Lithium-ion batteries pulled from electric drills, solid aluminum tires, a weight below 1,100 pounds, and a one-way speed of 175mph on the way to a verified two-way record of 155.8 at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Plus it was built at that most all-American of universities, Brigham Young. Did I mention the on-board webserver?
Fully loaded with batteries, the average electric golf cart can weigh around eight hundred pounds, and they aren’t particularly quick. (Nor, as my friend Eric G. found out right before he was banned from the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, should you use them for a “reverse J-turn” right in front of a large crowd.) Part of the problem is the lead-acid conventional cells they use. The Tesla Roadster, on the other hand, uses thousands of lithium-ion cellphone batteries to soar past 110mph.
For their attempt at the sub-1100-pound electric land speed record, students at Brigham Young used 880 lithium-ion batteries, sourced from DeWalt cordless-drill packs. More details of the run and the car itself can be found here and here. The body is carbon fiber, and the car has a small wireless-enabled webserver to make its on-board data available to anyone in the vicinity. (Don’t look for Red Bull Racing to do the same with Sebastian Vettel’s RB7 any time soon.)
There’s something neat about the idea of American students building a car like this; it gives you hope that not all of the electric-car development of the future will be done in China and Korea.
I wonder where DeWalt sources its batteries from?
Well it sure beats hell out of majoring in “Women’s Studies” and similar diversions for learning a productive skill which actually makes a person employable . . .
I noticed that the photos of the car (see the one on the trailer in particular) in the older (pre-record) posting seem to show aluminum wheels with a thin rubber tire, not an all aluminun-wheel. Wouldn’t some sort of limited shock-absorbing medium be required for running at those kinds of speeds?
Don’t knock Women’s Studies. For one, the perspective is useful, whereas many engineers leave the undergrad with the communications and management skills of a baby bunny rabbit because they rarely deal with this stuff.
For another, the M-to-F ratio is astounding.
Most engineers get a crash course in Women’s studies once they get married … more like collision course. And the perspective sure is useful, not employable, but that ratio sucks them in everytime.
Mechanical engineer here (who isn’t a useless communicator/manager). Took Women’s Studies my first semester. My ME classes had a 6 girls in a class of 75. Women’s Studies had 30 men in a class of 300.
That being said, it was the most work-intense GenEd I took, and taking it didn’t get me a single date…
For the future comparative strength of Western once-was-civilization, those engineers need to get better at knocking up those in women’s studies. Not to mention how much more biologically useful that perspective would be for the women’s studies majors themselves.
For another, the M-to-F ratio is astounding.
Unfortunately, the M-to-Desirable-F ratio isn’t nearly as good.
At speeds that low, a rubber surround won’t dislodge, and I wouldn’t be surprised if someone figured out the slight softness of very hard, low rolling resistance rubber, allows it to roll easier even on that salt surface than pure aluminum.
“Four years ago I couldn’t even spell enginear. Now I are one.”
Anyway, I agree. A University education does not have to be considered 100% as vocational training. How about 4 years of studying something that interestes you, using your brain to do stuff that’s challengin, learning how to think critically..etc, etc. The whole world is not about better widgets.
But, back to the article…very cool project indeed. But, 155? That’s it? Also, since when is weight inportant in setting land speed records?
“since when is weight inportant in setting land speed records?”
Since 1899! The first vehicle to exceed 100kph was electric with a light weight body:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamais_Contente
Given the low energy content of batteries, fast acceleration due to light weight may be helpful.
“How about 4 years of studying something that interestes you, using your brain to do stuff that’s challengin, learning how to think critically..etc, etc. The whole world is not about better widgets.”
Studying “interesting and challenging” instead of “employable” is why so many 22 year olds discover the real world is a cruel place that consists of $9.75 an hour and moving back to their parents’ basements.
Taking years off to pursue what amounts to a very expensive hobby is wonderful. But the time to do that is at the end of your career when you’ve earned it. Doing it first on borrowed money makes the end of your career come about 15 years later than it otherwise would have.
aspade, you got that right. Companies have to hire foreigners on H1-B visas to fill good paying engineering jobs because not enough Americans are studying engineering.
Kendhal, companies bribed the government for the convenience of bringing over foreigners on the H1b program so that they wouldn’t have to face the realities of supply and demand among the American students. Wages for engineers would have increased and the number of people studying it would have gone up correspondingly.
If “it gives you hope that not all of the electric-car development of the future will be done in China and Korea”, I’d suggest you look into the World Solar Challenge, which is starting in 10 days in Australia. 1800 miles on pure solar power, and there are quite a few American teams in the event…
“reverse J-turn”
In the trade,that’s known as “a Rockford”.
I always knew it as a Half Rockford.
Tesla Roadster uses 18650 batteries, cylinders 18mm in diameter, 65mm in length. These cells are generally used in laptops, not (recent!) cellphones.