18KW Electric CRG Kart - QS138 90H Motor + BAC2000 Controller

[KilowattIndustries]

Decided to post some details on my build as others have given me some inspiration in the past. Have decided to build an electric racing go kart for this summer, I currently sell this kit through my website for kart conversions - but I wanted to try it on a full racing kart setup and cascade the results.

Current Setup:

Frame: CRG F1-K Kart
Motor: QS 138 90H
Controller: ASI BAC2000 220A (BAC8000 on order)
Battery: 21S10P SONY VTC4 72V 200A cont.

Kit can be purchased from kilowattindustries.ca (Shameless Plug)

The battery is due for an upgrade with Kokam 50ah Li-On pouch cells. I am hoping to build a pack that can give me 15 laps at our local track.

 

[madprofessor]

I am hoping to build a pack that can give me 15 laps at our local track.

I'm nearly a luddite on the power potential and the discharge times and capacities of power cells. Still, 15 laps? Unless that's a 1/4 mile track, that sounds pretty short-lived discharge to me. Is that what can be expected in general for electric karts, does it just quit at the end, and how long does it take to get a full recharge after that?

 

[KilowattIndustries]

I'm nearly a luddite on the power potential and the discharge times and capacities of power cells. Still, 15 laps? Unless that's a 1/4 mile track, that sounds pretty short-lived discharge to me. Is that what can be expected in general for electric karts, does it just quit at the end, and how long does it take to get a full recharge after that?

Thanks for the message !

The track i was referring to is about 782m in total, with 15 laps thats 11.7KM at full throttle. This is fully controlled by the designer of the powertrain, if you know you need more time on the track -> increase the capacity by putting more cells in parallel.

Overall, the battery is still the downside of an electric powertrain. However, we still have lots of flexibility with the cells we chose based on our requirements. It is even possible to run the kart for 30-40 laps but only with the right battery (50ah+), that battery will also run you upwards of 2K USD.

In regards to "recharging" a battery, there are multiple options. I've built my kart specifically so I can swap the battery out within 2 minutes and head back to the track. This is the best way to approach a racing go kart battery. Another option is to only have one battery that you will charge on site, but this will be inefficient as you will have a downtime of 2-3hrs.

Also, the kart will only quit once it reaches 0% battery, as you inch closer to that 0% -> You will feel a gradual decrease in power overall.

Hope this helps,
Eklavya
KilowattIndustries.ca

 

[madprofessor]

..............larnin azz I go............