Go Back   EcoModder Forum > Introductions
Register Now
 Register Now
 

Reply  Post New Thread
 
Submit Tools LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 11-17-2008, 12:37 PM   #1 (permalink)
EcoModding Lurker
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Bristol, UK
Posts: 22

Octavia - '02 Skoda Octavia Ambiente
TEAM VW AUDI Group
Diesel
Wagons
90 day: 45.94 mpg (US)

Grandpa Vectra - '08 Vauxhall Vectra 120 CDTI
90 day: 36.26 mpg (US)
Thanks: 0
Thanked 4 Times in 2 Posts
ooohhhh, electric :-)

hello!

I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Joe (hence the alias). I'm 15 years old and lets just say have some prior experience of EV's

I partake in the greenpower challenge (www.greenpower.co.uk). I helped design, build and race 4 EV's (3 endurance racers and a drag racer).

the endurance racers are powered by 2 70ah lead acids in series and a 240w wheelchair motor (!). our F24+ car (named Y-Pod?.) can go for around 50 miles on a charge with a top speed of about 40mph (I've had it to 36mph but ran out of gears. the current draw was below 20amps too, and to finish a 1.5 hour race it needs to be around 27.)



our other car that currently races in formula 24 is called R-PodS. It's got the same motor and batteries, but is a completely different shape. Infact, a rather radical shape. see, it was designed to fit me (I was over 6 foot then, I'm now 6'7" and too tall to drive, so have moved onto Y-Pod?.), and the maximum length was less than the length of me and 2 batteries, not to mention the motor and drivetrain too.

so, we designed around that for the smallest frontal area possible, and came up with this:



sorry it's not the best photo, but the greenpower photographers never seem to get a good shot in the FOUR HOURS we race for. this car will go just over 50 miles on a charge, but with a top speed of about 35mph. The cars in this formula use 2 sets of batteries, and have some pretty interesting battery changing strategies.

we have 2 other cars, R-Pod and C-Pod, but both have been retired. R-Pod raced in F24, but was superseeded by R-PodS. C-Pod was a drag racer, but we only raced once before the formula was cancelled. it was powered by a series wound starter motor and 1 70ah lead acid, and would hit 50-55mph tops (if it was geared right. we burnt out our motor because we had the wrong RPM spec). the top car in the formula would do 250m in 16s, which works out as a quarter mile in about 20-25s.

We are currently national level competitors, and Y-Pod is 3rd in the country (beating a car built by bentley, that, if they paid for the materials their car is made of it would have cost Ł80,000! ours is made of old school tables and plywood.) R-PodS is 5th in the country, and is the second highest placed single geared car. the top placed single geared car is also from my school, but another team.

I also race RC cars reasonably well on a small budget compared to the other competitors.

so, here I am. I'm pursuing a career in electromechanical engineering, and hope to work for some automotive company on, you guessed it, EV's.

WOW that was a welcome and a half. well, I hope I see you around!
Joe

P.S
I want to build my own road legal EV. I have a near unlimited supply of 70ah lead acids, some experience and a welder

__________________



  Reply With Quote
Alt Today
Popular topics

Other popular topics in this forum...

   
Old 11-17-2008, 12:44 PM   #2 (permalink)
Administrator
 
Daox's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Germantown, WI
Posts: 11,203

CM400E - '81 Honda CM400E
90 day: 51.49 mpg (US)

Daox's Grey Prius - '04 Toyota Prius
Team Toyota
90 day: 49.53 mpg (US)

Daox's Insight - '00 Honda Insight
90 day: 64.33 mpg (US)

Swarthy - '14 Mitsubishi Mirage DE
Mitsubishi
90 day: 56.69 mpg (US)

Daox's Volt - '13 Chevrolet Volt
Thanks: 2,501
Thanked 2,585 Times in 1,553 Posts
Welcome to the site Joe. Sounds like you've been having some fun.
__________________
Current project: A better alternator delete
  Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2008, 12:47 PM   #3 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
NeilBlanchard's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Maynard, MA Eaarth
Posts: 7,907

