Thread: Electrathon - A Different Kind of "Hotrod"

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Sorry to hear about your tire problems but at least you didn't have any other issues to deal with too. Best of luck to you at the next race!

Yesterday (5-14) was a fun day. This was the last race of the 2015-2016 season; the weather was perfect for us all day. There were the usual number of thrown chains and other minor mechanical problems, but no crashes. Everyone went home with their cars intact. After last week's fiasco I was hoping for a good day to redeem myself. The good news is no tire problems befell me. In fact NO problems of any kind arose. My car performed flawlessly all day and I won my class in both races... FINALLY! This restores my faith that maybe I know what I'm doing!

So, as it turns out I won the first and last races of the season with a string of mechanical and tire problems in between. Also, I missed 4 of the 9 races scheduled in my region because I sold cars and didn't get new ones built in time. At one point I considered retiring from the sport, but... well... maybe not yet. I brought my car home without a scratch and with a 1st place trophy. The season is over and the car and batteries will go into storage until next September. Unless someone comes along in the meantime and buys this car, I'll be ready!

Congrats Jim!

Originally Posted by 34_40

Congrats Jim!

Ditto on the Congrats!

What they said.
Well done that man!

Congrats and good luck for next season!

Very good finish to the season Congrats too!

Jim, isn't here some kind of solid rubber tire that you could mount to an aluminum alloy wheel (mag) and sidetrack all that innertube and spoke nonsense?

.

Thanks for the kudos, folks.

Tech - sorry for the delay; I didn't get a notice that anyone had posted. Anyway, in answer to your question, there are some alloy wheels available (made for mopeds), but they come with mechanical drum brakes that seem to be less than effective. As for solid tires, I've not seen them in a useable size on a rim that will accept some kind of brake. There are rubber "doughnuts" available to replace inflatable inner tubes, but I've not tried them. My son had one on his bicycle when he was about 12 years old; it was a bitch to install and made tire changing a real pain. As frequently as we replace tires on these cars, changing needs to be reasonably easy. Also, I doubt they would stay mounted when cornering since there is no real pressure in the tire to lock the bead on the rim. We are always looking for ideas and possibilities, though, so if you see something that looks plausible let me know. Thanks.

I'm in the process of building another rolling chassis during the off season. The school in Georgia that bought my blue car wants another one! They ordered just a "roller" so the students can have the experience of finishing it themselves.

A lot of schools don't have welding equipment or someone with advanced fabrication skills. In some cases they simply aren't allowed to weld in school facilities because the administrators think it's unsafe. Sometimes they just want my design because it's been very successful and reliable. Whatever the case, as a former teacher I know education is always strapped for cash, so I figure my labor at about $9 per hour. I do all the cut, fit, and weld operations and they can finish all the body and mechanical stuff with ordinary hand tools. This is a good deal for them and it make me feel like I'm doing something helpful for education. The only hang-up... It delays me from starting on my Deuce frame.

That's really cool Jim. It really validates your design and engineering skill(s)..
Plus you will help another school and thats always cool!


I do want you to know that I'll try to be patient and wait for you to start the frame...

but remember, I did say... TRY!

I've thought about filling a tire with silicone. Or maybe expanding foam.

Maybe injecting the inner tube with silicone. That would make changing the tire easier.

Very cool to give back to the schools, both from a career teaching and as a fellow electrothon racer/designer!

Very good on you! It might delay the 32 frame, but at least you are getting some good out of it too.

I've been very remiss in my reporting... I missed the season opener (September 24) at Hillsborough Community College because I was in Indiana for my class reunion.

Then I missed the race at Tampa Bay Tech (October 22) because I was at the Daytona Dream Cruise.

Finally, I made it to the race at Middleton High School (November 5) and my car won my class (Open, Standard Battery). I say my car won because I wasn't driving it! The week before the race, on Sunday morning, I text-messaged an old friend from Indiana and asked him if he'd like to fly down and drive for me. Sunday evening he called and said they (he and his wife) would be here!! So.., Jerry Bristow drove my car in both races and won both races. The only problem all day was a flat rear tire. Just as they were calling us to line up for the second race, we discovered the rear tire was flat. We did a record fast change (the rear tire is difficult to do quickly) and Jerry joined the race just as the rest of the cars were completing their first lap. He soon made up the lost lap and went on to win our class. I got to watch for a change and really enjoyed it; Jerry got a first place trophy and I bought pizza dinner for us and our wives.