Aussie EV Autocross Special

Thanks. Yeah the car feels great. Its really showing potential. The balance is great although I am making some small adjustments to get a little more front end grip when cornering. But all in all I think I have fluked it. The only two things to improve are the acceleration and increase front grip.

A dyno is certainly on the cards. I have a friend with a long and steep driveway. He has offered it as a testing ground. I will load up some weight in the car and then accelerate up the slop with both my dash gauge and clamp meter to provide the current reading. It should give me some useful data. I just need a weekend with clear weather when my friend is home.
 
I admire your aproach and results you are getting Galerdi, but if it were me i would certainly be getting some data logging onboard to monitor syslem performance, motor and battery ,volts, Amps, temperatures, etc.
Some of the better controllers have this built in, but stand alone data loggers are not expensive these days, and software for download analysis is freely available online.
Even just using a CA unit would give a lot of useful data, peak amps, max/min volts, rpm etc...
http://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/cycle-analyst.html
 
Hillhater said:
I admire your aproach and results you are getting Galerdi, but if it were me i would certainly be getting some data logging onboard to monitor syslem performance, motor and battery ,volts, Amps, temperatures, etc.
Some of the better controllers have this built in, but stand alone data loggers are not expensive these days, and software for download analysis is freely available online.
Even just using a CA unit would give a lot of useful data, peak amps, max/min volts, rpm etc...
http://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/cycle-analyst.html
Click to expand...


Wow that does seem like a good product and price. I have sent a message to their local distributor. I will certainly get a hold of one (Assuming they don't jack the price up by 1000%)
 
galderdi said:
Hillhater said:
I admire your aproach and results you are getting Galerdi, but if it were me i would certainly be getting some data logging onboard to monitor syslem performance, motor and battery ,volts, Amps, temperatures, etc.
Some of the better controllers have this built in, but stand alone data loggers are not expensive these days, and software for download analysis is freely available online.
Even just using a CA unit would give a lot of useful data, peak amps, max/min volts, rpm etc...
http://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/cycle-analyst.html
Click to expand...


Wow that does seem like a good product and price. I have sent a message to their local distributor. I will certainly get a hold of one (Assuming they don't jack the price up by 1000%)
Click to expand...

Yes! I'm glad Hill finally got the CA on your radar, because the (3) times in this thread that I have specifically recommended the CycleAnalyst to you for that purpose didn't seem to sink in. :lol: Must be my American accent.

I am looking forward to someone else telling you that your Curtis controller is too weak to drive a 9" brushed motor, and that a $75 power supply will charge your pack in hours instead of days, so you can start enjoying what your build really has to offer. :mrgreen:
 
oatnet said:
galderdi said:
Hillhater said:
I admire your aproach and results you are getting Galerdi, but if it were me i would certainly be getting some data logging onboard to monitor syslem performance, motor and battery ,volts, Amps, temperatures, etc.
Some of the better controllers have this built in, but stand alone data loggers are not expensive these days, and software for download analysis is freely available online.
Even just using a CA unit would give a lot of useful data, peak amps, max/min volts, rpm etc...
http://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/cycle-analyst.html
Click to expand...


Wow that does seem like a good product and price. I have sent a message to their local distributor. I will certainly get a hold of one (Assuming they don't jack the price up by 1000%)
Click to expand...

Yes! I'm glad Hill finally got the CA on your radar, because the (3) times in this thread that I have specifically recommended the CycleAnalyst to you for that purpose didn't seem to sink in. :lol: Must be my American accent.

I am looking forward to someone else telling you that your Curtis controller is too weak to drive a 9" brushed motor, and that a $75 power supply will charge your pack in hours instead of days, so you can start enjoying what your build really has to offer. :mrgreen:
Click to expand...

Thanks again. I did hear you, but you were kinda drowned out by the submliminal sound of a cash register openning everytime a new component was suggested. Having to fork out for a second battery pack $2800 plus my wife's hours being cut by 60% have really hurt my ability to go out and purchase new stuff.

I incorrectly assumed, going by the name, that Cycle Anaylst would only be suitable to bycycles, low voltage, low current applications. I was a bit surprised, once I finally checked, they offer high current shunts. Perfect!!

I really really hope you are wrong about the controller. There is no way I could afford a replacement within the next 18 months. But its a 500amp controller so I still think I have some room to move before it's maxed out.

