In Electrathon Racing it is all about MAKING THAT HOUR 

In Electrathon Racing it is all about the BATTERIES

This information is for the teams that are using sealed lead acid batteries. The information has been around for a while and is presented as a reminder/refresher.

First off, not just any battery charger will do the job you need for your batteries. The charger needs to have an AGM/GEL cell Cycle. A charger meant for a regular liquid lead acid battery has only one cycle to charge a battery. The charger for an AGM/Gel will have multiple cycles to properly charge them. It will also extend the life of the battery.

Charge rates are also important. If you charge the battery at to high of an amp rate you can damage them. The Optima Battery web site has some real good information on battery maintenance. A 12 volt battery should be around 13 volts when fully charged and ready to race.

Testing your batteries is a lot more than just checking the Voltage. I have tested batteries for teams that read 12.6 and only had 400Amps. They would not have made half the race. Each team should have a DIGITAL BATTERY TESTER. This type of a tester will give Voltage, AMPS and also detect a Bad Cell. A battery with a bad cell WILL NOT charge properly and will leave you dead on the track.

Digital Battery Testers are available from most auto parts store and they can be expensive.  I have seen them on line for $50 – $80.

Another tool that can come in handy is an Infrared Tachometer. Do you want to know how fast a given gear ratio will move your car? You need to know the motor RPM.  The number of teeth on the motor gear, the gear on the drive wheel, the circumference of the drive wheel AND the motor shaft speed will give you the max possible speed for each gear set. You can tailor the gear ratio for the individual track. gokartracing.org has a calculator that you can input the information and get MPH for any combo of gears and wheels.

The proper battery charger, a Digital Battery Tester, an Infrared Tachometer.  These will help keep those batteries in top shape and your car on the track.

Remember it’s all about the batteries.

See you in September

Vic

After the Fairgrounds race was canceled Middleton High School stepped up to host a second race on their home turf.  This time the track was much longer and more difficult.

The new layout was rougher than in the past and had some real tight turns causing more than one car to try some off road driving.

Middleton had their snack stand working and had pizza, drinks and snacks.  It was much appreciated by all the racers and spectators.

It worked out well for them as they took top honors in the High School Class both times.  Car 80 took the first race back in November and the 365 car took the top spot this time out.

After eight races and with only one remaining in the season Brandon and Middleton are in a dead heat.  The Brandon 14 car and the Middleton 365 car are tied with 430 points each.

Brandon started the day in the lead in the point’s standings but battery problems and a busted chain beset their #14 car and it finished in 4th place.  Middleton jumped in and helped with the chain or the 14 car would have had an even worse day.

Middleton took the top three spots with a steady performance by all three of their cars, with the 365 on top at the end of the day.

In the Open Class it was Tiger Racings #4 taking both races against a much improved HCC car.  The #4 car was one lap behind the top Experimental Battery car that was the top car for the day.

The USF car had a rough day with a busted wheel in the first race and more wheel problems in the second race but is making steady progress.

High School Class

1st Middleton 365, 2nd Middleton 133, 3rd Middleton 80, 4th Brandon 14, 5th Brandon 9

Open Class

1st Tiger Racing 4, 2nd HCC 13

Experimental Battery Class

1st Electrocutioners 72, 2nd Electrocutioners 8, 3rd Electrocutioners 90, 4th USF 132

There are several out of town races scheduled by other groups and for the last two months of the school year and we will have cars at all of them.

Our last race of the year will be at the Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa in May.  The track will be longer than last year’s.  We look forward to seeing teams from central Florida and the East Coast.

The High School Class will be decided at this race so we look for a hard fought race between the 14 and 365 cars for the top spot and bragging rights

Visit the Photo Album for Wharton Race at: (Copy and paste link into Browser) https://www.flickr.com/photos/132647601@N06/albums/72157675532300803

What a day and what a race.  The course was one of the best we have been on in a while.  14 cars battled for 2 hours of racing and in the Experimental Battery Class the margin of victory was a whopping 1400ft.

Wharton High School did an outstanding job putting on the races and had their BBQ grill working overtime between the races.

In the High School Class we want to give a shout out to Palm Bay Magnet High School.  They are over on the east coast, south of Cocoa Beach.  They took a third place finish in the second race.  They are still working the bugs out of their car and will be a contender in the near future.

