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Post by duncan on Nov 19, 2016 17:55:02 GMT 11
So, that is the end of a year hillclimbing an electric car. 8 rounds, 8 new records and 8 wins (sure, no other electric cars turned up, but you can only beat the people who enter ). Kel ended up second overall in the Ladies comp, and very close to first, just missing out due to a hundredth of a second in round 7 What did we learn? * Hillclimbing is a good entry level motorsport which is cheaper than pretty much anything, and still great fun * Logistics are tricky; there are 8 rounds across the state which meant lots of towing (and tow car fuel), accomodation, checking out charging options where required etc * The Hillclimb crowd were very friendly and welcoming to new entrants and in particular the electric car. The fire marshals were all unnecessarily concerned about the new voodoo car, and the scrutineers kept looking for throttle return springs and properly mounted air filters and exhausts * There is very little time improvement in the car, because while the low speed torque is awesome, the tracks with steep hills need power (or less weight), both things a LEAF struggles with. A high power electric production car like a Tesla would be a very different story. Our highest result was top 20 on a terrible wet day, and we came last twice on tracks with steep hills. And what to from here....at this stage I'd like to continue next season, but perhaps back in a fossil fuel burner, and Kel is considering going back in the LEAF but with something better than road tyres (semi slicks would probably have got her to the front of the ladies field this year...). Also, due to other changes in life (ie moving out of the city) we will potentially be moving on from the LEAF late next year and may pick up a used model S instead (for the better range) which would be interesting to see...stay tuned!
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Post by duncan on Nov 19, 2016 18:01:46 GMT 11
And what about electric cars generally in hillclimbing or motorsport more broadly? There is no doubt that there are opportunities that front line teams are checking out, and a few leading thinkers are already doing their bit. There is an electric Radical SR8 racing in the NSW Circuit Racing champs and doing well (outright wins sometimes, breaking or running out of battery others...). Pikes Peak is the world's highest profile hillclimb, and 3 of the top 5 cars this year were electric. And here's a proof of concept rally car www.rallysportmag.com.au/home/other-news/10949-electric-rally-car-debuts-with-544-horsepowerAnd I think it won't be long until hillclimbing sees dedicated electric cars built, because it's combination of very open rules and electric car performance over short runs will be very realistic. For example, 1x LEAF sized motor in each wheel of a Formula 3 chassis would be right on the money for power/weight for the outright class.
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Post by 4wardthinking on Dec 3, 2016 13:34:14 GMT 11
To me, it sounds like acceleration is the key in this sport. I have an idea. Warranty forbids me to test it out though.
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Post by duncan on Dec 11, 2016 22:10:58 GMT 11
So, as always with a race car in the off season, it's time to do all the teardown and maintenance to make sure it is ready to race again next season.
Just kidding, it's a LEAF.
So now it makes coffee instead
Thanks to mynissanleaf.com for the idea, although this inverter is a big banger, 8.3A @ 240v....should power household essentials (fridge, ipad charger, playstation) for 24hrs too if required but of course that is much less practical than coffee on a cold morning.
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Post by duncan on Dec 11, 2016 22:15:40 GMT 11
Pretty basic setup, just added a large capacity anderson connector, 250A fuse to battery + terminal, and negative to a chassis earth where the battery bracket bolts on. Rear of the battery holder Behind the battery holder once back in the engine bay Almost nothing to see.... The Leaf DC-DC inverter delivers up to 140a (@12v) apparently so it can support a major load. The only trick is not to connect to the negative terminal but rather the chassis as the leaf apparently tracks power draw through the negative terminal.
