Raffle Time!

It's time for the Topsail Electric Vehicle Annual Raffle!
We have big plans for next year's team, including an all-new conversion and significant updates to our other vehicles, but none of it will be possible without financial support.

We have over $2,100 in total prizes available, including...

Recliner from Hampstead Furniture
iPad Mini.
Ukulele from the Ukulele Academy
Car Detailing and Oil Change at Jeff Gordon Chevrolet
Car Detailing at Stevenson Honda
Oil Change and Car Wash at Wilmington Motor Works
Alignment and Tire Rotation at MS Auto
Massage and Facial from Innis Spa
Fishing Rod from Eastern Outfitters
Video Sunglasses from Surf City Pier
Gift Certificates to numerous restaurants and businesses, including:
Advance Auto, Camino Real, Dunkin Donuts, Englese's, Fuzzy Peach, Highway 55, Jungle Rapids, Long Horn, NY Corner Deli, Pizza Hut and Reel Pizza.

Tickets are $10, or 3 for $25, and may be purchased at the drawing.

The drawing will be held May 28th at 6:00PM in the EV Shop (located behind Topsail High School.

11 Time Champions

This weekend we competed at the EV Challenge at NCCAR in Garysburg, NC.  We are pleased to announce some excellent results.  Without further ado:

 

Team results:

1st Place Overall, Car Class

1st Place Overall, Truck Class

1st Place Overall, STEM Cycle

1st Place School Initiative

2nd Place, Vehicle Design, Truck Class

2nd Place, Vehicle Design, STEM Cycle

Individual (or partner) events:

1st place, Troubleshooting: Ryan Latronico and Justin Poplaski

1st place, Oratorical: Katiana Vazquez and Tyler King

1st Place, Range (Car): Zac Bender and Justin Poplaski

1st Place, Jeopardy, Ben Nazelrod and Justin Poplaski

1st Place, Range (Truck): Grant Simme and Weston Hicks

1st Place, Autocross (Truck): Ben Nazelrod

1st Place, Acceleration (STEM Cycle): Brandon Whaley

1st Place, Range (STEM Cycle): Brandon Whaley

1st Place, Autocross (STEM Cycle): Roberto Gonzalez

2nd Place, Autocross (Car): Ryan Latronico  (A very consistent and fast performance!)

2nd Place, Acceleration (Truck): Logan Moore

2nd Place, Troubleshooting: Weston Hicks and Domenick DiBiase

3rd Place, Acceleration (Car): Katiana Vazquez

3rd Place, Jeopardy: Logan Moore and Tyler King

3rd Place, Oratorical: Grant Simme and Zac Bender

 

Our small-scale STEM Cycle was completed just in time to compete!

Coupler, Battery Boxes, and Charger

The past two weeks have been very busy in the EV shop, as we are working on all three vehicles at the same time.  We still have much to do, but are on track to finish in time for the EV Challenge next month.

The coupler to mate the electric motor with the transmission has been machined by Mr. Sholar at Cape Fear Community College.  The next step is to install the motor.

The new coupler

Thank-you cake.

Also, the battery boxes and heaters are being installed in the Volkswagen.  Next, we will install the cells and wire everything up.

Bolting in the rear battery box.

Matt wiring the battery heaters.

With the Ranger, we have mounted the new charger.  It will be back on the road as soon as the controller is repaired.

Brady securing the charger.

New display in the car

The MR2 got a new touchscreen display that shows real-time information about the battery pack.  The information can also be sent by Bluetooth to any Android device with the Torque application.

New touchscreen!

On the road again!

The battery transplant is now complete and the MR2 is back on the road, thanks to seven long hours of work on Saturday by some dedicated students.  Re-wiring the Orion BMS took a lot of time and patience (and a call to their ever-helpful customer support line), but it is now working to equalize our new battery pack.  There are still some final details to attend to, but now our attention can shift to the Volkswagen and preparing for the EV challenge.  Check out the pictures of our progress.

Drilling out holes for the battery straps.

The front box, ready to go back in!

Moving the bug out of the way, so the MR2 can get on the lift.

Since the new cells are smaller, we need new holes for the battery cables.

The back box is almost finished...

Everything is in place up front.

Another Busy Week in the Shop

This week has been rather hectic in the shop.  We have run some cables and repaired the parking brake in the Volkswagen, and are modifying the motor, coupler and adapter plate to make everything fit.  In the MR2 we have removed the old Thunderskycell and are modifying the battery boxes to accept the smaller, yet more energy dense cells.  We will then have to do a rewire of the Battery Management System (BMS) before the car can get back on the road.

Also, we received a very generous donation this week from one of our sponsors, Atlantic Tool and Die!

David cutting apart the clutch disk to use in the coupler.

Ryan using the shop vacuum to pull cable through the heater channels.

Hunter removing the Thundersky cells from the trunk of the MR2.

Corey and Ryan working on the parking brake in the Bug.

Dillon grinding off the auxiliary output shaft on the motor so it will fit in the back of the VW.

Out with the old...

We have finally removed the old internal combustion engine from the Volkswagen Beetle!  It took much longer than it should have because we had a hidden bolt on the back side of the transmission.  Now it's time to design some battery boxes and get the conversion going.

Success!