[clug] Canberra electric vehicles group - first contact
Paul Wayper
paulway at mabula.net
Mon Feb 1 19:58:45 MST 2010
On Tue 02/02/10 7:55 AM , Michael Still mikal at stillhq.com sent:
Paul Wayper wrote:
> Firstly, there's a lot of interest in the local group in starting a
EV racing
> standard and, within one to two years, getting actual races
happening.
> Initial ideas revolved around a standard car chassis that is fully
CAMS
> approved (which is necessary for official racing), but then someone
mentioned
> go-karts as a lower-cost entry level category which also got a lot
of nods.
I don't think this is as true as you'd think. I had a quick look on
ebay, and a used gokart is $2000+, for which you can get an ok car.
Sure, the kart has a motor you can strip off and sell, but I think
you're still talking about a lot of money for a development platform.
[1]
The initial idea was to go with a relatively standard road racing
frame that was fully CAMS certified so that there was a degree of
conformity to the racing. If you standardise the chassis, then the
important points become the drive train and (to a lesser extent) the
driver. In the future it might be opened up so the chassis design was
modifiable but in the short term that opens up too many problems, not
the least being getting CAMS certification for each group's chassis.
CAMS certification was seen as desirable to have it as an event that
would get wide-spread traction with both CAMS (they have an
Alternative Energy racing subgroup) and the wider motor racing
community.
The general objective was to open the eyes of the general public and
show them that electric cars could be fast, fun and a collaborative
process. Racing is one way of doing that; having electric cars on the
roads is another; having EV meetups like last years (with the Tesla in
attendance, which set a new hill climb record apparently) and is a
third; and so on.
Go-karts are fun, relatively simple, and most professional racing
drivers graduate from the high-end go-kart circuit. I see it more
likely that the smaller groups will get involved in electric go-carts,
but having the higher end there to appeal to more serious enthusiasts
and groups (I fully see the Canberra EV group getting together and
building one) is a good avenue for more serious racing fans. I also
think it would improve the credibility of electric vehicles as capable
of high-end racing.
Have fun,
Paul
Links:
------
[1] http://www.canberraev.org/
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