1 (edited by fiandola 2020-08-09 11:27 PM)

Topic: Idea: "$500 my ass" electric car domination

Ok, so Lemons allows teams to spend an unlimited budget to buy an electric drivetrain and batteries to put into a $500 car. I know there are some Lemons racers who have considerable financial means, so I am surprised that I haven't seen anyone attempt the following yet.
1. Buy $500 pickup truck
2. Buy Tesla electric motor and axles. Install this in the pickup truck, replacing the original engine and transmission.
3. Buy 2 Tesla battery packs. Get the 100 KWh battery packs that normally wedge into the chassis of a Model S.  And, for each battery pack, rig up a version of the Tesla onboard charging system that works without the rest of the Tesla car.
4. Buy a forklift
5. Day before race day: use the forklift to load both battery packs on your trailer. Take them to a Tesla supercharger and charge them.
6. On race day: Use forklift to load one battery pack into the truck bed and connect it to the truck's electric powertrain. Ratchet strap the battery pack to the truck bed.
7. For fueling, use the forklift to bring the second battery pack to the hot pits. Quickly use the forklift to remove the old battery pack and install the new battery pack in the truck bed. (You may be able to speed this up slightly if you bring 2 forklifts).
8. Use the forklift to bring the your discharged battery pack to the paddock, and load it into your tow vehicle.
9. While your teammate is on track using the new battery pack, drive your tow vehicle to the nearest Supercharger (there is one kinda near Sonoma), and refill the battery pack.
10. Bring the charged battery pack to the track, and go back to step 7.

If you can (a) swap batteries fast, (b) bring enough batteries and tow vehicles and teammates, and (c) make the battery last on track for a good length of time, you could probably get competitive results. But, the hilarity of bringing forklift(s) to Lemons to "fuel" the car just seems like it would be really amusing. And, of course the complexity of it all means that the whole thing can grind to a halt when the forklift breaks, and then there is a line for the Tesla Supercharger, and the tow vehicle gets stuck in traffic on the way back from charging the batteries, and so on.

Re: Idea: "$500 my ass" electric car domination

It's only been a year or so since the electric part of Lemons was announced. I'm sure some well heeled folks are working on what you describe. I think the supercharger station will be a challenge but there are other ways to charge batteries.

Re: Idea: "$500 my ass" electric car domination

Even if the battery drain and charging math worked (I'm not sure it does), you still have to win the race with a really heavy pickup truck.

Apparently my name is really "Craigers".  Who knew?
We might be yellow, but at least we are slow
I'm a WINNER!

Re: Idea: "$500 my ass" electric car domination

wonder what happened to this guy... none of his recent videos are about the project https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPpchcwQRXY https://forums.24hoursoflemons.com/view … p?id=37930

"THE WONDERMENT CONSORTIUM"
Everything dies baby that's a fact,
But maybe everything that dies someday comes back?

Re: Idea: "$500 my ass" electric car domination

My favorite part of that nonsense was "(You may be able to speed this up slightly if you bring 2 forklifts)."

Former Captain
1996 Crown Vic. #55
Team Racing Cosmo

6 (edited by Lemon_Newton-Metre 2020-08-20 07:13 PM)

Re: Idea: "$500 my ass" electric car domination

Waiting for the first track owner to install in-road power, like the town in Sweden; then, the $50k in nickels will be in jeopardy, because full-electric RPEV will have every advantage:
Constant charging, small energy store, electric motor torque, light weight.

Re: Idea: "$500 my ass" electric car domination

There is a nation wide coin shortage (and Jay Lamm has $50,000 in nickles behind Lemons HQ)

Former Captain
1996 Crown Vic. #55
Team Racing Cosmo