EV autocross

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CasualProjects
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EV autocross

Post by CasualProjects »



Hi,

I am interested in EV racing, and think autocross would be a great. most of the cars are small, you don't want to wreck them,the sport lends itself to cars with good low-end, and the typical courses are just over a minute usually . I'm doing my first conversion now on a charade, its not going to be incredibly fast but id like to have a go.



thoughts?

NIck
Canberra




if theres already been a discussion on this, i apologize, didn't see it.
Nick
zeva
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EV autocross

Post by zeva »

I'm certainly planning to use my electric MX5 for some motorsport once it's finished. As you say the autocross / motorkhana type events are a pretty easy place for EVs to compete without needing to be hugely powerful or needing long range. You do need a pretty well maintained vehicle for any motorsport though, it tends to be pretty hard on them!
Ian Hooper
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"Never doubt that the work of a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world." - Margaret Mead
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CasualProjects
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EV autocross

Post by CasualProjects »

I am thinking more the American or Japanese style auto cross. personally i think that motorkhana is more of a glorified P plate test, if theres stuff like reversing and all. you'd want a rollcage, a fourpoint belt ,and a good helmet. other than that i guess a fine tuned suspension. MX5 is rwd right? would be good for drifting around the bends


Nick
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juk
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EV autocross

Post by juk »

The motorkhana i've competed in in australia reverse is not allowed, if you engage reverse, you get the slowest time plus a penalty. All you need is a suitably scrutineered car, long sleeve cotton clothing and helmet.

It would be ideal for EVs. And i reckon you'd have a fair chance of doing all right Ian.
galderdi
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Re: EV autocross

Post by galderdi »

juk wrote: Wed, 04 Jun 2008, 06:31 The motorkhana i've competed in in australia reverse is not allowed, if you engage reverse, you get the slowest time plus a penalty. All you need is a suitably scrutineered car, long sleeve cotton clothing and helmet.

It would be ideal for EVs. And i reckon you'd have a fair chance of doing all right Ian.
This is not quite true in all cases. I compete in around 8-10 motorkhanas each year. The rules for the motorkhanas under CAMS are quite clear. There are actual courses that require reversing. In fact the Australian Championships and State championships must have a percentage of reversing tests included. Even for those tests that don't call for reversing you can still reverse if you need to correct a mistake. If you make a mistake it is certainly considered a "wrong direction" and you would incur the slowest time plus a penalty.

I suspect the motorkhanas mentioned in this thread were run at a club level with local interpretations.

I also totally dispute the idea that motorkhanas are for P platers. Motorkhanas are not easy by any stretch of the imagination. Even when driven slowly the courses can be dificult to remember. Then when you do begin to master the art of remembering the layout they are extremely difficult to drive competitively. If you don't believe me just contact me and we can arrange for you to experience it first hand.
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Re: EV autocross

Post by chandana »

I agree. I have done a few, and they are quite challenging, including making a mistake on the route!. An EV would do very well if you can make use of regen.
The only issue with a current production EV would be the lack of a hand brake. My BMW i3 doesn't have one, only an electric switch, which is not as responsive as a real had brake.
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brendon_m
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Re: EV autocross

Post by brendon_m »

chandana wrote: Fri, 11 Feb 2022, 15:02 The only issue with a current production EV would be the lack of a hand brake. My BMW i3 doesn't have one, only an electric switch, which is not as responsive as a real had brake.
CasualProjects wrote: Wed, 04 Jun 2008, 05:48 MX5 is rwd right? would be good for drifting around the bends
So an Imiev is a good pick for autocross :lol:

Sure would be fun to thrash one around a track, especially with the OZDIY pack and a bit of a tickle up to the inverter power
galderdi
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Re: EV autocross

Post by galderdi »