There were some close finishes in the High School class.  In the first race the Middleton High School #80 car and #365 finished 1st and 2nd with the #80 finishing 4 seconds ahead after 1 hour.  In the second race it was the Brandon #14 car beating out the Middleton #80 car by .47 seconds over the one hour.

The Open Class was a lonely place with only the #04 car of Tiger Racing running.  We missed the HCC and Robinson Racing cars this race.

In the Experimental Battery Class it was a tight race all day with Cliff from ProEv taking the day with a total of 159 laps over the Electrocutioners #08 & 72 cars with 158 each.  Cliff has always had a VERY fast car but in the past has been plagued by mechanical problems and wearing out the tires on his car.  Today it all came together and he ran two trouble free races, except for trading paint once during the race.

We were glad to see Slam make it back on the track to round out the three car Electrocutioners team.  Something about he had to work all those past race days.  His new #90 car, which was late starting the first race and was on a shakedown run.  It was very fast and was the best looking of the field.  If he doesn’t have to work next month watch out.

Can’t wait to see what Drew Jet has to show from his fancy drone he was using at the race.  He has the coolest toys.

We hope to see Strawberry Crest, Wharton, Jefferson, Plant, Foundation and our other Open Class cars for the BIG RACE at University of South Florida in February

OVERALL STATS:

OPEN CLASS:  1st Place #04 Tiger Racing 145 laps

EXPERIMENTAL BATTERY CLASS:  1st #39 ProEv with 159 laps,  2nd #08 with 158 laps,  3rd #72 with 158 laps,  4th #90 with 146 laps, 5th #132 with 41 laps.

HIGH SCHOOL CLASS:  1st #80 with 138 laps,  2nd #365 with 130 laps,  3rd #14 with 123 laps,  4th #101 with 97 laps,  5th #133 with 93 laps,  6th #09 with 67 laps,  7th #86 with 39 laps,  8th #30 with 33 laps.

Our biggest race of the year is coming up in Feb. at the U.S.F. Engineering Expo.  We will have a display area on February 17th where teams can show their cars, equipment and answer questions.  The race is on February 18th and has the most challenging course we race on all season.  Wheels and tires take a beating so now is the time to get everything in top shape.  Charge up those batteries and get those tires and wheels ready to go.

More info on U.S.F. Race will be up shortly

Vic

It was a great day for racing at Lennard High School with 14 cars from 10 teams in 3 divisions.

The schools name sake, Dr. Earl Lennard, former Hillsborough County School Superintendent dropped the green flag a 10 A.M. on a bright and sunny day.

The course was just short of a half mile around the drivers ed. range, a parking lot and as an added treat around the dumpsters.  The fastest lap of the day was just over 54 seconds by Drew in the 72 car.  He also turned in the top lap count of the day at 111 for both races.

Our ranks are growing.  USF was back with their Lithium Ion battery powered car.  They were here for testing and only ran the second race.  As fast as they were going the other cars in the Experimental Battery Class better look out when they are 100%.

Strawberry Crest was back and put in a good showing with a 3rd place finish in both races for 3rd overall.

The home team did a fantastic job getting the course ready for the races.  There were a lot of hay bales and tires to sling.  The Lennard 86 car was having a great day in the first race, right up to the point where their rear drive wheel had a slight problem when it lost its ball bearings.  Any time there is a problem with the drive wheel on any of these cars it makes for a real bad day.  Lennard missed 3rd place while sitting in the pits at the end of the race.

In the second race Brandon High School took 1st and 2nd in the High School Class.  The #14 car edged out the #9 car on time with the same lap count.  Strawberry Crest beat the Middleton #365 car by 13 seconds for 3rd place over the one hour.

Brandon took 1st in both races for their 1st overall of the year.  Something about new batteries in old cars.  They are working on a new car to start replacing the 8 year old cars they are using.

In the Open Class, in the first race Tiger Racing and Robinson Racing were neck and neck the whole race with Robinson Racing edging out Tiger for a 1st.  In the second race it was Tiger Racing all the way when Robinson Racing had to withdraw with mechanical problems.

In the Experimental Battery Class we want to welcome back Team USF.  They should give the Electrocutioners and ProEv a run for it when the are fully operational.  They only ran the second race but were very fast.  ProEv had some chain problems in the first race but kept it together in the second for a close 1st place heat win.

