Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

This is a question, please do not call me a nazi commy for asking.  Has anyone  considered a electric midget.  I am told it would easy to build car.  Get electric motor out of a w recked car, hook it to drive shaft, do batteries.  Would it be  legal?

Probably not legal as every set of rules seems to start out with an internal combustion engine.

Probably not competitive, as the battery required to make the horsepower needed to compete probably puts the car at too big of a weight disadvantage.

Battery duration would have to be a factor as well. "Folks- it's time to hit the beer stand, as we need to throw a red to let the car charge for a bit."

On the bright side, the cars would be as quiet as my wife's Prius. The driver's could hear the insults being shouted by other drivers.

Yes, it's been considered.  I recall Casey Shuman hot-lapping one maybe a decade ago (I wanna say in Florida but I'm not 100% certain).  As for legal...I would guess not.  As Murphy mentioned there aren't any rules for electric power.  I'm not sure if the weight is as big of an issue as Murphy thinks, and with no testing on power output it might be too easy to build an electric car that would far out-power existing IC engines.  I posted my opinion on the coming of electric dirt track racing several months ago and got crushed by our HHMB friends.  I'm telling you...don't be shocked if it happens.

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Battery weight and run time are the key ingredients and I don't see how they could do it. My 48 volt golf cart runs 39mph, with a gear and 14" tires. The drive motor and batteries get really hot if I push it hard. My run time, again if pushing it, is about 6 to 7 miles. 

Formula E has been running electric vehicles since 2014.  Power output was originally 200-250 HP but that has increased with better batteries.  I think they originally had a red flag for recharging but they have improved the batteries so that is not necessary any longer.  Races are short - 45 minutes roughly.

Formula E adds a charge to the batteries during braking; not sure if that power is needed during the race or not, but midgets probably aren't as hard on the brakes and thus wouldn't recharge the batteries.

I'd be nervous about a wreck and fire, but if the Formual E cars are safe (and at much higher speeds), it would probably be ok for midgets.  Very weird though, without the engine noise.  The air would certainly be cleaner at the Chili Bowl.

Good one....

https://youtu.be/vzCte4D09FY

https://youtu.be/ho4xdJvmrnA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za9Fo3SiCjE

Member of this message board since 1997

Off topic, but look at the fence and track opening in turn #1 in the Bubba's video. If the posts don't stop a car instantly in it's tracks, it would probably go through the fence and flatten those spectators standing there.

Already in karting, maybe the next step is an electric TQ midget series or a new class in the Micro/Mini Sprint class somewhere.

I think midgets are safe for probably close to a decade.

Check out the Flo Racing Segment at the PRI show.  There is 3 to 5 minute video on the electric cars at the show which included two beautiful vehicles retrofitted with electric motors that included a yellow 1957 Chevy and a 1974 Pick up Truck.  It ends with video of the electric midget that Casey Shuman drove.  Really gets you thinking.  Highly recommend watching.  Really great reporting.   

Title of Flo Segment:  "What We Saw At PRI May Shock You!!"   

I am pretty sure they do not recharge batteries, they switch to a second car at pit stops.    To me part of racing is the sound of cars, it is music.  A silent race would be like watching my wife sew on a sewing machine.   I hope they do not form a new electric car midget series.  We have way to many classes of cars now that diluets each class down.  Let them run with reg. midgets as an experiment.  I sure am glad I was born way back when, the future can look scary. 

Very true, and noone will give a crap until it actually kills somebody

Given the crashes a midget will get into, a lithium fire is a given.  Just stop the race and spend the next 3 hours putting the fire out, and carting the dead bodies away.  The safety of an electric midget = 0

There is definitely going to be an electric racing series in the future.   GM has stated that they want an all electric fleet by 2035.   Almost all of the new car models that they are introducing are electric cars.   It only makes sense that when GM reaches its target, it will want a racing series that races what they are producing.    When/How that gets translated to the local dirt track is to be seen, but it will be happening.   #IWorkForGM

I fly electric RC airplanes with lithium batteries.   A small 2.2 amp battery only 5" long and 1 1/2" thick produces a huge fire, enough to take out a house.  Most fires happen with improper charging, but even a single cell gets nicked in a crash and it can go up.    

So something the size of a small book can burn your house down.  Thats because lithium burns at 1700 deg F, and thats why so many people die in Tesla's that burn, the fire wins instantly

Never gonna happen....

Once again,  GM has stated that they will have an all electric fleet by 2035.   The other major car compaines have also made agressive electric targets.   When the major OEM's are electric, they will want to have an electric racing division to showcase their products.

Why do OEM's get involved with racing?   To prove out new technology, To showcase new technology, and lastly what wins on Sunday sells on Monday.   All of these things will dictate that the OEM's will be involved in an electric racing series.   What better way to prove battery technology and range anxiety than to have a car that will race for 500 miles?   (There are already cars with 300 miles per charge)  

I will bet you an adult beverage that it does happen.