Mica Blue - '05 Scion xA RS 2.0
Team Toyota
90 day: 42.48 mpg (US)

Forest - '15 Nissan Leaf S
Team Nissan
90 day: 156.46 mpg (US)

Number 7 - '15 VW e-Golf SEL
TEAM VW AUDI Group
90 day: 155.81 mpg (US)
Thanks: 3,475
Thanked 2,950 Times in 1,844 Posts
Welcome to EcoModder Joe,

Great stuff! Do you have drawings and/or photos of the chassis, and details of the drive system?
__________________
Sincerely, Neil

http://neilblanchard.blogspot.com/
  Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2008, 12:58 PM   #4 (permalink)
Pokémoderator
 
cfg83's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Southern California
Posts: 5,864

1999 Saturn SW2 - '99 Saturn SW2 Wagon
Team Saturn
90 day: 40.49 mpg (US)
Thanks: 439
Thanked 530 Times in 356 Posts
Joe of Loath -

Welcome to EM! You've been doing amazing work. Assuming you weren't ready to start building the EV when you were 2 years old, I can only imagine how far you'll get in the next 15 years!!!!!!!!!!!!

CarloSW2
__________________

What's your EPA MPG? Go Here and find out!
American Solar Energy Society
  Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2008, 02:05 PM   #5 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: London, Ontario
Posts: 1,096

2k2Prot5 - '02 Mazda Protege5
90 day: 33.82 mpg (US)
Thanks: 0
Thanked 17 Times in 14 Posts
Quote:
ours is made of old school tables and plywood
That's hilarious... you'll fit in here.
  Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2008, 04:38 PM   #6 (permalink)
Hi-Tech Redneck
 
Johnny Mullet's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Ashtabula, Ohio
Posts: 1,436
Thanks: 6
Thanked 49 Times in 42 Posts
Send a message via AIM to Johnny Mullet Send a message via MSN to Johnny Mullet
Welcome to the site!
__________________

GeoMetroforum.com - got mpg?
  Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2008, 05:03 PM   #7 (permalink)
X-Frenchy: very
 
groar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Toulouse, France
Posts: 595

scenic - '01 renault scenic
90 day: 43.09 mpg (US)

megane - '97 renault megane classic
Diesel
90 day: 72.53 mpg (US)

dennisius - '06 Toyota Prius
Team Toyota
90 day: 69.27 mpg (US)
Thanks: 9
Thanked 34 Times in 23 Posts
Welcome on-board Joe.

Having build and drive an EV at 15 before having a driving license, ie having burnt fossil fuel, is so cool

Do you have an official web site describing all these cars ?
If no then do not hesitate to use the "Fossil Fuel Free" forum to open some great description threads.

Is there only speed races, or is there also some fuel efficiency races ?

Denis.
__________________
Save money & CO2 at home : http://ecorenovator.org/
Created and managed by the creators of http://ecomodder.com/
---
Earth and health are priceless, so are kilotank and AT-PZEV
Best Mégane tank: 1268.9mi @ 77.847 MPG(US)
2008/06-2011/10 saving:
  • 5725.5 kg CO2 (5342.6+382.9)
  • Diesel / Money: 42.17% = 2446.25€ = 3357.26$


---
megane : thread - kill switch.
  Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2008, 09:15 PM   #8 (permalink)
Master Novice
 
elhigh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: SE USA - East Tennessee
Posts: 2,314

Josie - '87 Toyota Pickup
90 day: 40.02 mpg (US)

Felicia - '09 Toyota Prius Base
90 day: 49.01 mpg (US)
Thanks: 427
Thanked 616 Times in 450 Posts
Hey Joe,

Is your motor generating 250w the way you run it, or is it being overdriven? Because if it's giving its rated output, 35mph on just 250w is really good.

