Powered by lithium batteries, electric dragster convinces

[truedelphi]

Even the most skeptical of abilities of a car not built to run on gas

From the Article, by Brent Wojahn/The Oregonian
John Wayland, of Portland, with his 1972 Datsun 1200 coupe that he has transformed into what he calls the world's fastest electric car. Wayland is getting the car ready to race and hopefully break eleven seconds in the quarter mile. Zero to 60 mph in less than 3 seconds -- White Zombie electric dragster makes believers out of fossil fuel hot-rodders gallery (7 photos)

It's a 1972 Datsun called "White Zombie," and it's one of the fastest street legal electric cars in the world. It's been clocked doing zero to 60 mph in 2.95 seconds. It's walloped Corvettes, Camaros and 600-horsepower Vipers in quarter-mile drag races using lead-acid batteries.

Check out this URL for photos, the rest of the article and a video as well:

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/07/zero_to_60_mph_in_less_than_3.html

[MicaelS]

1. LiPo batteries are capable of some incredibly high discharge rates

That what many model airplane enthusiasts use these days.

[LSparkle]

2. Does the Tesla Roadster use those batteries?

That's been my "dream car" for the past couple of years
and it has sinilar stats. When Toyota/Tesla starts making
the "family car" version, I'm getting myself on a list ...

[MicaelS]

4. No, it uses Lithium Ion, Lithium Polymer batteries

Can be very dangerous if handled improperly.

LiPo batteries http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-ion_polymer_battery

This type has technologically evolved from lithium-ion batteries. The primary difference is that the lithium-salt electrolyte is not held in an organic solvent but in a solid polymer composite such as polyethylene oxide or polyacrylonitrile. The advantages of Li-ion polymer over the lithium-ion design include potentially lower cost of manufacture, adaptability to a wide variety of packaging shapes, and ruggedness. Lithium-ion polymer batteries started appearing in consumer electronics around 1996.

Li-poly batteries are also gaining favor in the world of radio-controlled aircraft as well as radio-controlled cars, where the advantages of both lower weight and greatly increased run times can be sufficient justification for the price. Some airsoft gun owners have switched to LiPo batteries due to the above reasons and the increased rate of fire they provide. However, lithium polymer-specific chargers are required to avoid fire and explosion. Explosions can also occur if the battery is short-circuited, as tremendous current passes through the cell in an instant. Radio-control enthusiasts take special precautions to ensure their battery leads are properly connected and insulated. Furthermore fires can occur if the cell or pack is punctured.

These batteries may also power the next generation of battery electric vehicles. The cost of an electric car of this type is prohibitive, but proponents argue that with increased production, the cost of Li-poly batteries will go down.

Hyundai Motor Company plans to use this battery type in its hybrid electric vehicles

Videos of LiPo battery fires

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DcpANRFrI4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3o_2mwRPdw

[NBachers]

3. Great video- This guy and his team are cool as shit- Thanks for posting

[IDemo]

5. Slowpoke..

http://www.killacycle.com/2009/09/30/the-fastest-ev-on-the-dragstrip-again-7864-169-mph/

[truedelphi]

11. Wow. What a cycle!

Those people have my respect.

[Edweird]

6. He's bracket racing I presume? That's the only way a

"will try to be the first electric car to run a quarter mile in under 11 seconds" car could beat a serious racer. A 12 second 1/4 mile isn't exactly 'hot' (a stock 09 Corvette is in the low 11's) and I bet he doesn't have enough juice to drive home afterward. This article was written to impress people that have never 'staged'. It's good that he is developing and progressing battery technology, but trying to make sound like something it isn't will backfire with enthusiasts.

[TheMadMonk]

7. No what it says is that the TOP SPEED of this little Datsun is somewhat...

...limited, (somewhere about the ton I'd guess) but the acceleration between 0 and there is phenomenal.

This thing's races will ALL be lost in the second half of that 1/4 mi as vehicles with a larger top end overtake it at 150-200 mph as it merrily whirs along at the top speed it will sit on for 5.5 of those 11 seconds.

