Monday, November 3, 2008

Motor Math

So while I was taking my lunch break I decided to do some math to get a clear picture on why the performance was so low, mainly the acceleration. Acceleration is determined by the peak HP of the motor. So here is a table of the peak and continuous HP ratings for my motor with the controller I have:

ADC K99-4007 on Kelly Controls KDH09401
60 Volts || Peak = 14 HP || Cont = 6.7 HP
72 Volts || Peak = 22 HP || Cont = 8.5 HP
96 Volts || Peak = 29 HP || Cont = 10.0 HP

So running at 60 volts is just about the same as a really oversized golf cart. Up a slight hill really stunk and it took a while to accelerate to 25 MPH with an open road. But once I got up there, the momentum and extra weight of the batteries kept the car moving nicely. My hope is that the performance at 96 volts will be decent up to 30 or 35 MPH.

If I just throw another 12 volt battery in the trunk I should get a serious increase in performance. I may do that because my front battery rack isn't even close to being done, but I still have the huge urge to drive it around. When complete, I should be getting at least 2x the performance I am getting right now, which should be great.

This afternoon I am going to pump up the tires and put the chargers on for a fresh charge since I haven't down it in a week or too.

I also have to start to think about an electric heater or defroster because the mornings have been cold and the car windows have been frozen.

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