OBSERVATIONS FROM THE PITS

Some teams need to work on their mirrors.  Way to much duct tape could cost you next race.  Check the rule book.  You can not continue racing if any safety device or ballast item fails during a race.  YOU MUST fix it or be DQ.   Our cars are electric/battery powered, everyone who works on them should know how to hook up a battery or electrical item properly and the wiring should be either red for positive and black for negative.  Positive = RED, Negative = Black.  One of the cars was having a problem getting their transmitter to register at the start of the race.  The transmitter was fried/killed/dead when it was hooked up when the ground side was connected to the positive side of the battery.  $50 plus transmitter fried.  This is the third or fourth one in two years.  All team should keep 9V batteries in their kit to use with the Red transmitters or if there is a problem with the wiring harness on the white ones.

We want to welcome Jefferson High School.  They are working on a car and had a team at the race to get a feel for how its done.  Word is Plant High School might have their car ready for the January Race at Wharton High School.

RACE RESULTS

High School  1st Brandon #14, 2nd Middleton #365, 3rd Strawberry Crest #30, 4th Brandon #9

Open Class 1st Tiger Racing #4, 2nd Robinson Racing #94, 3rd HCC #13

Experimental Battery Class  1st Electrocutioners #72, 2nd Electrocutioners #8, 3rd Pro Ev #39, 4th USF #132

Vic

Visit the Photo Album for this event at these two links: (Copy and paste link into Browser) https://www.flickr.com/photos/132647601@N06/albums/72157668752352541 https://www.flickr.com/photos/132647601@N06/sets/72157668167965661

A total of 15 cars registered for the last race of the season at the Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa on May 14, 2016. The staff at the Florida Solar Energy Center assisted us in getting the track set up and allowed us to secure our ETO trailer on site the night before. A special thank you goes to Ken Fiallos for coming with Charles Harrison on Friday to set all of the stakes for our safety barriers.

The new Team from Palm Bay Magnet High School arrived and finished getting their car ready to race for the first time. University of Central Florida and Seminole State College had challenges with their new cars preventing the cars from making the race. The green flag for our first race dropped at 10 am with 13 cars ready to race. The Palm Bay Magnet High School Team met challenges as their car tested their team member’s ability to stay in the race. The team met the challenges and would not give up; great team work and determination to stay in the race. A new team and car coming to their first race always meet challenges with their car as a race is the test for the team to perform at a higher level in this sport. The first race went well, 1^st Place in HS – Simmons Car 35, 1^st Place in Open – Robinson and Son Car 94 matching their lap count to their car number, 1^st Place in Experimental Battery – Electrocutioners Car 8.

As the flagged dropped for the second race at 1 pm, all 13 cars were back on the track ready to race. Once again our new team from Palm Bay Magnet High School met challenges with their car, the great team and sponsor decided to call it a day. We know that they will be back for our new season and have the challenges conquered. The second race also went well, 1^st Place in HS – Middleton Car 80, 1^st Place in Open – Robinson and Son Car 94 once again matching their lap count to their car number, 1^st Place in Experimental Battery – Electrocutioners Car 8.

When the race day ended and our canopies came down it hit us that this race season was over and the time we spend every month with our ETO friends and families will be put on hold until the new race season begins in September.

Please have a safe and enjoyable summer.

Final  official stats for the year will be available at the end of the year banquet.  Stats for 2015-2016 After 9 Races. Final Stats

Our last local race of the season set two records with our largest fields and our longest course. With over a third mile course and 15 cars it made for an eventful weekend. The number and quality of the cars is getting better each race. New cars and teams are coming to the front and all the teams will have to work to keep up. The High School Class is now on a par with the Open Class for lap count and speed.

The course in front of the Special Events Center at the Florida State Fairgrounds was a long rectangle with an S and a 135 and 45 degree turn on the far end. The teams managed to get thru there with only a few bumps and spins but there was a lot of grass torn up over the course of two races. Hope we don’t have to replace the grass.

The High School Class had its biggest field of the year with 9 cars and 6 teams. In the Experimental Battery Class all three of the Electrocutioners were there along with the return of Pro EV. The Open Class was missing the Robinson Racing Team since Jim Robinson sold both of his cars and did not finish a new car in time for this race, so it was left up to USF and Tiger Racing to battle it out.

In the Open Class Tiger Racing and USF traded 1st and 2nd place finishes and the same lap count. Tiger Racing came out on top by 16 seconds over the two hours of racing.