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Post by jake on Dec 24, 2016 2:38:28 GMT 11
Before I post here. I want to admit I did something stupid and could have caused an accident. One of my pet hates is a car getting into a temporary extra lane at the lights just to get ahead of everyone in the traffic. It just feels like cue jumping to me. In the past when that happened, I would put my foot flat down and stay ahead. That I will no longer do. A Golf GTI decided to try and get ahead of me at the lights and I did my usual foot to the floor. The Leaf surged ahead a car length at first but then the Golf screamed passed me and continued to accelerate to well over 100k in a 70k zone with a very windy road. I myself got to 90kmh without realising. I had incited very dangerous driving and was also humiliated by the Golf. I looked up their acceleration figures. 0-100 in 6 secs. Wow! No more drag racing at the lights for me, It did get me thinking however. Is the Leaf's performance limited by the size of the electric motor or by the power it is fed. Would it be possible to get faster acceleration just with software modification or is the Leaf already at its physical limits given its hardware?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2016 10:06:58 GMT 11
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Post by jacky on Dec 24, 2016 10:37:18 GMT 11
Before I post here. I want to admit I did something stupid and could have caused an accident. One of my pet hates is a car getting into a temporary extra lane at the lights just to get ahead of everyone in the traffic. It just feels like cue jumping to me. In the past when that happened, I would put my foot flat down and stay ahead. That I will no longer do. A Golf GTI decided to try and get ahead of me at the lights and I did my usual foot to the floor. The Leaf surged ahead a car length at first but then the Golf screamed passed me and continued to accelerate to well over 100k in a 70k zone with a very windy road. I myself got to 90kmh without realising. I had incited very dangerous driving and was also humiliated by the Golf. I looked up their acceleration figures. 0-100 in 6 secs. Wow! No more drag racing at the lights for me, It did get me thinking however. Is the Leaf's performance limited by the size of the electric motor or by the power it is fed. Would it be possible to get faster acceleration just with software modification or is the Leaf already at its physical limits given its hardware? You should "race" with the Golf in the 0-50 km not 0-100 km. 0-50 is where the Leaf has advantages against an ICE. I believe the Golf driver isn't a responsible driver and his action will cause danger to other road users. Even if you won, he will eventually pass you with 130 km/h in a 70k zone. Let him win and believe he was the king of the road and the police will handle him.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2016 10:42:17 GMT 11
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Post by jake on Dec 24, 2016 13:37:51 GMT 11
Before I post here. I want to admit I did something stupid and could have caused an accident. One of my pet hates is a car getting into a temporary extra lane at the lights just to get ahead of everyone in the traffic. It just feels like cue jumping to me. In the past when that happened, I would put my foot flat down and stay ahead. That I will no longer do. A Golf GTI decided to try and get ahead of me at the lights and I did my usual foot to the floor. The Leaf surged ahead a car length at first but then the Golf screamed passed me and continued to accelerate to well over 100k in a 70k zone with a very windy road. I myself got to 90kmh without realising. I had incited very dangerous driving and was also humiliated by the Golf. I looked up their acceleration figures. 0-100 in 6 secs. Wow! No more drag racing at the lights for me, It did get me thinking however. Is the Leaf's performance limited by the size of the electric motor or by the power it is fed. Would it be possible to get faster acceleration just with software modification or is the Leaf already at its physical limits given its hardware? You should "race" with the Golf in the 0-50 km not 0-100 km. 0-50 is where the Leaf has advantages against an ICE. I believe the Golf driver isn't a responsible driver and his action will cause danger to other road users. Even if you won, he will eventually pass you with 130 km/h in a 70k zone. Let him win and believe he was the king of the road and the police will handle him. Yep but I was still stupid to take him on in the first place.
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Post by jake on Dec 24, 2016 13:48:34 GMT 11
Thanks for that. I guess that answers my question. It is software limited.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2016 17:52:19 GMT 11
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Post by 4wardthinking on Dec 25, 2016 6:57:55 GMT 11
Acceleration is the key. All cars exceed 110kmh, so it's nothing special. As it is this thread, it's topical. 80kw instantaneous is quite an amount of power when coupled to the torque. Torque is the required dimension, which can/could be adjusted!. Without stripping out the motor side(half a dozen bolts), and having a replacement gear set made, little more can be done unless you can get into NISMO. I'm not sure what the 140kmh limit is policed by. Usually the limit is set to protect the motor windings, but that may not be entirely the case. More digging around is needed to establish the reason for the car being held back. Is it speed or PWM controlled?. Remember most soot pumps only develop useful power at higher rpm.... which takes time through gears to use.
Would markedly smaller rolling diameter road wheels enable a different ratio?.
On to the above. Once over the speed limit, power is hypothetical, it's more a case of how quickly(and safely) one can get there.
I believe we probably have all done similar. The better! part is the stealth. No revving or the likes, just press & go. A Golli used to be a Gti, but lost itself being converted into a shopping car that has an eating disorder. A bit of a lump with distant pedigree. My old GTR had sub 10 second recorded runs, but put it at the side of the LEAF, I wouldn't bet on the GTR for the first 50 or so. You obviously were spotted by the tool, and it was already on the throttle before you had the idea. Catch them un-aware, and the traffic light Grand Prix will be in your favour. Top speed. Depends on gearing. In excess of 330kmh, your main focus is how silly could I be. Stick to darting around within the speed limits. It's the rhy smile that is your reward!.
