I don't think that would be a good bracket car.. :laugh_smile: About time thou damn it. We had battery powered cars on the moon in 69, yea on the moon! 40 years later still nothen.
According to NEDRA's record-book, his '07 PS/A3 record of 11.466 @ 114.08 MPH still stands. (PS = Pro Street conversion; A3 = 349V and up.) He was running on a pack of 880 A123 LiFePO4 cells @ 374V. The battery pack only weighs 175 pounds. The car weighs 1858 pounds "wet". No transmission - direct-drive into a 3.70:1 rear. Only 240+ HP, but it has 772 pounds of torque @ zero RPM!
7-sec electrics? Check out the National Electric Drag Racing Association's site: NEDRA
Speaking of batteries - think about this: With a lead-acid pack, he ran 11.882. The pack weighed 919 pounds. With the LiFePO4 pack, he ran 11.466. The pack only weighed 175 pounds.
LiFePO4 cells are amazing. (Dewalt cordless tools use 'em - so does the Tesla.) You can charge the crap out of them and discharge the crap out of them - they don't care. No fires, no swelled-up cells. No toxic materials. Lighter than NiCd or NiMH; heavier than LiPo or LiIon, but much safer and more tolerant of abuse and fast-charging.
There is more stupidity than hydrogen in the universe, and it has a longer shelf life. - Frank Zappa
A reliable 11.5-sec i/c-powered car isn't exactly cheap, either. Plus, that electric motor will likely make rated power after 10,000+ hours - unlike your typical 11.5-sec car engine. And then there's the fuel costs. The electrical energy required for a day of racing is much less expensive than the race fuel required to do the same amount of work. The cost of battery pack replacement is high, but the dramatic increase in TBO & the significant decrease in energy cost will likely negate the cost of pack replacement over time. Bonus - you don't have to worry about missing a shift & taking out a gear, since there's no transmission.
Sure - electrics today are more expensive initially; but think about this: i/c technology has had over 100 years to mature; while performance electrics have only been around for a short time. If the same amount of money & time had been spent on maturing e-powered cars, the situation would likely be reversed.
There is more stupidity than hydrogen in the universe, and it has a longer shelf life. - Frank Zappa
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