What Are The Lessons Learned From Round 1 Of The 2013 eFXC Which You Can Apply In Your EV Conversion?

What Are The Lessons Learned From Round 1 Of The 2013 eFXC Which You Can Apply In Your EV Conversion?

Whether your EV Conversion is a bike or car, there are several lessons you can learn from Round 1 of the Australian eFXC (Electric Motorcycle racing) which you can apply or take into consideration when You do Your EV Conversion. It should be noted that with racing, various components are stress tested beyond what a typical commuter vehicle would experience. Racing is also a strategy manufactures use to develop and test their products which means You can learn useful techniques and buy race proven components for your EV Conversion.

Lesson 1: Keep Your Electric Motor From Overheating

The Ripperton Racing bike was able to win all races it entered at Wakefield Park. It’s Electric Motors did not overheat. Ripperton uses liquid coolant to cool its motors. This coolant is pumped around the motor and it appears it circulates around a radiator to cool down the coolant, ready for use in cooling the motor again.

Catavolt was running at 55% power to prevent its motors from cooking. This means, once motor cooling is implemented, the power could be almost doubled and that would make for interesting racing. This means a hot Electric Motor does not perform to its full potential.

Varley has a powerful motor and it showed a lot of potential. However, when its Electric Motor got hot, the Motor Controller would cut power to the Motor which preserved the Motor (a good safety feature to have). Varley were working on cooling solutions (such as channeling more air flow to the motor) during their race weekend so expect to see interesting motor cooling ideas from Varley in the next round.

The lesson here is if you want more power and reliability, one thing to ensure is that your Motor is adequately cooled and that heat can escape.

Lesson 2: Use A Motor Controller That Protects Your Electric Motor

During practice and race 1, Varley put in some very fast times. However, the heat in the Motor could not escape. Thankfully, the Tritium Motor Controller cut power to the Electric Motor, which preserved the Motor, thus preventing an expensive repair bill.

The lesson here is to use a Motor Controller that has sensors which protect the Motor. Also, ensure the sensors are being used and not switched off.

Lesson 3: Push Obstacles Out Of Your Way

Ripperton Racing, Catavolt and Varley had to overcome a lot of challenges and obstacles to produce bikes capable of achieving times that is up there with the 600cc bikes. It could have been easy for either of those teams to have given up, but instead they chose to push any obstacles out of their way.

The lesson is that when you are doing your EV Conversion, you will come up against some obstacles whether it is technical or even logistical challenges. The key is not to give up.

Lesson 4: The Importance Of Suspension And Chassis Set Up

Electric Motors can produce a lot of torque. In the garage, I could hear teams talking about suspension and shock set ups. This becomes important when your Electric Drive Train is highly powerful. There is no point in having a very powerful Electric Motor if the power can’t be transferred effectively to the ground.

The lesson here is not to forget vehicle dynamics in your EV Conversion. Doing an EV Conversion is more than just having an Electric Motor. It is building a package that meets your transportation needs.

Summary

Motorsport is a fantastic way to develop and test components. From round 1 of the eFXC, we learned that it is important to:

  • prevent your Electric Motor from overheating;
  • use a motor controller that protects your Electric Motor;
  • push obstacles out of your way; and
  • ensuring you have good suspension and chassis set up.

These lessons are applicable when you do your EV Conversion so if you ever get a chance to watch Electric Motorsport, observe what the teams do as you can learn new techniques and gain new ideas which you can use. The race teams might even have EV components which you can buy from them.

This is Al Bunzel signing out.

Round 1 Sunday (2013) Electric Motorcycle Racing (eFXC) Report

Round 1 Sunday (2013) Electric Motorcycle Racing (eFXC) Report

Morning Practice

When it came for the Electric Motorcycles to participate in morning practice, Jason Morris (on the Catavolt) and Jeff Phillips on the Varley were in their leathers. Danny Ripperton was in a tracksuit and jumper. Turns out Danny did not participate in morning practice although his Ripperton Racing Electric Motorcycle did with a different rider riding it.

When talking to spectators, there was speculation that perhaps another rider would ride in race 2. However, it turns out Danny Ripperton wanted to get feedback to check the set up.

Race 2

Ripperton stealthly overtakes Catavolt just before turn 10

Ripperton stealthly overtakes Catavolt just before turn 10

As I was at near turn 10 (the last turn before the straight, I was unable to see how the start went. However, by the time the first lap was almost completed, Jason Morris on the Catavolt was in the lead ahead of Danny Ripperton on the Ripperton Racing bike. Unfortunately, Jeff Phillips’ Varley lost grip on a left bend of the ‘fish hook’ and slid away from him, creating a cloud of dust as the bike departed the track. Jeff appeared unhurt which was good news.