I do have a bigger powersupply, but so far I have not been able to trigger it into charge mode. It is looking for a CAN bus signal which I have not had. I now have some connectors and a CAN bus adaptor so I hope to plug it in to my laptop and tell it to start charging. If it were as simple as buying a $75 charger I would have done that by now. But the ones you are talking about would be 110v input, We operate on 240v here. I know there are ways around that too, but it doesn't make sense when I have a charger here that just needs a signal.
 
galderdi said:
I incorrectly assumed, going by the name, that Cycle Anaylst would only be suitable to bycycles, low voltage, low current applications. I was a bit surprised, once I finally checked, they offer high current shunts. Perfect!!
Click to expand...

:lol: Odd for you to think that they were only for bicycles even though I told you that I am using it on my build, to measure 4x the power driving the exact same motor you are using.

galderdi said:
If it were as simple as buying a $75 charger I would have done that by now. But the ones you are talking about would be 110v input, We operate on 240v here. I know there are ways around that too, but it doesn't make sense when I have a charger here that just needs a signal.
Click to expand...

It is just that simple. :D The $75 Power Supply (Not A Charger) I recommended to you is designed to work on both 110v and 240v. I can't remember the last PSU I used that didn't switch between 110v and 240v. Further, I'd wager that all generic $75 Power Supplies sold in your area can handle 240v.

I'd explain how the majority of DIY folks here use PSU's instead of Chargers and why, but if hacking canbus is easier for you, then it is a moot point.

-JD


PS - with only 450 amps, your ADC FB1-4001A motor in a 1,000lb vehicle should not only be able to burn rubber off the line in 2nd/3rd gear, it should also be able to do rolling burnouts in 2nd/3rd gear at the touch of a throttle, as seen below. No clutch drop is needed for either.

The question is whether your 500a Curtis is able to deliver 450a off the line; my cheap Chinese clone of your curtis was not able to, dunno if it was the clone or the Curtis.

[youtube]Nm8-BHbjE6k[/youtube]
 
JD

That looks bloody awesome mate 8)

I agree a PSC is cheap I have a 0 to 36 volt 0 to 8 amp one off ebay runs my solar traker motors has been going for 2 years beats the crap out of using 3 x 12 volt batteries like I use to.

Samd will help you with how to connect to your controller I have nothing but good words about his service.

Cheeers Kiwi
 
Since beginning the build in March 2015 and more particularly the last 8 months has been an extremely steep learning curve for me. Forgive me for not quite understanding or absorbing every suggestion made along the way. But I do appreciate the input.

I have made my share of mistakes (possibly more than my share). I am working to a list of priorities taking into account cost and time. Just because I haven't implemented some of the suggestions doesn't mean I never will. I am working my way through them and adding new items to the plan as I learn more.
If I can squeeze a bit more acceleration out of it I will be satisfied. Everything else (fast charge, data logging etc) is a bonus.

If I knew then what I know now I would certanly have tackled a few things differently. But then again if I knew my wife's hours would be cut I doubt I would have been able to start the project at all. So all in all I am very happy with the progress and results so far.
 
I have PM'd Sam about the Cycle Analyst.

JD, If I have trouble getting the big charger working with the CAN bus hack, what specifications should I be looking for in a PSU?

You prompted me to go back and review the thread for anything else I have overlooked. You mentioned you have cell logs. Can you point me to more information about those? I don't quite get what you said about 6 Vs 8 Cells. I assumed the logs circuits would need to match the cells being logged?
 
Regarding the wheel spin, I need to avoid wheelspin as it is wasted acceleration. My car uses R spec tyres (grooved slicks). These tyres have literally 20-25% more grip than standard road tyres. I have done a comparison test myself. With R spec tyres I can take a corner 20-25% quicker than taking the same corner in the same car with normal tyres.
So the wheel spin should also be reduced, and translated into acceleration instead.
 