Rumor has it that Jim Robinson will be at the Florida Solar Energy Center race in May. Another rumor has new Open Class cars from the Orland area representing Seminole State College and U.C.F. Both Teams expected to be at the Florida Solar Energy Center race in May. Team members from these colleges were at the Fairgrounds race to check out how its done and are enthusiastic.

There was a little drama before the first race when the Middleton girl’s team had their car and driver there but tools were late arriving, so they had to really hustle to get the car set up for the race.

After the first race, the Brandon team had a problem with their drive wheel on one of their cars and was in danger of missing the start of the second race. ETO had a car on display inside the MakerCon exhibit that wound up missing the drive wheel for part of the day. Brandon somehow was able to start the second race on time with a perfectly good drive wheel.

The only trading paint, that I am aware of, happened in the first race when a high school car ran up on the back end of the Pro EV 39 car going into the turns. The Pro EV car has regenerative braking which helps recharge the batteries during the race. To do this the freewheel on the drive wheel is replaced with a fixed gear that turns the motor into a generator when the driver lets off of the throttle. It automatically slows the car and the trailing car was not expecting that. The 39 car was run into and two trailing cars had to take evasive action resulting in a spin and some torn up grass. The 39 car had to withdraw to check the rear end and drive system.

The Experimental Battery Class was on fire racking up over 30 more laps than the other classes. They are running Lithium Ion batteries which only weigh 15-18 lbs. Teams recharge their batteries between races so they only need one set as opposed to the HS and Open Class with lead acid batteries and 73 lbs.

In the second race the TBT team rolled the dice and tried a 48 volt battery pack. Most of the cars use a 24 volt battery pack. By going to 48 volts, the motor speed is doubled along with a much higher potential for speed. Good idea but the battery pack didn’t last and the team saw their lap count drop dramatically. The Middleton teams are having good success with 48 volts.

Wharton HS was back in action after missing some races and Lennard HS, the new kid on the block was back for their second race. Both teams put up some respectable lap counts and no problems.

In the Experimental Class Drew and Pony continue to cause confusion on who is driving which car by switching drivers from race to race in the 08 and 72 cars. Overall finish was 08 1st, 72 in 2nd, 90 in 3rd with Slam at the wheel and the 39 in 4th.

In the HS Class it was Simmons 35 in 1st, Middleton 80 in 2nd, Middleton Girls 133 in 3rd, Simmons 53 in 4th, Brandon 14 in 5th, Wharton 58 in 6th, Lennard 86 in 7th, TBT 242 in 8th, and Brandon 09 in 9th.

I want to give a shout out to the Florida State Fair Crew for their help with last minute issues to get the  course ready and safe.

A shout out also to Steve Lamson and his friend from Post FX Digital Studios from Orlando. They were busy all day getting interviews, video and stills of the races. Can’t wait to see what they come up with.

Our last race of the season is May 14th at the Florida Solar Energy Center over in Cocoa. Plans are being finalized and we look forward to another great race to end the season.

The end of year banquet and awards are coming up, we will pass on the info as soon as it is finalized.

Stats for 2015-2016 After 8 Races-1
Vic Nieves

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4pr8jtqkiti8a72/electrathon.mp4?dl=0

For the first time in Electrathon of Tampa Bay history teams went for speed over endurance but endurance did pop up in the first race. The races were held on the flat 1/4 running track at Middleton High School.

A normal race day has two one hour endurance races. This time around the teams went for speed over a pair of 20 min. races. One third the time of a regular race. With one third the time conventional wisdom would say you would not run out of battery power. Over two races a couple of teams did manage to run low on power.

In the first race of the High School Class the Middleton 80 car with their big gears installed jumped out to a very fast start and a commanding lead. They ran out of power late in the race and finished second to the Middleton Girls Team in the 133 car by one lap. But they also turned in the fastest lap of the day for the High School Class at 26.684 sec. over 1/4 mile for 33.72 mph. The fastest lap of the day was in the Experimental Battery Class by the Electrocutioners in the 90 car at 25.644 sec. for 37.908 mph.

If the Middleton girls could get some new/better batteries I think they could take the boys team on a regular basis. The car is fast enough.

Race day saw some new cars and new faces competing. Simmons Career Center showed up with their second car and a new driver. We want to welcome Lennard High School and their 86 car. For their first ever race day they posted very respectable lap totals. In the spirit of sportsmanship Simmons loaned Lennard a set of batteries for the second race since Lennard only has one set of batteries. As a new team they are still assembling the gear for their team.

