Electric Car Drag Racers Race Past V-8 Gasoline Muscle Cars During 1/4-mile Events

Speaker: Stan Hanel, Las Vegas Electric Vehicle Associatio

Overview:

The non-profit Electric Automobile Association (EAA) has been promoting the development and use of electric-powered vehicles by American consumers since 1967.  There are 45 chapters under the EAA parent organization, including international chapters in Canada and Germany.  The local chapter is the Las Vegas Electric Vehicle Association (LVEVA).

Several LVEVA chapter members have also organized and participated in electric drag racing events at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS) in conjunction with the National Electric Drag Racing Association (NEDRA), a 10-year affiliate of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA).

During 1997 to 2005, the Las Vegas chapter organized the "Wicked Watts" drag racing competitions as part of the NEDRA racing season at “The Strip” drag strip within the LVMS complex.

Last year was a breakthrough year for Lithium-Ion battery technology, allowing NEDRA electric drag racers to eclipse gasoline-powered "muscle" cars that employed customized internal combustion engines during “head to head” competition in quarter-mile drag races. NEDRA racers were able to achieve electric-powered vehicle speeds over 100 mph.  The instantaneous torque that is available to an electric motor off the line can launch an electric dragster ahead of stock internal combustion engine dragsters at the very beginning of the race.  Electronic shifting of electric motor drive trains also allows for smooth and quick acceleration without mechanical gearbox and clutch shifting delays.

New Lithium-Ion battery chemistries are also now capable of providing good range characteristics for EVs.  There have been a lot of racing media coverage of Lithium battery-powered electric motor propulsion technology in 2007 on quarter-mile drag strips, led by Bill Dube's "Killacycle" electric motorcycle, John Wayland's "White Zombie" electric 1972 Datsun 1200, and Dennis Berube's "Current Eliminator V" electric dragster.  Dube and Wayland are using A123 Systems' Lithium-Iron-Phosphate (LiFePO4) battery technology to set new records.  A123 Systems provides the Lithium-Ion power packs for DeWalt Power Tools, a product line of Black and Decker.  A123 Systems received a multi-million dollar grant from the US Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) in 2007 and was also tapped by General Motors to develop a battery pack for the new Chevrolet "Volt" Electric Car, planned for production in 2010 or 2011.

LiFeBATT battery company in Las Vegas is distributing a competing Lithium-Iron-Phosphate technology developed by the University of Texas, Universite de Montreal and Hydro-Quebec in Canada.  LiFeBATT engineer and UNLV engineering student, Benja Mitchell,  will be presenting samples of Lithium-Iron-Phosphate batteries and talking about this technology at the IEEE chapter meeting.  A spinoff company called Phostech was purchased by Sud-Chemie, a large chemical company in France.  LiFeBatt distributes battery modules based on Phostech chemistry.  The materials processing technology was further refined for construction of the components of this battery by manufacturers in Taiwan.   Recent testing at Sandia National Laboratory is verifying the durability and resilience of LiFeBATT's product line.

Lithium-Titanate chemistry from Altairnano Technologies in Reno, Nevada was recently featured in the racing media during December 2007.  A new NEDRA record was set by Dennis Berube and his “Current Eliminator V” dragster using Altairnano battery packs.

A lot of good battery technology research and development is ongoing in southern Nevada's hot desert proving grounds.  It is a good location to test these chemistries under extreme heat conditions, where overheating and explosion of Lithium-Cobalt-Oxide (LiCoO2) chemical batteries in the past has forced factory recalls of small-scale laptop LiCoO2 cells by Sony and Apple Computer.  These chemistry problems also suspended the adoption of LiCoO2 battery pack technology into the Toyota Prius™ hybrid cars during the summer of 2007.  Newer lithium-based chemistries, like the ones shown above, are now proving to be more robust at higher temperatures and more rugged electric vehicle power requirements.

The Speed Channel “Speed Records” television program has documented some of these new EV racing technologies at Portland International Raceway (PIR) last year.  Mainstream videos were also produced for the Today Show at Bandimere Speedway in Colorado and for the Wall Street Journal at Portland International Raceway. 

This presentation will include streaming "YouTube" videos of electric drag races, complete with full speed motion and sound to "see and hear" what an electric car sounds like while it moves down the drag strip at full speed after launching of the starting line with maximum electric motor torque.  An electric car display is also planned outside the presentation room after the lecture.

Come see the future of automotive technology today!