Hola!

[maerF0x0]

Hey everyone,
Last august I attended a track day w/ really nice go karts (see: http://www.allenbergracingschools.com/programs/kart/vehicle/ ) and now I'd like to try my hand at making one.

I am also interested in many "eco" or "green" things so I'm going to try to do an electric one just to learn more about electric motors, batteries etc. (lots of the stuff in electric cars).



My rough wishlist (i know its not realisitic)

• Aluminum frame
• Electric Motors w/ lightweight batteries (Li-ion?)
• DC motors
• carbon fibre body panels
• comfy race seat w/ 4 pt harness
• 4 wheel drive
• 4 wheel steering

 

[OzFab]

I hope you have a few thousand dollars stashed away

Welcome to the forum

 

[maerF0x0]

Yeah, a few thousand wouldnt be so bad (2-3k) . The price tag on the carts I drove is around 10k, so 2-3k is a deal, comparatively.

Plus as a side project 2-3k isnt really that bad of a hobby. I probably spent 500 a month for 3 years on Triathlon stuff, that sport is Expensive!!!

Here's to learning stuff

 

[OzFab]

I just noticed the "eco" or "green" comment you made: Some time ago, I was discussing my hobby in a small group when one of the group mentioned the "greenhouse effect" the engine will have on the environment. I asked "what do you suggest as an alternative?" The answer was "An electric motor" to which I explained:

"To run an electric motor you need a power source. The most obvious source is batteries.
So, what happens when the batteries are depleted? You have to recharge them
How do you recharge them? By connecting them to a charger which is connected to (usually) a wall socket.
& where does the electricity come from to supply the wall socket? From a power plant which, in most cases, creates greenhouse gasses in the production of electricity.

So, either I run my little gasolene go kart engine & create greenhouse gasses or I run an electric engine &, unless you have more batteries on stand-by, have down time while the batteries recharge which will also create greenhouse gasses..."

No comment from the outspoken member of the group...

Excuse the rant but, I did that to show that, to truly go "green" pretty much means bio fuel, unless you have your own methane generator to charge your batteries...

 

[landuse]

I just noticed the "eco" or "green" comment you made: Some time ago, I was discussing my hobby in a small group when one of the group mentioned the "greenhouse effect" the engine will have on the environment. I asked "what do you suggest as an alternative?" The answer was "An electric motor" to which I explained:

"To run an electric motor you need a power source. The most obvious source is batteries.
So, what happens when the batteries are depleted? You have to recharge them
How do you recharge them? By connecting them to a charger which is connected to (usually) a wall socket.
& where does the electricity come from to supply the wall socket? From a power plant which, in most cases, creates greenhouse gasses in the production of electricity.

So, either I run my little gasolene go kart engine & create greenhouse gasses or I run an electric engine &, unless you have more batteries on stand-by, have down time while the batteries recharge which will also create greenhouse gasses..."

No comment from the outspoken member of the group...

Excuse the rant but, I did that to show that, to truly go "green" pretty much means bio fuel, unless you have your own methane generator to charge your batteries...

Or use solar.....

 

[OzFab]

...or that

 

[fowler]

Out of interest
Why are u going for 4 wheel drive and steering

That is going to add a huge amout of weight to that little kart
And u are already have a very heavy construction

Interesting project non the less

Fabroman
I think u will find this to be a green kart in that sense
Although some power stations do produce astronomical amounts of pollution
I bet if every home had there own diesel generator running 24/7 u would find a hell if a lot more pollution produced

Although then u look into the fact battery's expire after a short period
And u gotta throw them out
Then u look into what u gotta do to make battery's and the whole thing goes out the window
A Toyota Prius has a larger carbon at new than a 20 yr old land rover
But if u look at what each car is putting out at any one time then the Prius of course wins and all the greenies jump around with joy
It's all in the bigger picture
Sorry for the rant
It's that time of night here

 

[OzFab]

That's exactly what I'm saying; whether you go gas/petrol or electric, the big picture is, one is not that much greener than the other...

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Excuse the rant but, I did that to show that, to truly go "green" pretty much means bio fuel,

Quite honestly (IMO), that's crap, too. Combustion creates pollution to one degree or another. Truly going green pretty much means pedalling- but heaven forbid you eat beans or cabbage prior to your excursion...

To the OP- Welcome to the forum- it sure sounds like you've got quite a project in mind!

 

[maerF0x0]

Thanks all for the lively discussion!

Fabroman, here is a link to some research in Canada about hybrids, electrics and conventional ICE vehicles and their full life cycle (including production of battery) CO2 emissions[1]. A fully electric car driven on 100% coal production is dirtier than a prius driven w/ gasoline. However, much of the world (most?) doesnt use 100% coal. For example, in BC there is a lot of hydro power and hence a pure electric vehicle has about 1/2 the lifecycle emissions of even a prius. I was working on a biofuel startup about 10 years ago and got out for 2 reasons 1) You would have to cultivate 100% of the planet to make enough feed oil for biodiesel (or any other biofuel). And dont give me the pie in the sky about algae, its been "10 yrs away" since the 70s. 2nd) Bio diesel combustion has a much higher NOx (nitric oxides) emissions compared to even just norm gasoline cars (like a civic or an impreza). Nitric oxides are correlated with a variety of lung heath issues (asthma for example). I dont want to promote or increase the health damaging pollution whilst greenwashing and telling people, "this is the way of the future, this is green" .

Back on topic.

Why 4 wheel drive? Because I can. And to make the project more interesting to me, so i can learn more about 4wd systems etc.. 4wd drift in corners could be fun. I'm contemplating some kind of belt/chain drive to the front so that it could be quickly converted to 2wd (remove the chain). My brother in law is an excellent fabricator (won some kind of province wide competition in alberta) and will help me with this stuff too, lucky me. He's into all kinds of off roading and mud driving in his 4x4 so he knows about these kinds of things.

I'll try and post pics/schematics of my design when i get around to it. Given my pace and average commitment, I'm thinking it will be next summer at the earliest before I'm "done".

Thanks guys

[1] http://www.vancouverobserver.com/bl...ess-climate-pollution-gasoline-cars-take-look