Seymour Takes First Place In Electric Car Race

CONTRIBUTEDOn Friday Oct. 25, the Seymour High School Alternative Energy III class and Electrathon Car Club, better known as The Wildcat Racing Team, participated in the annual Electrathon Fall race at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville. 

Schools from all over New England participated in the race. The vehicles themselves were unique in terms of engineering, design, speed, and maneuverability. Seymour’s electric vehicle was a kit-based model that was modified to include custom fabricated steering and braking components and the vehicle performed with outstanding results.

The car that we raced this time was the same car that we raced back in May when we came in second place for the novice division.

The Wildcat Racing Team prepped for the race for the first two months of school. This time around we made a few tire changes and added custom spoke rims to improve performance and to reduce weight. We also made the roll bar a little bit higher as well as adding a ballast system that was easily to utilize. We practiced pit stops and spent time calculating and trying different gear ratios to improve speed and performance.

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During the race you must pit one time and change drivers and each driver must weigh a minimum of 180 pounds. We placed second last year because our pit crew took over four minutes for a pit stop, which included adding weight to meet the minimum 180 pound requirement. This year, we were able to pit in 33 seconds due to practicing getting the drivers in and out of the car and to the ballast system that made it easy to add the weight to the vehicle.

Race day began with everyone setting up the tents and the tables to prepare for the race. Car registration was at 8:45 and after that we went through vehicle inspection to make sure that the car was race-ready.

Our car passed through all 7 inspection tests. Inspection included electrical, stability, sizing (weight of driver and ballasts), and a mirror check.

Next, the pit crew installed the practice batteries into our car and we began our practice laps. Practice ended at 10:10. After that we put our race batteries in, put on new tires and tightened any loose nuts and bolts. 

There were two heats and we were placed in the second heat. The first heat started at 10:55. During the first heat, a lot of vehicles broke down or had no battery power left to complete the race.

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The second heat started at 12:43 p.m. We kept data on our vehicle and a few others and our vehicle took about 1 minute and 10 seconds to complete each lap. For the most part teams are open to discussion and sharing ideas throughout the year. The data on other vehicles will be used in order to determine who we need to contact to discuss what they may be doing to their vehicles to give those better lap times.

Our lap time began to diminish after 50 minutes but this was expected. The race was over at 1:43 p.m.

The Wildcat Racing team, led by our drivers Andrew Datre and Jakob Elder, placed first in the novice division with 49 laps in one hour without any breakdowns or mishaps.

By changing the gear ratios we improved from last May by 9 laps and increased the top speed of the vehicle by close to 5 mph.

Before the race, the drivers of our car said they were nervous and excited at the same time. They were most likely worried that something was going to happen, but luckily nothing did happen. After the race was completed, Andrew and Jakob said they were relieved it was over and they were happy that we won.

This event was an incredible display of innovation and creativity. Teams applied engineering, physics, electrical knowledge, fabrication, manufacturing, and mechanical skills to create the electric vehicles.

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The next steps for The Wildcat Racing Team will include building a car without a kit. The Team will design the vehicle in a 3d CAD program and then custom fabricate it from aluminum and carbon fiber. Both vehicles will be raced in May of 2014.

Some of the materials and equipment were purchased through the Connecticut State Department of Education’s Innovation Grant which is funded via the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. We also had several local sponsors including Nu-Age Design, Communication Services, PSG, Sikorsky Credit Union, Falcioni Painting, Hot Grill, Southwood Auto Parts, Oxford Paint and Hardware, and Fair Auto Paint and Body Supply.

We are currently seeking additional sponsors for the new vehicle. If anyone would like further information about the program or information about how they could assist the program please contact Assistant Principal Paul Lucke at 203 – 888-2561 ext. 1100.

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