It was now up to Danny Ripperton to race against Jason Morris and over take him. Danny Ripperton was getting closer to Jason Morris and by lap 5, Danny Ripperton over took Jason Morris just before turn 10. From there, the Ripperton Racing bike was pulling away from the Catavolt bike with the Ripperton Racing bike eventually finishing first. The fastest speed clocked by the Ripperton bike was 197.3km/h (123.3 mph).

The race results were:

  1. Danny Ripperton on the Ripperton Racing -> 7:29.794
  2. Jason Morris on the Catavolt -> 7:32.928
  3. Jeff Phillips on the Varley -> Did not finish :-(

Danny Ripperton also set another track record during the race of 1:09.032

After race 2

Obviously Danny Ripperton was happy to win both races 1 and 2 from round of the 2013 eFXC. Jason Morris mentioned that with the Electric Motorcycles, it is difficult to know if a bike is closing up on you because you don’t hear them which means they can sneak up on you. The Varley bike returned to the pits on a trailer. As soon as the Varley team got hold of their bike, they checked it out. There was a bit of damage to the bike, but the Tritium Motor Controller, Ultramotive Electric Motor were still functioning. With the rear wheels, in the air, the bike was was turned on and the throttle twisted and the rear wheels were spinning very fast. This clearly demonstrates that Varley have a robust electric drive train.

Points after round 1

  1. Danny Ripperton (Ripperton Racing) -> 50 points
  2. Jason Morris (Catavolt) -> 44 points
  3. Jeff Phillips (Varley) -> 20 points

Thoughts after round 1

Ripperton‘s Research and Development work that Danny Ripperton did in the last year has clearly paid off.

Catavolt did not have a their bike for 6 months so they were running 2012 specifications – the same specification as the last round in 2012 and also at Daytona, USA. Power was set to 55% which means all they have to do is turn up the controller and they could almost double their power, if the hub motors did not have cooling issues. Improvements to the motor are expected before round 2 in Queensland so watch this space.

Varley is a new racing team and this was their first ever race meet. They have an Electric Motor and Motor Controller that is showing a lot of potential and speed. If the Electric Motor cooling issue can be resolved before round 2 in Queensland, then we are in for an interesting year and possibly a 3 way battle. They have dedicated, passionate and competent staff who are keen to develop their products further and are hungry for their first victory in the next race.

All I can say that in 2013, we are going to see faster racing with new lap records broken. I can almost see that by early 2014, there will be race teams who currently run petrol powered bikes, lining up at Ripperton’s, Catavolt’s and Varley’s doors wanting bikes built for them so that they can race in the eFXC.

This is Al Bunzel signing out.

Round 1 (2013) Saturday eFXC Electric Motorcycle Racing Report

Round 1 Saturday eFXC Electric Motorcycle Racing Report

eFXC bikes being prepared for race 1 at Wakefield Park, 2013.

eFXC bikes being prepared for race 1 at Wakefield Park, 2013.

The Australian Electric Motorcycle (eFXC) championship for 2013 begun at Wakefield Park in rural Australia. The Catavolt Electric Motorcycle had just arrived on Tuesday from USA after competing in the TTXGP world champions in Daytona. This means that in the last 6 months, there was no development work done on the bike as it was being shipped back from USA which put Catavolt at a disadvantage.

Qualifying

Qualifying times were within the lap times of the 600cc gas bikes. The results were:

  1. Jason Morris on the Catavolt -> 1:13.531
  2. Jeff Phillips on the Varley -> 1:15.957
  3. Danny Ripperton on the Ripperton Racing -> 1:16.277

After qualifying, the Catavolt’s hub motors were very warm.

Race 1

Prior to the race starting, there was talk that the race would only be 4 laps. Jason Morris was on pole and led the race for a short while when Danny Ripperton blasted past everyone to take the lead on the first lap. After lap 4, expecting the race to finish, it continued on until 6 laps were completed.  By the end of the race, Danny Ripperton had his lead increase by just over 9 seconds, in front of pole setter, Jason Morris.  Jeff Phillips came third, 12 seconds after Danny Ripperton. Jeff’s Varley bike slowed down during the race due to motor heating issues. The controller kept cutting power to the motor to help preserve the Electric Motor.