And given 2 hours run time at highway speeds and (IIRC) the roughly 5:1 ratio between maximum and optimal discharge rates for LiPO batteries, flat out should still give him a good twenty minutes or so, or about fifty more runs than you'd get out of a serious drag motor before it needed rebuilding or replacing outright. That's per charge. Rebuilds happen when something better (eg Li batteries, neodymium magnets) comes along, not when something inevitably breaks (or threatens to) as with infernal combustion engines run at the very limits of their performance envelope. Although, I'm guessing with a bit of a grin that if he's driving a conventional drive train (tailshaft & diff) he might have snapped, shattered and otherwise reduced to scrap more than a few bits and pieces along the way.

I confidently believe he'll be driving home on residual charge after even a dozen runs with possibly enough left over to pop out for beer after. That will be half his shtick. Drive up, run his 3-4 races for the day and drive off without doing a bloody thing towards race preparation except putting on his helmet.

If he was willing to destroy motors, I suspect he could simply up the pack voltage to 450 or so and strip the rims straight out of the tyres. Or if he manages his takeoff properly, shave as much as another 1/4 second off that 0-60 time and up his top speed to over 150 mph. At which point he would be playing in the same sandpit as the nitro-methanol crowd and they will be pissing and moaning if he uses anything resembling electronic acceleration control.

[Edweird]

9. Ok. some side by side comparisons:

Here's your boy:
http://www.dragtimes.com/1972-Datsun-1200-Videos-7484.html
11.466 @ 114.080 in the 1/4 mile (he's quicker than I thought - but still slow)
PS with a 30 mile range I doubt he's driving home unless he lives at the race track.

Here's a John Lingenfelter Corvette - pump gas and street legal:
http://www.dragtimes.com/Chevrolet-Corvette-ZR1-Timeslip-20041.html
1/4 Mile ET: 9.810
1/4 Mile MPH: 145.740


Here's a no-big-whoop viper -naturally aspirated pump gas with a shot of nitrous and of course street legal:
http://www.dragtimes.com/Dodge-Viper-Timeslip-16237.html
1/4 Mile ET: 10.180
1/4 Mile MPH: 137.980

Here's a twin turbo viper:
http://www.dragtimes.com/Dodge-Viper-Timeslip-17302.html
1/4 Mile ET: 9.929
1/4 Mile MPH: 157.750

Sorry, but in a heads up race against even a weekend warrior his 'trailer queen' will get spanked - by daily drivers no less. To add insult to injury they can turn the a/c on for the drive home. He's NOWHERE NEAR running with the nitro boys. That's a fantasy.

I respect what he's doing - just don't try to sell me on a bunch of BS.

[TheMadMonk]

12. PS if you read things you might note lead has been replaced with Li-PO.

AND the stated range in the article is 120 miles at highway speeds. 2 hours is close enough for government work.

[Edweird]

13. I stand corrected. 120 miles it is.

I got the '30' from an obviously out of date article - my bad.
Just the same 11.466 @ 114.08 mph isn't a dragon slayer - especially given his curb weight of 1800 lbs vs. the 3500+ lb curb weight of the examples I provided. 10 second 'sleepers' are common - daily drivers with full amenities. Hardcore pump gas doorslammers can dip into the 8's. A barebones pro-street ride might be cool to commute in when you're 17, but it wears on you when you're older :)
I'm not out to dirt on the guy or EV's - I sincerely hope that technology improves to the point where he could be competitive on an equal power to weight ratio. That would make things exciting for sure. I just saw something misleading that I felt compelled to address. Misrepresentation will do the EV cause more harm than good. Bracket racing is a completely different ball game than heads up. I can see the potential for EV's to dominate bracket racing. It's obviously going to be a while before they are a serious threat going toe-to-toe, but when that day comes their popularity will surge.

[Edweird]

14. When he went Li-Po he dropped 800lbs but only picked up 4/10ths sec.

The rule of thumb I've always gone by (and been indoctrinated with) is every 100 lbs gets you 1/10th of a second. Theoretically, all else being equal, that weight drop should have put him in the 10 sec. range or at least within spitting distance. I find that intriguing.

http://www.plasmaboyracing.com/whitezombie.php

[cherokeeprogressive]

8. The coolest thing about this is that there are NO fossil fuels involved...

wait, what? It takes fossil fuels to recharge the batteries in this car? Who knew?

[truedelphi]

10. Give us another three years.

Russia produces energy from the wave action of the oceans.

Which certainly beats our "energy producing" corporations as they try to turn our oceans into tar.

[itsrobert]

15. Not only Russia

So does the US and England. And other countries.