Electric COPO Camaro (1 Viewer)

[sammi]

Patrick McCue would be a good hire by NHRA to oversee the coming electric cars.

 

[TooTall999]

I wonder how hard it would be to "program" one of these to run consistent 9.90's.....

 

[Ms Takin]

They said the aim was to go 140 at less than 10 sec. They missed 140 by two hundredths on the first pass and nailed a sub-10-sec quarter in the second. This is the concept car and GM is excited about it. Stock Eliminator?

 

[Cliff]

It would fit in with Stock. Lots of 9 second cars there. The car puts on a good show, with the wheelies.

 

[stockergtp]

For the electric cars how would they charge them between rounds in the pits? Gas generator? Not all tracks have electrical hookups and those that do probably do not have hookups to recharge an electric car quickly?

Also with the power the ECOPO has what class would it put the car in in Stock Eliminator?

 

[Nunz]

Pretty impressive.

 

[SoCal Racer]

I saw the car run Friday and it's fairly quick, but a novelty for now. I'm with those who see potential for it as an additional class, but certainly not a replacement for the fire and fury of internal combustion engines. That is what draws crowds. I also see charging times being a technological hurdle, but I suppose teams could have multiple battery packs and swap them out between rounds of competition, and then recharge them between events.

Even though the 'green' zealots are pushing for all-electric it is still going to be quite a while before it's the norm. Even the CEO of Toyota - who arguably makes the greatest number of 'green' cars - thinks all-electric is not economically feasible for automakers; which is why they've hung their hat on hybrid. Personally I get a good laugh when I see a Tesla touting "zero emissions." Yeah, right. Chances are the power that charges it comes from a fossil fuel power plant. There's no free lunch.

The future:
B. Lohnes: "What happened on that pass Tony? The car suddenly fell silent."
Tony P.: "It was pretty much silent to begin with Brian, but it looks like he blew a fuse!"

 

[Old Guy Rookie]

For the electric cars how would they charge them between rounds in the pits? Gas generator? Not all tracks have electrical hookups and those that do probably do not have hookups to recharge an electric car quickly?

Also with the power the ECOPO has what class would it put the car in in Stock Eliminator?

I can tell you that when they came out to Wild Horse Pass they made three runs that day, so I assume they have the means to charge it within general event time frames.

 

[stitcherbob]

I wonder how hard it would be to "program" one of these to run consistent 9.90's.....

NHRA has heard you and now requires all controls to be operated by compressed air and timers.....

 

[M Jones]

It always makes me wonder how people miss were the power comes from, great post David

 

[none]

A couple of things that I find interesting. This is a concept car, and it's cool. But it's certainly not going to replace the gas version.
The rating is 800 volts using 4 battery packs with a total of 192 cells. The motor is an AC type rated at 750 HP.

It is a crate motor, the design is such that if you have a Camaro, you could order the package and take out the gas engine and bolt the electric in it's place. It bolts to the stock frame mounts and the transmission. Replace the gas tank with a couple of battery packs and you're ready to go.

Every racer in the pits has a generator, and every one of them plugs in the charger every run. How is this different?
You're not going to need a complete recharge after each run, just a top off. If I'm remembering correctly, Pat McCue the driver, (Google Shock and Awe electric car) said that after the first run he came back and the batteries showed 92% capacity remaining.

Would I trade my 700 HP Small Block Ford in the Mustang for one of these? NEVER!!! Would I like to take it for a spin? You better believe it.

Alan

 

[sammi]

Looks like we better start being nicer to the electronics nerd down the street. Hmmm, one of the guys who comes out and helps me run my car has a M.S. in electrical engineering. I better start listening to him.

 

[ocdart]

I don't have enough knowledge to determine if electric cars are actually greener than gas cars. I know there's no free lunch, so how clean is the process to power up batteries? Having said that, if race cars were to become 100% electric, IMO, racing would die as a spectator sport. Not as a participant sport, since they can be really fast. And while turbo cars are quieter than blower cars, they are still a helluva lot louder than electric cars. I'm not really a fan, but don't mind if they're in the mix.

IMO, it's not so much "how clean is the process to power up batteries?" because certainly electricity needs to be manufactured from another source (fossil fuel, coal, wind, solar, etc.). My biggest concern is how do you dispose of the used-up batteries and what effect is that process going to have on the environment?
In my thinking, electric-powered vehicles are NOT GREEN at all.

 

[PJ]

IMO, it's not so much "how clean is the process to power up batteries?" because certainly electricity needs to be manufactured from another source (fossil fuel, coal, wind, solar, etc.). My biggest concern is how do you dispose of the used-up batteries and what effect is that process going to have on the environment?
In my thinking, electric-powered vehicles are NOT GREEN at all.

That's been the dirty secret of electric vehicles for awhile now. On the road vs a traditional vehicle they are much greener. Over entire life (build through car cemetery) they are much worse, mainly due to the building then disposal of the batteries.

 

[nedannouncer]

The dumbest thing any organization that deals with technology can do is deny its existence and stonewall its acceptance.

See: Newspapers vs the internet

and a billion other examples.
-----------------------------------------------

The place went ape when that car dipped into the 9s. It was pretty rad. The car is a jarring departure from anything else we have out there but I think it is vitally important for NHRA to make sure it stays at the forefront of this stuff.

When I was the co-owner of a land speed racing sanction for half a decade, we opened up classes for electric vehicles and the result was awesome for business. We ended up with Nissan showing up and competing with a Leaf that they sent engineers with to tweak and make faster in the standing mile. The result was loads of positive press for us and opening the doors with an OEM.

There are many, many people out there that are electric car enthusiasts, a stunning amount of media caters to them already. Bringing them into our ranks makes the whole deal stronger in my opinion.

Could we live in a world with a Factory Stock Showdown and an E-Factory Stock Showdown? I'd watch it!

Brian

 

[ironpony]

its not like they are going to replace NITRO, FSS cars are not that loud to begin with. Personally I would like to see electric vs gas in a class, you would see how fast they would develop an electric car to win.

do not mess with the nerds. remember the picture of the founders of microsoft ??

 

[Jeff]

That's been the dirty secret of electric vehicles for awhile now. On the road vs a traditional vehicle they are much greener. Over entire life (build through car cemetery) they are much worse, mainly due to the building then disposal of the batteries.

I spoke with a Toyota salesman about 7 years ago who toured the factory where the batteries were made at that time. (we went to the same gym) He said it was the worst facility that he had ever seen. Battery waste products were littering the ground all around the plant.
Electric cars are not green...

 

[ironpony]

google the mine where the nickel is mined nothing grows around it for miles. A full size 4x4 diesel PU is greener than an electric car if you go from build to recycle

 

[stitcherbob]

A full size 4x4 diesel PU is greener than an electric car if you go from build to recycle

except for when...

 

[DixonFan]

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