50kW electric go-kart

It looks like a 6.7 inch ADC motor.
http://www.evparts.com/catp0-Motors+...+Street+Vehicle.htm

Oh man that looks like fun! Yeah, it looks like an ADC - much like the one I'm putting in my CB-750

They mentioned they were running it at 48V. I wonder what controller they're using?

BTW, I'm pretty sure there's no way they're using 50kW of power. Given that they say they're running a 48V system, to get a peak output of 50kW would require > 1000 Amps. There are certainly controllers that can provide that many amps - but seeing as what they're doing is spinning a lot of rubber you'd want to look at the amps being drawn from the batteries during all that tire shredding.

That doesn't make it any less fun!

:d i want one ! hehe with this kind of performance machines you gain interest of alot of people i think ;) maybe even motorsport freaks. actually i discovered last summer on a kart track they used electric karts. Was kinda refreshing since normally those gas karts stink alot!!! but 2bad they didn't used 50kw motors on those karts think they hardly performed the same as a normal gas kart.

"I was also thinking about the 50kW part. I doubt the resistance could be that low. Couldn't they possibly have used a DC-DC converter to step-up the voltage?"

I don't. A PMG-132 will draw something like 1400A if you let it. In any case, I don't think they're drawing 50kW for very long.

While they COULD use a DC/DC, one that big would cost several times what the whole kart did. Not to mention that it would be dumping several kW of heat from inefficiencies.

Although, I'm guessing this thing would dominate gas karts. There's a video of a 34kW kart beating 125cc two-stroke karts. It's in Italian, but I speak enough Spanish to have caught the power rating and that it uses li-po batteries. Probably much lighter than the 50kW kart, though.

I want a kart, too, but I've got like 3 dollars, some gum, and 7 Initial-D cards in my pocket, and I don't think mad racing skills alone is gonna get me an electric kart. :(

My thinking was not that the motor couldn't draw that many amps (BTW, it's an ADC not a PMG) but that they're ripping up the tires before they draw that much power. Having a very powerful drivetrain and putting all that power down onto the road are two different things.

The beauty of an EV system is that with a simple current sensor in the system we can know how much power is being demanded (not as easy with an ICE).

I know it's an ADC, but I don't really know how many amps it can draw. I was just offering the PMG as an example of what even a smaller motor could draw.

No kidding about the wheels. Unless they're gearing it pretty tall, I don't even think they could draw that many amps without spinning the wheels. Too bad they don't give top speed. We could figure out what it would actually draw.

Seems like a 72V system would be a better choice, IMO.

Oh, duh :P. I didn't actually look at it that time; I've seen all the electric kart clips before. I think he edited the description. My bad.

I'm gonna take a WAG and say it probably does draw nearly 1000. To get 60mph with a 5" wheel you need about 4000rpm. That's about a 1:1 ratio for your typical motor. Considering that the kart weighs like 600lbs, you're either going to need loads of torque to spin your average wheel or a really slippery wheel.

You could go really technical (finding out the torque constant for the motor, exact gear ratio, wheel diameter, type of rubber used, how much friction you get with said wheel on cement, etc.), but I'd really not take that much time figuring out something so trivial as how many amps someone's kart is drawing.

That's what shunts are for ;).

Yeah - maybe it does draw all those amps.

I just watched another e-kart vid built around a lot tamer ETek / 48v / 300A. It was geared for 36mph top speed and he was racing it around a parking garage. It was still plenty quick with lots of sliding around. When I have the money and the time I still think renting an old warehouse and setting up an indoor e-kart track would be a money maker...