Motorsport Australia blocked my involvement with an EV in any of their events. They apparently had a set of unpublished rules which make it impossible for an EV to compete. The only reason I got away with mine was because it was unpublished nobody knew to stop me. It was only when I entered an event run by their head office that all hell broke loose. That was 3 years ago and nothing has progressed. There is still a set of rules which to my knowledge still hasn't been published but has been circulated unofficially. For any EV to compete there is a set of prerequisites for the organisers to comply with. Most of them are OKish and would cost about $2000 for a club. They are things like a defibrillator, insulated gloves, hooks etc etc. But the two that are a real problem are the need for special boots and a water bath. The boots are a problem for amateur events because amateur events don't have dedicated safety personnel. So how can you possibly coordinate special boots without knowing the size ahead of time. The water bath needs to be deep enough and wide enough to submerge the vehicle to cool any battery fire. So where can you get a water bath? How can it be close enough to some random location where an issue may occur? How can you get the burning vehicle into a bath? Soooo many issues with their twisted logic. It all stems from their knee jerk reaction resulting in a blanket adoption of the Formula E rules. The Formula E rules work for a highly funded, professional sport. But they'll never work for amateurs.
Assuming they eventually get around these two blockers then production EVs will be allowed. But Motorsport Australia have no clue (and no motivation) what to do about the safety aspects of a modified or custom EV. So You would be building your car with a hope and a prayer that your design passes at the whim of whoever the nominate to assess it. I have given up any hope of ever competing under them in future and my car is now scrap.
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brendon_m
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Re: EV autocross

Post by brendon_m »

I'm sure the red tape will start to disappear once the majority drive EVs and they are no longer new and scary. People will want to hoon on the weekend and the regulatory bodies will have to do something but in the meantime it's frustrating to say the least
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jonescg
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Re: EV autocross

Post by jonescg »

AEVA has applied to be an affiliate member of Motorsport Australia. We've not heard back, but once accepted we should be able to compete in any sanctioned MA event with benefits that flow on to AEVA members, like day licenses and insurance.
But yeah, the wheels turn slowly in gas racer land.
AEVA National President, WA branch director.
T1 Terry
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Re: EV autocross

Post by T1 Terry »

At least the drag racing scene doesn't suffer the same blinkered approach, although a lot of the sponsor $$ in the higher performance classes are tied to mechanical super charging and special fuel blends so the $$ aren't there yet for electric powered winners, but it will come if the noise can be duplicated :lol:

T1 Terry
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sleeperpservice
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Re: EV autocross

Post by sleeperpservice »

Need the EV equivalent of this

https://www.instructables.com/How-to-Ma ... otorcycle/
F08HLRBKFZEIVC5.jpg
F08HLRBKFZEIVC5.jpg (127.53 KiB) Viewed 731 times
galderdi
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Re: EV autocross

Post by galderdi »

jonescg wrote: Tue, 14 Feb 2023, 22:12 AEVA has applied to be an affiliate member of Motorsport Australia. We've not heard back, but once accepted we should be able to compete in any sanctioned MA event with benefits that flow on to AEVA members, like day licenses and insurance.
But yeah, the wheels turn slowly in gas racer land.
I would recommend not proceeding. They will gladly accept the yearly fees and they will certainly then allow AEVA members to gain MSA licenses. They will even allow AEVA members to race.....in combustion cars. Just because I continued to hold an MSA license for much of the time since my car was banned didn't allow me to compete. But it is going to literally be another 10 years before they allow people to race with EVs. Even when they introduce reasonable guidelines I would never trust them again. I spent many thousands of dollars building a car that was 100% compliant with all their published rules (which are plentiful) only to be banned based on rules they had hidden in their back pocket. Who is to say they wouldn't do something similar again. Then they had the nerve to go targeting our local officials!!! Hold on....they were working with the rules you wrote!!! When I got banned, late 2019, I said to them "you need to put out some communication ASAP. Because people don't know they shouldn't compete" Yet even now years later they still haven't cleared up their position. Don't waste your money on affiliation with them. Go to AASA or Racers instead.
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