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.

16th annual NEAT EV Rally Champions!



We arrived in style thanks to Larry Hall



Hunter handling the track

Davis make a first place run

Never let Shelby take a "fun run" on the autocross track.......

Competing in EV Jeopary for the Odyssey event

The guys hustling in the Pit Crew event

Another victorious event for THS EV!

Congratulations to the Topsail Electric Vehicle Team for their victories at the 16th annual NEAT EV Rally this past weekend at the NCCAR test track facility in Roanoke Rapids, NC.  An amazing weekend with an amazing group of students. We were recognized as being the best organized and most motivated group there! The team has accumulated 162 trophies in 13 years of competition.
The team won the following trophies:
1st Overall
1st Autocross: Modified Class
1st Range: Modified Class
1st Range: Truck Class
2nd Troubleshooting
2nd Pit Crew
2nd Acceleration: Modified Class
2nd Acceleration: Truck Class
2nd Autocross: Truck Class
3rd EV Jeopardy

Our BMS has arrived!

Our BMS arrived last Friday and needless to say, we are overwhelmed.  The MR2 has to be totally rewired top to bottom to accomodate the new component.  The BMS will monitor all cells during charge and under driving conditions, giving us real time analysis of the Lithium batteries.  This technology will help preserve the lifespan batteries and help to keep them a balanced set.  The performance of the MR2 should be more consistent and we will have the opportunity to data  log our charge and discharge cycles.  Two students are working on a program that will create an interface that incorporates both the Synkromotive controller and the BMS parameters on the same in dash display.
  Today, we began removing all of the Thundersky batteries so we can top balance the entire set in parallel.  By doing this, we will have a balanced pack, and the BMS will have an easier job for the initial few charge cycles.