[darthspartan]

Hello everyone i am on a high school solar car team. We raced 2 years ago in the dell/winston solar car challenge witch is now the hunt/winston solar car challenge as dell no longer sponsors. We had a very simple car aluminium frame and some motorcycle parts with a small etek motor about 12 hp at 48v so we had 4 optima blue top lead acid batteries.

Now this years race is getting closer. We are working carefully with a university team that offered up the mold for a carbon fiber body with a titanium frame. Our current issue is Batteries and motor w/controller. In the last car it was a non issue the rules limited are batteries and funds limited are motor.

Now the university team that gave use the mold used lithium iron phosphate with a Kelly motor and controller.
I would like to know what this forum has for ideas with various other makes and models of motors and batteries. Im also wondering how i can put the power from the solar array back into the batteries as im drawing power away to drive the motor.


I cant list of a lot of numbers but i do know this

• The finished car should be around 600lbs.
• This race is a lap race who can do the most laps in a week on a track.
• The car will be made to be street legal but only in Texas. (as an experimental vehicle)
• I have specs on the solar cells that we already poses. LINK we have 1000 of the individual cells in these panels.

I have been stumped on this for a few weeks looking around for the answerers this forum seems to have a wealth of information on all things that can be and have been made electric.
Thanks

 

[dtbaker]

do your own homework. numbers are here, help is here, but we won't do your homework for you. If you take the time to spell, it establishes a bit more credibility.

 

[darthspartan]

I'm sorry if it looked like i was trying to pass off work. Really all i want to know is what people have used on similar builds as far a size and weight and if anyone has tried to put power back in as they draw it out. I have seen some people talk about adding generators to there ev's what im looking at doing is similar. Ill take your advice and put some more time into any new posts.

 

[dtbaker]

power/weight/size is way better with LiFePO4 (thundersky/CALB) than lead. solar panel input is limited to about 20% or less eff of 1 kW/sq meter... so if you intend to run direct, minimizing rolling resistance/aero is key. weight is almost irrelevant once rolling.

I would strongly suggest adding the available pilot 200 watts from pedaling. if allowed by rules, as cost effective.