EV at Bonneville Speed Week (Aug 8 to Aug 14)
 

Tesla powered LSR car built by EVWest out here in Southern Cali. They say they are going for a class record. Instagram screen capture:

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1597029513

Updates to follow...

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https://cleantechnica.com/2020/08/04...ered-lakester/

Build video and pictures in link.


:)

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Racing victories and records is undoubtedly one of the ways EVs will conquer the market as the years/decades progress. Range anxiety is one impediment. Slow anxiety is another.

Thou shalt not embed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=Uz51QE8EYkM

Lakester is my favorite class. That's where the flathead V-8 P-38 belly tanks ruled. The aerodynamics of that body is of most interest to me. Open spoke wheels?

Slow day on Ecomodder so it's hard to stay focused. The compound word of the day is Aggregated Diamond Nanorods.

edit:
The EV West Courtesy Shuttle bus door on the wall behind him is cool. Michael Bream is Okay. The patinaed commercial signage is Excellent! :thumbup:

2nd edit:

• Solar recharge between runs (best salt in decades)
• Ice water cooling enables hermetic sealing to prevent salt corrosion
• Data gathering for the new vehicle for next year, an E3 streamliner

$$$ planing for an electric retro-mobile: https://youtu.be/Uz51QE8EYkM?t=5144

Right?! Why not "Tesla style" slotted wheel covers to go with their Tesla motor? :)

The Instagram got an update:

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1597105124

I wonder if 175 is enough to break the E2 class speed record they are apparently after.

According to the video, the rules (SCTA is big on rules) you have to qualify at 175mph on the short course before you graduate to the long course.

Huh. I missed that detail, but cool. For anyone considering watching the video/podcast freebeard posted (I just did). The discussion of the LSR EV really runs from 19:11 - 51:43. After that is a great discussion of manual transmissions and EVs. The whole video is worth it (except the first few minutes, which are add for ED pills... lol.). LOVE love love EVWest. Wish I had some money.

https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-f...-salty-bug.jpg

Wish I was there. :(

The trailer with a suntracking servo-mechanism is perfect for Bonneville. They can capture enough energy during the 4-hour turnaround to power the run. Plus 200% capacity in spare battery packs. An electric hoist to R-and-R the battery packs.

They may be the only electric competitor this year. I think Arcimoto should back a team there. It sounds like the FUV would be in the E1 (<1100lb) class.

edit:
So that's why the link I followed picked up at the 3½ minute mark. I didn't know.

This one is Okay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZqhlcvI5vY

Going for a record of maybe 214 MPH, they say they hit 211 today:

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1597194894

On this page electrics top the list:
I don't think an FUV has the raw power to top 200.

FUV?
 

I don't know what this is. Help?

A still from the video of yesterday's run at about max speed (200+), as posted on Instagram. Those are the REAR tires in the foreground. You can just barely see part of the front tires in the background.

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1597262747

"SECTION 6 — BONNEVILLE NATIONAL CAR RECORDS
6.A Special Construction Category"

The current records in the three classes for pure electrics. I think Special Construction is non-production cars, so an FUV might be in a more favorable class. I talked to my contact at Arcimoto and he said the gearbox would likely spontaneously disassemble somewhere above 80mph. I say 3ft diameter wheels.

Seems they succeeded in setting a new record and will make another run this morning.

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1597330996

Is anyone surprised? New record (details in the comments to the right of the group photo in this Instagram screenshot.

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1597432429

Nicely framed shot. Bright salt, dark sky. Congrats to them.

I hope I can be there next year to see them run their streamliner.

There's a channel on Youtube, Randy Ross, and they're documenting an EV conversion on a beige 1971 Superbeetle much like the one I drive. This one uses the transaxle.

EV West can stuff a single motor 'small block' Tesla drivetrain into a Beetle as a bolt-in. It appears the necessary compromise is high-angle Porsche hubs because the Tesla axle line is substantially behind the Beetle's.

EV WEST produced a 15 minute video of their trip to Bonneville with their Tesla powered "Electraliner," which got them into the 200 MPH club and set a new speedrecord in their EV class.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2yTXoEL2-AY

I'm curious about the mods they had to make to pass safety inspection.

Bonneville rocks.

Bonneville does rock! If they really do take that car back next year, I wanna go again. Did you notice in the video, at 10:50, when they display the official record on the screen over the car running down the course, they only list the replacement driver? Both drivers contributed to the average, both runs exceeded the previous record. I guess if you storm out of a team and expose them to the risk of losing, they might have the right to exclude you from the record book.

Another terrific video of the record setting run. This one is only available on Instagram it seems. https://www.instagram.com/electraliner/ ...

Notice the gauges for volts, amps, and RPM in the screen shot below. They're active.

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1598578445

EV West is bringing its electroliner record holding electric land speed racing car 2 El Mirage on October 25th you try for another record at that venue. I'm going to go if I can. If anyone else is going I'd love to say hi.

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1602965586

El Mirage
 

A great place to photograph vehicle wakes! ( or lack thereof ) It's so dusty!
Give my regards to Adelanto while you're out there. I have fond memories of pie-plate, grudge-racing, TT Scrambles with friends there, and all of us freezing our buns off at night.:) Stupid kids! :D

Electraliner at the EV West open house 7/22
 

I went to the EV West open house a couple days ago just to see the electraliner up close. Their new LSR car was also on display. There were at least 8 VW Vans and Things... all fully converted. EV West is a great enterprise.

New skin on the electraliner (lakester style), last year's record breaking EV at Bonneville. About 230 MPH, IIRC:
https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1627178586

Electraliner's cockpit:
https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1627178619

This year there is a new car and an even higher speed ambition for Bonneville. This car is the streamliner:

Frame:
https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1627178872

Motor (Tesla, split and stacked... front toward left):
https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1627178929

The skin, seen from the nose):
https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1627178929

It's the place to be.

From Arcimoto's summer update:

Ummm, it might be just me, buuutt isnt the whole purpose of Bonneville to be a long straight line with no turns in the middle? How do they think this tests the tilt wheel steering except maybe it holds up to the stresses?

I think they're going for fastest tricycle, not fastest leaning tricycle. Maybe they can lock it out?

If I heard correctly, this one--a streamliner--is intended for a 300+ MPH run. The stresses will be huge for sure.

Thread drift.

The tilt steering is on a vehicle that hasn't run there yet.

......I guess the streamliner hasn't either.

That's right. The streamliner is close to running. It is scheduled for Speed Week this year, but it has never yet run.

An EV West video of the "crunch time" final prep of the 300+ MPH electric streamliner they're running at Speed Week at Bonneville next week. Pretty detailed "show & tell" of the car. Think about how secretive most people are about their race builds. These guys are just showing everything:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Acl1NV6Zr6g&pp=sAQA

That front axle could be in a flexible (compliant all-metal) mount. It would complexify the steering, but they have to add ballast anyway.

August will be here before we know it. :)