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What really limits electric vehicles for racing is weight and batteries. Weight is always bad, and batteries are heavy. And batteries can overheat, which mean
by Judgmentality 6y ago
What really limits electric vehicles for racing is weight and batteries. Weight is always bad, and batteries are heavy. And batteries can overheat, which means going into limp mode. The overheating seems to be getting solved relatively quickly, but the weight of batteries isn't going to come down drastically any time soon.
They're just different - electric is better in a lot of ways and gasoline is better in a lot of ways. I don't think you'll see electric cars doing endurance racing anytime soon.
- cryptoz 6y agoI'm not a racing or really car enthusiast, but, don't races have pit stops where mechanics change out the tires and such? Tesla's old 90-second battery replacement tech could be used here. Just thinking out loud.
- Judgmentality 6y ago90 seconds for a pit stop is an eternity.
- kllrnohj 6y agoJust for those that don't know, pitstops these days are under a few seconds. See for example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAd_t4wibM0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAd_t4wibM0
- Judgmentality 6y agoThat's slightly misleading, as that pit stop didn't include refueling. Adding fuel will add about ~10 seconds to the pit stop. But you're still comparing ~10 seconds with ~100 seconds, which is an order of magnitude difference, when many actual races have been lost over 2 second delays in pit stops.
- jcims 6y agoYou could do much better with a specialized high-risk vehicle, probably on the order of a couple of seconds.
- jatgoodwin 6y agoThere's Formula E racing, their solution was to have 2 cars and the drivers switched. An interesting company to look at is Lucid Motors they provide a battery pack that lasts all race now.
- hi5eyes 6y agotesla never had 90sec battery replacement tech
- cmrdporcupine 6y agoEVs made explicitly for racing very short distances often have fairly small battery packs and use DC motors instead of AC -- as they have no need for regeneration, the motors are cheaper, the wiring is simpler and the possible torque is insane. Their chief limitation is managing heat, and maintaining the DC motors themselves.
- acegopher 6y agoFor example, electric drag racing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_drag_racing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_drag_racing
- mc32 6y agoThey would also have to consider how the mass of a battery affects safety as a car goes airborne and hurtles toward other cars, fences and spectators, as well as establish the right protocol for when batteries catch fire, etc.
- sixothree 6y agoA stalled car in Formula 1 (last race year?) cause the driver to have to "hop" out of the car with both legs at the same time. This was to prevent a possible ground path from one leg to the other as a result "stepping" out the car.