I don't have an engine in my possession that can efficiently crank out a mere 250w of power. Imagine if we could make ourselves get by with just 35mph. Shoot, on average that's faster than most of go when you take stop-and-go traffic into account. Now just figure how much farther you could go on a gallon of fuel if you didn't ever bother with that extra 15-25mph of speed.

MMmm, nice.
__________________




Lead or follow. Either is fine.
  Reply With Quote
Old 11-18-2008, 11:43 AM   #9 (permalink)
EcoModding Lurker
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Bristol, UK
Posts: 22

Octavia - '02 Skoda Octavia Ambiente
TEAM VW AUDI Group
Diesel
Wagons
90 day: 45.94 mpg (US)

Grandpa Vectra - '08 Vauxhall Vectra 120 CDTI
90 day: 36.26 mpg (US)
Thanks: 0
Thanked 4 Times in 2 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard View Post
Welcome to EcoModder Joe,

Great stuff! Do you have drawings and/or photos of the chassis, and details of the drive system?
sorry I haven't got any drawings, I didn't do the CAD (planning suxx!).

the drive system is a regular bike chain in both, but Y-Pod has 8 gears on a derailleur with a layshaft.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cfg83 View Post
Joe of Loath -

Welcome to EM! You've been doing amazing work. Assuming you weren't ready to start building the EV when you were 2 years old, I can only imagine how far you'll get in the next 15 years!!!!!!!!!!!!

CarloSW2
lol, I hope so
__________________



  Reply With Quote
Old 11-18-2008, 11:54 AM   #10 (permalink)
EcoModding Lurker
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Bristol, UK
Posts: 22

Octavia - '02 Skoda Octavia Ambiente
TEAM VW AUDI Group
Diesel
Wagons
90 day: 45.94 mpg (US)

Grandpa Vectra - '08 Vauxhall Vectra 120 CDTI
90 day: 36.26 mpg (US)
Thanks: 0
Thanked 4 Times in 2 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by MazdaMatt View Post
That's hilarious... you'll fit in here.
lol, I'm like that all the time some engineers plan things, others bodge it. guess which one I am

Quote:
Originally Posted by groar View Post
Welcome on-board Joe.

Having build and drive an EV at 15 before having a driving license, ie having burnt fossil fuel, is so cool

Do you have an official web site describing all these cars ?
If no then do not hesitate to use the "Fossil Fuel Free" forum to open some great description threads.

Is there only speed races, or is there also some fuel efficiency races ?

Denis.
yes, http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...eenpower.co.uk has loads of info including race reports, results, specifications and a forum, and our school greenpower page has some info: Chipping Sodbury School Greenpower Challenge: Home Page

the races we have are a mix of efficiency and speed. you have to gear the car to run for the 1.5 or 4 hours (depending on the formula) on 1 or 2 sets of 2 batteries, and be the fastest one out there (hopefully!)

there is also another race series called the shell eco marathon in which you enter and race for the highest fuel economy. an F24+ car like Y-Pod? raced with the only addition being a brushless motor and a small solar panel, and managed about 4100MPG! although in theory a top ranking car like both of ours runs at 1500mpg.

__________________




Last edited by Joe of Loath; 11-18-2008 at 04:42 PM..
  Reply With Quote
Reply  Post New Thread


Thread Tools


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Electric car conversion: Project ForkenSwift MetroMPG Fossil Fuel Free 1041 07-28-2014 09:19 AM
Electric assist for SUV? Tony Raine EcoModding Central 8 10-15-2012 08:17 PM
“Revenge of the Electric Car” Coming in 2009 SVOboy EcoModder Blog Discussion 18 03-28-2012 07:24 PM
Article: Electric Subaru Due in 2009, One Year Early MetroMPG Fossil Fuel Free 8 08-29-2009 12:19 AM
Milwaukee Electric Car Building bennelson Fossil Fuel Free 5 10-20-2008 07:49 PM



Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.5.2
All content copyright EcoModder.com