The results were:

  1. Danny Ripperton on the Ripperton Racing -> 7:18.027
  2. Jason Morris on the Catavolt -> 7:27.381
  3. Jeff Phillips on the Varley -> 7:31.014

All riders posted very impressive lap times – comparable with the 600cc class.

It appears the hard work Danny Ripperton did with the dual motor set up has so far paid off. Catavolt had no opportunity to work on the bike as mentioned already since it spent the last 6 months at sea. Varley, the new entrant is new to this sport so they did an impressive effort for their first outing.

After Race 1

Ripperton Racing was seen changing a chain (the one that physically connects both shafts together as one of the links lost an O-ring. Catavolt was seen doing Motor Controller changes. Varley was working on modifying the air in take to help cool the Electric Motor.

It will be interesting to see if the changes done to the bikes after race 1 influence race 2 on Sunday.

This is Al Bunzel signing out.

P.S. Please follow on Twitter @ElectricCarKart as I plan to provide Electric Motorcycle Racing news live from Wakefield Park.

 

What Are The Changes To The electric Formula Xtreme Championship (eFXC) Which Starts This Weekend At Wakefield Park?

What Are The Changes To The electric Formula Xtreme Championship (eFXC) Which Starts This Weekend At Wakefield Park?

Ripperton Electric Motorcycle at Wakefield Park preparing to race. Picture taken from 2012 season.

Ripperton Electric Motorcycle at Wakefield Park preparing to race. Picture taken from 2012 season.

It’s that time of the year where Electric Motorcycle Racing starts and the Australian season in 2013 will see some changes. There have been changes made to the race organization and also there are new competitors participating.

Race Organization – no longer affiliated with TTXGP

The eFXC  appears to be still part of Formula Xtreme, but have severed its association with the TTXGP. From a team’s point of view, it means the entry fees to race should be significantly lower which is great news. The money saved by the teams can then be put to better use such as better batteries, Electric Motors, Controllers and other parts. This will ultimately help drive innovation.

Race teams of 2013

The 2013 eFXC will see an expanded line up of participants. I have also heard rumors that the Electric Motorcycles will practice alongside the gas powered motorcycles. I will try and verify this on the weekend with reports for Saturday and Sunday.

The teams to compete are:

  • Catavolt – which won the past two eFXC championships and the Australian TTXGP championships as well. Rumor has it that on Friday’s practice at Wakefield Park, the Catavolt Electric Motorcycle clocked 190km/h (119mph).
  • Ripperton – twice runner of the past two eFXC championships and runner up of the past 2 Australian TTXGP championships.
  • Varley – an engineering company which has been around for well over a century. They engineer and built specialized Electric Vehicles as well as other vehicles and rumor has it that their bike is extremely fast on the straights.
  • Voltron EVO - built by Dr Chris Jones who participated in the 2011 Australian eFXC/TTXGP championship in a Voltron. Not sure if we will see this bike in round 1 as it is not yet completed.

All these bikes were previously gas powered bikes converted to Electric.

Summary

  • Electric Motorcycle Racing in Australia has cut ties with TTXGP. This should make racing cheaper.
  • New teams and new Electric Motorcycles are scheduled to compete in 2013.

This is Al Bunzel signing out.

P.S. Please follow on Twitter @ElectricCarKart as I plan to provide Electric Motorcycle Racing news live from Wakefield Park.

 

 

April 2013 Electric Car News Highlights Summary

April 2013 Electric Car News Highlights Summary

Hi everyone, it’s Al Bunzel aka Crazy Al from ElectricCarConversionBlog.com with the April 2013 Electric Car News Highlights Summary.

What was achieved?

During April 2013, I was testing different electrical set ups with the Dual Motor Electric Go Kart. In particular, connected the Electric Motors in series and measured peak current and voltage sag and compared the results to when the Electric Motors were connected in parallel. 299 amps vs 739 amps. Some of the results were unexpected and there was a bit of analysis done to try to explain the discrepancies between theory and practice.

I was also involved in fabricating battery racks so that I could add another battery to double the voltage to the Dual Motor Electric Go Kart. Then I measured peak current and voltage sag. Analysis of results was performed.

What did not go well?

24 volt starter motor mod – the cable leading to one of the brushes broke off. Part of the problem with modifying Electric Starter Motors is that there is not much space with a lot of them, especially when you want to isolate the negative from the casing. Over heating starter motors is another issue you have to deal with as well.

This is Crazy Al signing out.

P.S. Please check the links below to see the results of the above mentioned tests done.

P.S.S. Also check out www.hunterevfestival.net for details on how you can enter the EV Prize.

Links

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