, and the race series continued for just a few years longer before getting dropped, possibly due to liability concerns.
There is no doubt the car would be unsuitable for the street. It was so low to the ground that small pebbles would scrape the belly pan. A speed bump would present a nearly insurmountable obstacle.
I just shared my experience to give a frame of reference. Your weight goals should be easily achievable, but then again I didn't have suspension. The aluminum frame was reasonably easy to MIG weld, and could very easily be picked up with one arm.
Where to place components isn't dependent only on where they fit in the design of the chassis, but weight distribution also needs to be considered. I would imagine having everything behind the driver would create a lot of understeer.
I also think 20hp is a little overkill if the design is efficient enough. Then again, I've never designed something capable of accelerating onto the freeway.