Peugeot RCZ rallycross car

[ituti rally]

Hi all
I have been reading this forum for the past while and have been dreaming about building a EV for a long time now. I am a complete beginner with EV and will be doing the course with Damien in August. However I am not a novice with building competition cars (we have built race, rally and rallycross) with a lot of success, so I would love to mix the two. My plan is to build a Peugeot RCZ into rear wheel drive for Rallycross. What I am looking for is peoples opinions what would be the best way to achieve big power and small weight, rallycross races are quite short approx 6-8 mins max. My idea was a large tesla rear drive complete with subframe and suspension. Because there will only be one seat and no interior and no baggage space to worry about the options should be quite open.
I basically would love any input and ideas what would be the best way to achieve a quick relatively light EV for short bursts. I am not stuck on the idea of tesla or rear wheel drive so I am open to any ideas because i would think anyone on this forum has a lot more knowledge about all things involved.

I am a mechanic with decent understanding of traditional vehicle electrics, i have my own garage thats fully kitted for fabrication and all that sort of stuff so what i am mainly lacking is the high voltage knowledge, so am always eager to learn from more informed people which there seems to be alot on here.

P.S. be patient with me some of the real technical stuff goes over my head but I have to start somewhere.

Thanks in advance

[Kevin Sharpe]

Welcome to the forum

Have a look at these projects (especially comments on Tesla LDU heat issues) and then try a define your performance (top speed, acceleration, braking) and weight requirements;

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=109

https://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/s ... stcount=12

[ituti rally]

A front running rallycross car in the 2wd section would be about 300bhp-350bhp(230kw-260kw approx) and weigh about 900kg. Top speed is not imprtant as about 80-90mph would be maximum but the acceletation is the important bit. Looking at the video of the Golf race car a tesla SDU might be plenty. The races are only short, typically about 5 mins in length. Also seems like the nissan leaf motor is quite powerful how would these compare to a tesla SDU?

[Kevin Sharpe]

seems like the nissan leaf motor is quite powerful how would these compare to a tesla SDU?

The Tesla Model S/X SDU will be a much lighter and smaller solution when you factor in the transaxle and inverter. We also know the SDU can have extra oil cooling if required. I'd use the SDU in your race application today given the number that are on the road with the open source controller.

Edit: make sure you run the SDU in the orientation it is installed in the Tesla. Some front SDU's have been run in reverse with an external oil pump but we don't know the impact of that on longevity.

In future it might be possible to use the Tesla Model 3/Y motors which may have higher performance and better cooling. However, they are completely unproven today and I wouldn't risk that development when a perfectly good solution already exists

[ituti rally]

Thanks Kevin thats great info i will have to look up some pictures and get some spec on sizes ect. I will be starting to strip the RCZ soon and will be better able to see what im working with. Im just trying to gather as much info as possible to try and make the right choices and not waste my modest budget on unneccesary purchases. Should be a nice project cant wait to get going at it. Its great to have this forum to get so much valuable tips from.

[Kevin Sharpe]

Thanks Kevin thats great info i will have to look up some pictures and get some spec on sizes ect.

Tesla 3D Models;

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=123

We probably have the same for the Leaf... worth checking the wiki

[tmotion]

How much time will you have between rallycross races? I expect that in the paddock 3x16A or even 3x32 points will be available to which you could plugin a mobile chargerpoint? You can choose to add 2 tesla gen2 chargers and have max 22kw charging power (you'll still need some sort of mobile EVSE). Or maybe bring a mobile Chademo DC charger which you connect to 3x32a. That will save some weight in the car (allthough it minor).

Anyways driving 10 minutes at full power will have some requirements. For sure you want to be close to 400V in terms of voltage. When it has to be light, maybe the BMW hybrid pack that Damien is now using in his latest conversion is interesting, but I expect it will be a little to small in terms of capacity? Latest plugin hybrids have 12-15kw packs (newest bmws, kia and vw's), but these packs are not very common yet.

The racing Golf uses Chevy Volt packs if I remember correctly (not sure if its 4,5 or 7kw parts). Using 4 of those 4kw modules you end up at 154kg of battery weight with a voltage of 352V.

[Kevin Sharpe]

The racing Golf uses Chevy Volt packs if I remember correctly (not sure if its 4,5 or 7kw parts). Using 4 of those 4kw modules you end up at 154kg of battery weight with a voltage of 352V.

I'd also recommend the Chevy Volt (Vauxhall Ampera in the UK) packs for a race car. They're used to great effect in Der Panzer (here) and that car is quick

[Kevin Sharpe]

How much time will you have between rallycross races? I expect that in the paddock 3x16A or even 3x32 points will be available to which you could plugin a mobile chargerpoint? You can choose to add 2 tesla gen2 chargers and have max 22kw charging power (you'll still need some sort of mobile EVSE). Or maybe bring a mobile Chademo DC charger which you connect to 3x32a. That will save some weight in the car (allthough it minor).

At our local race track they have 63A 3 phase and for a competition car i'd keep the chargers out of the car (save weight) and build a mini supercharger from Gen 2 chargers

[ituti rally]

The races are more like 5 mins usually. There is a 4 wheel drive fiesta supercar running 3 motors putting out 600bhp and 1100nm of torque and they use a 27kwh battery setup, im not sure what batteries they use but in one of the videos they mention the 27kw batt. I am guessing i will need about half that. I agree that i will need good voltage for flat out driving . The charging at the tracks might be a problem but i will have to cross that bridge when i come to it. There is usually about 2 hours between each 5 min(approx) race.[url][/

[ituti rally]

At our local race track they have 63A 3 phase and for a competition car i'd keep the chargers out of the car (save weight) and build a mini supercharger from Gen 2 chargers

External chargers is a great idea. Whats your local track?

[Kevin Sharpe]

Whats your local track?

Mondello Park (here)

[ituti rally]

Ok wasnt sure if you were in ireland. I won an irish rallycross championship in Mondello in 2011/2012.
Im only 40 mins from the track myself. Good to know that they have good power there as thats where i will compete mostly.