Rotary Racer Car Data

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Rotary Racer - Car Performance

Goodwood 2011-06-13

Results

Rain rain and more rain set the scene for the race. We somehow managed 106miles an a first place which was suprising considering the conditions.

Car Computer Log

This shows the main items measured by the Rotary Racers car computer. They are:

Item Description
Throttle The position of the twist grip throttle from 0 to 100%
MotorCtl The motor power output setting. The Car computer sets the motor power based on the drivers throttle position, the speed of the car and the current being used. There is a software algorithm to implement this "drive by wire" system. The Car computer drives the PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) Motor Speed controller with a duty cycle proportional to this value. 0 - 100%
Speed The speed of the car in Km/H calculated from the magnetic read switch pulse generator by the Car Computer.
Voltage The batteries voltage under load.
Current The current being taken from the batteries.
Charge0 The charge left in the battery pack 0. This is calculated by the car computer using an algorithm that has been honed to match the battery discharge curves for the Yuasa batteries. It currently bases its results on the current being used from the battery.
Charge1 The charge left in the battery pack 1. This is calculated by the car computer using an algorithm that has been honed to match the battery discharge curves for the Yuasa batteries. It currently bases its results on the current being used from the battery.
Charge2 The charge left in the battery pack 2. This is calculated by the car computer using an algorithm that has been honed to match the battery discharge curves for the Yuasa batteries. It currently bases its results on the current being used from the battery.
BatPack The battery pack in use (0, 1 or 2), the turbo button (4) and the Pitstop warning (8) . We generally change the battery pack with each driver change.
Temp The Temperature of the motors casing in degrees C.
GPS GPS position, speed and time together with lap position information
Misc Other items describing the operation of the control system


The graphs show the overall data, the actual ASCII data log files are also available, from the links below, for detailed analysis.

Car Data Log

Practice Laps Data

Car Data

Notes

  • The Car was RR8g. This was the cars twelth race.
  • We used a 18:49 gear ratio after testing during practice sessions.
  • The software was car21. The Car electronics worked well, but telemetry range was limited as we were hudling under the Goodwood canopy.
  • The Car Computers "Average Current" setting was 16.00 Amps, the Control Speed was 44 Km/Hour, this was tweaked during the race based on actual average lap current keeping it to around 17Amps.
  • The GPS packed up about 1 hour into the race due to water on the circuit board. The rest of the electronics kept working although there was water on the boards at the end of the race.
  • The emulsion paint had bubbled quite a bit with the damp conditions and the plywood bonnet had bowed. There was a water jet hitting the drivers leg during corners. Some water proofing needs to be done.
  • The drivers were excellent considering the conditions, managing to keep going fast and staying out of trouble.
  • An excellent race considering the weather and a great 1st place result.