In the open class Rodney in the 04 battled USF in the 132 car both races to come out on top.  They were together in the first race till a few min. to go then the 04 took off for a one lap win with 34 total.  In the second race the 04 car picked it up quite a bit and put in 39 laps.

In the Experimental Battery Class it was Drew and Pony and then Pony and Drew trading wins and cars in the two races. In the first race it was Drew in the 90 with 45 laps and Pony in the 72 with 45 laps with Drew by 3 sec. for 1st.

In the second race it was Pony in the 90 car with 45 laps and Drew in the 72 car with 44.

Both races went off without a hitch and the closest we came to an OOOPS was late in the first race when Pony in the 72 car got into the grass coming off of the last turn. She was able to recover with no problem but after race when she was in the pits one of her tires blew out. She literally drove the wheels off of her car.

The High School class is improving and getting bigger all the time. The cars are getting better and the drivers are getting more experienced. There was not a lot of difference between the Open and High School Class with the High School getting closer to the Open Class in overall performance.

Our next race in at the Florida State Fairground. We will NOT be using last years course. We will have a course picked out next week.

Open Class   1st  Tiger Racing 04 car 73 laps, 2nd  USF 132 car 68 laps

Ex. Battery   1st  Electrocutioners 90 car 90 laps, 2nd Electrocutioners 72 car  89 laps

High School  1st Middleton 80 car 74 laps, 2nd Tampa Bay Tech 242, 3rd Middleton 133 car, 4th Simmons 53 car, 5th Simmons 35 car, 6th Brandon 14 car, 7th Lennard 86 car, 8th Brandon 09 car

Stats for 2015-2016 After 7 Races-1

Thank Fredi for getting this together.

One of the goals of Electrathon Racing is How Far Can You Go in One Hour on One Set Of Batteries.
On the 1/4 mile track is where you can find out. Aerodynamics come into play here more than on a road course. Gear ratios are the other big factor. Too high and you can kill the batteries. Too low and you cant keep up. The wear and tear on the cars is less but tires need to be 100%
ATTENTION TO DETAIL.. one problem or one oh …. and you are out of it. Make sure your mirrors are set up so you can see the car coming up on your 6.. You MUST be able to see cars coming up on BOTH sides. Min. of 8 sq. in. If you can see both sides with one mirror. Two are better.
The weather for this Sat is looking good. Not too hot and no rain.

See you Saturday.

Vic

Some observations while doing pre race inspections and between races in the pits.

ATTENTION TO DETAIL. ESPECIALLY THE LITTLE THINGS can be the difference between 1st and 5th or a DNF.

A bad connector on one of the batteries on the TBT car caused a very high resistance in the 1st race.  When you check voltage on the battery in the car go from battery post to battery post. Note the voltage, then check from the wing nut connector to wing nut connector and note the voltage. The readings should be Almost Identical.  If not fix it.

Proper wire size, connector size, insulation and a loose connection caused the HCC car to blow the controller. The cable ends going to the controller were/are way to big and not insulated. One came loose and shorted out the controller. That was the end of the day for HCC. The cable end should be JUST big enough to go over the copper conductor. Soldering them is even better. Check with any auto parts store and get HEAT SHRINK TUBING for your connectors. That way even if they come loose they should not short anything out. The right size connectors and proper insulation are way cheaper than a new controller or other pieces of equipment. Teams that have done these things have almost no electrical problems.

I know every team has a copy of the Electrathon America Handbook handy for all those questions on batteries, wiring, car design and safety. Every one should be up on everything it contains. If you don’t have a copy go to electrathonamerica.org and download a copy.

Check paragraphs 5.2, 5.3, 5.6, 11.2, 11.7, 11.8, 13.4, 13.5, 13.6, 13.12, 16.2, 16.3, 21.1, 26.3, 28.2 and page 24 has a generic wiring diagram for an Electrathon car.

On car design: On the wheel spacing, wider is better. If you can’t make the wheel spacing wider then camber adjustment can help. A low driver position is better than a more upright position. Low center of gravity is VERY Important. Weight distribution is critical. (Is that ballast going to come loose or move during the race or if you get in the grass or in a crash or when rubbing paint with another car?) If all of these items are correct the car is very stable and not prone to tipping, spinning out or going upside down. So take a close look at your car and keep the shiny side up.

The above items will help you keep the little things from jumping up and biting you in the butt once the green flag drops.

Vic Nieves