Dang it .... I've got the bug again! More upgrades coming to quell the 'mo powa baby' urges!
New electric motor ordered. I think the current motor is tapped out and 250-260whp just ain't cutting it!

 

Which one did you go with? TP Power?
Also a new controller?

 

Hobbywing 70125 with same controller

 

Nice, I was also looking into that combination.
It’s quite a bit larger than the castle motor, but couldnt find that much information about the rated power. I’m assuming you’ll be gearing up since the Kv rating is lower?
The price is very competitive so I’m very interested to see how this combo works out for you.

 

Yeah , the castle sized motor is paired with a 250A ESC whereas the 70125 is paired with the 300A ESC. So that's what I'm basing the choice on. Fingers xd.

 

New motor going in ...quite a size difference!

 

Update:
fitted and tested the new motor with pulley for theoretical same speed as previous. Had hoped there would be an efficiency gain such that lower power would be required for same boost pressure. This didn't eventuate. So ...... I went to a larger pulley
Result:

This isn't as dramatic as I had hoped but is still the best result I've seen so far. Seeing 346A at 44V max output from the BMS (15.2 Kw = 20HP)

 

Brett,

Thanks for doing this, and thinking outside the box. This is a fun project I am enjoying seeing you develop.

Also , are the wheels on Bluey pretty heavy?

 

Thanks Kevin. Yeah ...they aren't lightweight that's for sure.

 

20hp is quite impressive power density from the system. What kind of pressure are you at now?

 

I have yet to put a gauge on it .... might get that done over the weekend.
In the meantime, this in 3rd gear at slightly higher voltage and 16.3Kw

Worth mentioning this is on ...stock coils, stock injectors, stock fuel pump. No sign of running out of flow yet.

 

Went for a really good long drive yesterday which included about 1/2 hour of twisties where I got a chance to test the system.
Some observations :
Battery : got down as far as 44v and found it still performed well without noticeable engine power drop. Temp got up to 40C which is quite acceptable.
Motor : Got too hot to touch but no issues
Wiring: None of the wires got hot but the main 2AWG wire to the ESC got a little warm right where it ran next to the other wires on the battery/charger but nowhere else - weird. Also noticed a smell - like the carpet getting too hot which I need to investigate. Doesn't make sense that it was the wiring as it wasn't that hot at either end.
Charger: outputs 500W straight after a pull then settles to 400w - working well but takes around 30 mins to recharge from 44V
Alternator: Measured at 88C after charging for 30 mins. Getting pretty hot but don't think that is too high.
ESC/relays/capacitor : enclosure still cool to the touch

Overall: Pretty stoked that I could drive at pace for that long and the system survived with no major issues.

 

Back to back vitual dynos NA vs eSC just for S&G
NA will be affected by the supercharger being in the airflow but up to 7000 it makes practically no difference. (VDI was turned off as well)

 

Thats a great result. Especially considering this is still without an intercooler and mostly using stock components (expect for the full electrical turbo system ). How does it "feel", compared to your other turbo setups?

 

It does have W/M injection taking the place of an IC.
My turbo setup still feels a lot more powerful . The big difference is ........... this is WAY easier on the engine than any turbo or SC setup making the same power. I think it could be a great option for people wanting more power, safely.

 

I'm guessing this has something to do with how linearly the power seems to be added? If I'm not mistaken you're taking vacuum and the TPS sensor as input to control your supercharger RPM right?

Yes having no additional (parasitic) load on the engine while boosting is the main reason for me to also chase this solution. It's of course difficult to say how this will affect the lifespan of the engine, but safe to say it's going to outlive normal turbo / supercharger setups.

 

The results are great, nice work Brett. I'd do it to my slowpoke stock 8 but I am scared shitless of having some lipos output 25kw of power inside the car. Slow and steady for me...

Maybe because at that exact spot the wire was not allowed to disspate heat. Typically seen this with people passing wires through a wall - it never gets hot anywhere but in the middle of the wall, and then their (timber) house burns down.


See above. Also, sharp bends in wires induce extra resistance...
​​​​​​​

 

If you run a huge turbo vs a small turbo at the same boost pressure - you make more power per pound of boost due to lower exhaust backpressure.
Think of the eSC in the same way - except there is even LESS backpressure than the biggest turbo you can buy.
I use a combo of vacuum switch and engine rpm (signal from VFAD) to start the eSC.

 

Ah ...thanks for that explanation. That sounds like exactly what is happening. At the charger there is a sharpish bend and under the carpet it's insulated (also with some sharpish bends).

BTW I no longer use lipos . Switched over to LTOs (safest battery there is) a few months back . Your warnings plus charging issues led me to the change.

 

Throwing this on the dyno tomorrow. Hoping for some good numberz!
Dunno if anyone still reads these forums these days but, if so, does anyone care to guess what she'll make?
My guess is 290 whp but would be ecstatic if it tops 300!

 

I'm hoping for 300 yes. I think you can get there with some more tuning/tweaking. You will probably see many things on a stationary dyno that you haven't seen yet logging on the road, especially with this unconventional setup.

 

Yeah, fully expecting that. For one thing ... the amount of time continually in boost ...... fingers xd everything holds!

 

So ... Bluey did pretty well with no issues at all. Peak whp didn't quite meet expectations (although virtual dyno was spot on). Black trace was same car on dyno when N/A . So an increase of 73whp at only 4psi Boost at peak. Midrange is pretty spectacular though(204 lb/ft), and feels it on the road.

 

This is awesome! How hot do the electronics get and do you have any information about the latest combo's runtime while in boost? I have been amassing tools (and skills?) slowly to make my own turbo kit (TIG welder, practice, rebuilt the engine myself in garage), but this is tempting. I've got some RC racing background so the motors/batteries/ESCs doesn't dissuade me. I love this and I'm stoked its working so well! This must feel like a completely different car.

 

Pretty darn cool.
I believe you, in daily use that ~100Nm extra of torque over that wide RPM range will be a huge difference.

Applause!