SpaceFrank wrote:It makes me sad that a stock 240D is "too slow for safety" at a Lemons race. I get that the A-class cars pay the bills, but damn.
The 4cyl non-turbo diesels were always dangerously slow. It's more a safety issue for the other drivers; the car's a f'ing tank.
The Electrica was just scary. Cars would pass with a ~100mph difference. Even with 6 bike flags on it, and corner workers walking us around the track with white flags, there was a huge potential for a crash. It was a real Ricky Bobby moment -- "are those the other cars!?!" Granted, we were only on track for about 10min at a time before having to let the batteries recover or replace them. (and it took about 12hr to fully recharge a set.)
At the time, with lead acid batteries, we were never a fire hazard, but we also could not accelerate -- it'd kill the batteries instantly. Later iterations with lithium-ion batteries, and modern EV conversion, it could exceed 100mph rather easily, but again, battery drain is extreme. And then there would be heat issues as nothing in the drivetrain was designed for continuous acceleration and deceleration. 300A continuous load will run the motor up to 180C in under 2min.
Duff Beer Civic (#128) -- 2014 Sebring - Class B (#1 of 7), 2016 Barber - Class B
1981 Jet Electrica 007 [Plymouth Horizon TC3] (#128) -- Mk.1 - Index of Effluency Eco (IOEe) @ 2016 Lemons South Fall, Mk.2 - Judges' Choice @ 2017 'Shine Country Classic, Mk.3 - Index of Effluency @ 2017 Southern Discomfort