Heya Galderdi,
just saw this thread. Will get you a price on a CA shortly. Cheers
 
OK so I took the car for a load test on my friend's steep driveway. We got some interesting results.
I have turned the controller up to maximum. There was a notable increase in acceleration but it was not as dramatic as I had hoped.
It is hard to be absolutely certain what is going on because this is the first time on a hill like this (plus having two large men in the car) so I don't have a point of reference to compare against. The previous runs have all been fairly flat.
It is accelerating very well in 1st and I have seen the amps hit 350 for a moment.
But throw it into 2nd gear and it is still struggling. Even in 2nd I think I detect an improvement since the runs in May. But its still struggling. The most confusing part is that I would expect it to be drawing max amps if it is struggling but the most I saw in 2nd was around 170. Yet when I throw it back into 1st it performs again so I don't think it is sag.
The motor and controller were the warmest I have ever felt them, but even then I would describe them as being about as warm as you'd expect if it was a summer day. No problem resting my hand on them, so I don't think they were even close to overheating.
The batteries were not showing detectable heat at all.

I am not quite sure where to go from here. Any thoughts? Although realistically any ideas that involve significant purchases may have to wait a year or two. I think the increase I have achieved might be enough to make me competitive. We will find out in Aug.
 
another showing the vertical speed and altitude. Keep in mind I had the hand brake on a bit to provide more load to max out the amps.
[youtube]XNtlxb0OC7M[/youtube]
 
A visual inspection after my last test reveiled a broken brush clip/spring. The spring looks like it has some scorching on it, indicating either something was arching to the spring or the current was travelling through the spring rather than the brush conductor. Either of those scenarios seems odd to me. There does not appear to be any significant carbon buildup or anything else that seems out of place. Maybe a foreign object ended up in the motor and has since fallen back out.

I have now removed the offending spring and I am talking to some suppliers about replacements and spares.

I the process of removing the spring I also removed the brush. I was surprised the brush did not move all that freely in its channel. I would have expected it to slide in and out without much force but it actually took some effort to pull it out of the channel. There was an ever so slight amount of oxidisation in the channel. Obviously I now suspect the same is the case for the other brushes. Looks like some maintenance is in order. I am starting to research the best approach now, but I am happy to hear any suggestions here too.
 
Galderdi, this is just to give you data logging envy !..
Take a look at the linked video from "nuxland" to see the data he collects from his system as he laps the track...
..Enjoy !
nuxland said:
..... I have also programmed a windows application that sits in the tabled (it is installed into kart) and records canbus information (I have ixxat usb2can adapter on the kart) to log file with 200ms intervals.
Here is video of testing in race track (then with passive air cooled controller): https://youtu.be/iXPbWTuXLQg
.
Click to expand...
 
That is awesome. Does that cell voltage readout need a bms input? Or is it directly wired from the cells to the cycle analyst?
Also do you think the motor temp would be directly connected to the sensor in the motor?
 
Did some maintenance on my motor this past weekend.

I purchased another motor on the weekend. Long term I intend to use this one for my next project (An even faster accelerating car). Short term I have stolen a few springs from it to use on the original motor to get it back up to scratch.
It's a very good thing I decided to do this as the brushes were in a very poor state and had I driven it for much longer would have destroyed the motor. You can see in the photo the brushes are not protruding into the centre, even though there is nothing to stop them. They should be almost touching in the centre of the ring. I believe before I purchased the motor it had been sitting for a lengthy period which resulted in the brushes seizing in place. Some of them needed significant force to free them. I believe under heavy load this caused some arching and is the cause of the scorching you can see in the photos. I have now cleaned up all the brushes so they move freely and I replaced 4 of the 8 springs due to scorching. It's all back together now and running better than it ever has.

I took a few videos of the tests after I put it back together. You can see in the view from the back of the car I was experimenting with launching from different gears (1st, 2nd and 3rd). All in all its feeling great. Can’t wait for the next event.

Two of those videos are using a 360 degree camera so try moving the view around.

[youtube]ULgkdePEJII[/youtube]
[youtube]dQ5yJ8B2sVE[/youtube]
[youtube]QwjjB9gFaSk[/youtube]
 
The next event is a Motorkhana in 2 weeks. Just starting to get excited now. I can't wait, its been way too long between events and I have made a lot of improvements since the last run. As usual I will have a few videos to post afterwards.

Here is a pic of a mockup for a qing I purchased last weekend. I probably won't get a chance to mount it for a couple of months. Plus it probably won't make any difference in the events I enter. But it should look good.

 
galderdi said:
.
Here is a pic of a mockup for a qing I purchased last weekend. ...
.... Plus it probably won't make any difference in the events I enter. .....]
Click to expand...
Well, unless you are short of rear grip at high speed, any extra weight or drag, can only slow you down !
...but yes, it does look neat !
 
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