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Post by duncan on Feb 5, 2017 7:33:52 GMT 11
well from my opinion....racing on the street is not racing. but who can be an angel all the time when the leaf gets off the line so well, it is a ninja car. we've signed up for the 2017 championship but may find it a bit trickier since there is an custom sports EV entered this year as well. we're going to ramp up the seriousness by adding some even less efficient tyres. I'm sure Phil is terrified first 2 rounds are at Bathurst 4-5 march (4 weeks)
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Post by duncan on Feb 7, 2017 20:02:42 GMT 11
super low efficiency tyres are on the factory rims and ready to go for round 1.... in almost 20 years of racing I've never run on soft compound semi slicks before, so it will be interesting to see what sort of difference they make compared to last year's times
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Post by duncan on Mar 16, 2017 20:48:50 GMT 11
I'd held off the update because I haven't got the incar loaded up yet, but in summary we had a great fun weekend at Bathurst for rounds 1 and 2 2017. As well as receiving trophies for 2nd place Electric Cars and 2nd place Lady for Kel, and NSW Champion Electric for me at the 2016 presentation, we had a trouble free and fun weekend's racing. Kel and I both went under the Electric Car record on both Saturday and Sunday (thanks to the tyres i guess), but sadly being up against a 200kw, 600kg race car the electric car record was lowered by a further 7 seconds on Sat and a full 13 sec on Sunday. Oh well it was nice while it lasted The leaf was awesome on the soft race tyres, I'm tempted to leave them on to get to woolies faster each week On not so great news for our Leaf, we have bought a rural property and are moving out of sydney in the next few months. Sadly this means that practically the Leaf will need to go as we are a good 30klm each way to the nearest town (Goulburn) which means burning fossil fuels are our only real option. I guess we'll keep the car for the rest of the season(year) but it will need to move on after that. Like most early owners of these cars we intended to keep it indefinitely (Leaf owners are holding on well beyond average car owners) but it's just not practical in non-city use
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Post by Feng on Mar 17, 2017 18:01:17 GMT 11
On not so great news for our Leaf, we have bought a rural property and are moving out of sydney in the next few months. Sadly this means that practically the Leaf will need to go as we are a good 30klm each way to the nearest town (Goulburn) which means burning fossil fuels are our only real option. I guess we'll keep the car for the rest of the season(year) but it will need to move on after that. Like most early owners of these cars we intended to keep it indefinitely (Leaf owners are holding on well beyond average car owners) but it's just not practical in non-city use If you sell it privately be sure to tell the new owner about this forum. And don't be a stranger yourself! Have you thought about what car you'll be replacing it with?
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Post by duncan on Mar 17, 2017 20:15:19 GMT 11
lol yeah but you guys really don't want to know, it's kind of the anti-leaf. Still a nissan, but I've had to import it this time.... I'll definitely keep dropping by, and will point new owners this way if they don't find it on here in the first place It's an awesome little community
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Post by duncan on Jul 20, 2017 23:09:56 GMT 11
So much for that. We've decided to keep it because it's too much fun racing, because the visitor centre in goulburn has a L2 charger, and because it really doesn't owe us much now the lease is up. More importantly, and on topic, we ave been having another fun year of racing (but just haven't been updating this well enough). Quickly: Rounds 1 and 2, Bathurst - we got smashed by the electric sportscar the Phil Pratt has built Round 3, Huntley - to be honest it's a bit underwhelming there with the Leaf. Foot flat to the floor from start to finish line. Kel was delighted to beat me there though so it's probably her favourite track on that basis Round 4, Kempsey. Last year was a somber round when a fellow competitor died. This year was our first full day there and it was great fun. It's the old pacific highway so narrow, bumpy, off camber etc to make it all interesting. It's terrifying to think trucks used to have to pass each other on that stretch... Round 5, Grafton. It rained all weekend and we had an absolute ball. I came home 11th outright in 63 cars and Kel was in the top 20 as well, all the other cars just could not get power down in the conditions. Not only were we both in the top 20 but we were 2nd and 3rd road registered cars out of about 50, we were only beaten by a heavily modified Nissan GTR (and only just beaten . In practice in particular I just turned the car around and went straight back out after each run, could not get the smile off my face. Pic below of me drifting the leaf through the top corner, I can't believe I didn't have video. Round 6, Tamworth. Last weekend, we had another good run in damp but not wet conditions. It's a real fun track there and we did better than average. 2 rounds to go this year, Raymond Terrace in 2 weeks and then final round in Canberra about 4 weeks later. We're having a ball Phil's sportscar has not been back since the first round and I don't really know why. I heard he had a tow car problem rather than an issue with his race car which I hope is the case, but he has still missed all the other rounds so either Kel or I will take out the class again this year.
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