Synkromotive controller installed in MR2

We finally got around to removing the Raptor 1200A and installing the Synkromotive 900A in the MR2.  The Raptor has served us well over the last 9 years, making appearances in three different installs.  It is a very powerful controller, but that is all, it does not allow for programming or data logging.  The Synkromotive controller has been working flawlessly in our Ranger for over a year, so we decided to install one in the MR2 as well.

  Initial observations are the MR2 with the Synkro has a tad bit less acceleration.  On the plus side, gone is the horrible accelerator delay we had with the Raptor.  This issue reared its' ugly head in Auto Cross events where you had to press early on the pedal in anticipation of the power surge....not fun.

  Now to drive the MR2 and data log the results.  The data logging will really help us to track the performance of our Lithium pack as well.

8th Straight EV Challenge title!!!

The Topsail High School Electric Vehicle Team won the EV Challenge final event for the 8th consecutive year this past weekend at the NCCAR complex in Roanoke Rapids NC.  Placing First and Second overall in the competition against 14 schools from as far away as Iowa and Miami.  Our now Lithium powered MR2 actually posted a better time than a $110,000 Tesla Roadster in the autocross event!  Our Ford Ranger scored a perfect 100 in the Vehicle Design category, a feat that has never been accomplished.  The Ranger team dominated in every category and tallied a perfect 10 cumulative score....the best score possible(Low score wins like golf).
The following students won awards:

Truck Team
Troubleshooting - Zach Fouty, Sal Castoro    First Place
Oratorical- Sean Bullock, Stephen Henderson   First Place
Vehicle Design- Alexis Demetrious, Chris Raynor   First Place
Range- Alexis Demetrious, Todd LeMaster   First Place
AutoCross- Joseph Graves   First Place

Modified Car Team:
Oratorical- Zeke Hartner, Joseph Graves     Second Place
Vehicle Design- Tony Capace, Joey Godfrey    First Place
Range- Tony Capace, Joey Godfrey    First Place
AutoCross-  Sean Bullock    Second Place

Website Design-  Shelby Sessions    First Place
School Initiative-  First Place

This has been by far the best class I have ever taught while a Topsail High School.  They represented the school with pride, dignity and class.  The class went into the competition with the motto "Dominate", and they did just that.  As Sean Bullock said, "Preparation = Domination", a formula that has worked for THS EV for 8 years!

Battery boxes and Lithiums

We had battery boxes fabricated by Billy Vaughn at Wilmington Sheet Metal and they fit perfectly!  We will now take on the task of mounting the boxes and wiring the 48 batteries in series.  The other technical issue is providing a means to secure the batteries once inside the boxes.  Always something to do...

In the news. Morning show on WECT TV6 and Fox 26

We had an excellent opportunity to be featured on the morning show on WECT TV6 and Fox 26 today.  We had to be at the school at 4:30 for the live feed on location.  All of the students were there and the reporter, Claire Hosmann, loved working with the EV 11 class.  Were were live for an hour and a half where we would be interviewed every 20 minutes.  All of the students were well spoken thus representing the program with class.

Lithiums have arrived!!

Finally, we took delivery of 49 ThunderSky 100Ah Lithium cells.  We will soon be installing them into the MR2 and replacing the ols, nasty lead acid batteries.  Hello future!  We should drop about 700 pounds in the switch and have a real electric car finally.

Food Lion Hot Dog Fundraiser

We spent a cold and blustery day at the Hampstead Food Lion Saturday selling hot dogs and raffle tickets.  We did not sell too many dogs, but we had a good time and made over $200 total including ticket sales.  Every little bit helps, and the $200 puts us that much closer to ordering our Lithium batteries!

2010 NEAT EV Rally Champions!

After two days of competitions, the THS EV11 Team came out victorious.  Capturing first place overall and 10 other trophies made the event our most sucessful ever.  Here were our team results:
First Overall Champion
First, Autocross- Truck class: Joseph Graves
First, Acceleration- Modified class: Tony Capace
First, Acceleration- Truck class: Kevin Mullins
First, Troubleshooting- Stephen Henderson, Sean Bullock
Second, Autocross- Modified class: Sean Bullock
Second, Pit Crew- Alexis Demetrious, Joey Godfrey, Zeke Hartner, Joseph Graves
Second, Jeopardy Challenge: Alexis Demetrious, Sal Castoro
Second, Poster Presentation: Chris Raynor, Sal Castoro

Second, Range- Modified class: Joey Godfrey, Tony Capace
Second, Range- Truck class: Todd Lemaster, Alexis Demetrious