300 hp electric powered Datsun beats M3 in the 1/4 mile

[Lester]

www.opb.org/programs/ofg/videos/view/56-Electric-Drag-Racing

This converted to 300 hp electric motor powered 1972 Datsun beats a Corvette, an M3 and many other muscle cars on a Portland drag strip. Under 12 seconds. Amazing video, must watch. Who needs twin turbos?

[jkp1187]

Cool video - thanks for posting.

Wish they'd indicated how long it could cruise on the street if it hadn't been blowing all the power at a drag-strip, though. That's the big obstacle electric needs to overcome....

[Lester]

Yes - and he also doesn't mention that over half of the electrcity in the US is made from Coal fired generators, which generates millions of tons of Coal ash every year.

[SlicktopTTZ]

Texas is using more and more wind energy, electric is going to be the way to go once we have cleaner sources of energy and better battery technology, and I don't think that is a bad thing. I will always own atleast 1 internal combustion powered performance car though, electric can't compare with the sights/sounds/smells/character of a IC engine.

[Evice]

ahh good old discussion...
--- electric is produced by coal blah blah blah...the refineries that produces the oil, that runs anything with electric uses the coal ..blah blah blah..

Get over it. Electric is the future, it is a question how we adapt to it.

[akak1997]

Originally Posted by Evice

ahh good old discussion...
--- electric is produced by coal blah blah blah...the refineries that produces the oil, that runs anything with electric uses the coal ..blah blah blah..

Get over it. Electric is the future, it is a question how we adapt to it.

yeah, couple hundreds or even thousands of power plants are easier to regulate than millions of cars.

And for those nay sayers... wait until you get into an electric performance car.... constant pull with no gear shifting... like a true rocket..

[jkp1187]

Originally Posted by Evice

ahh good old discussion...
--- electric is produced by coal blah blah blah...the refineries that produces the oil, that runs anything with electric uses the coal ..blah blah blah..

Get over it. Electric is the future, it is a question how we adapt to it.

Fair point, although it is worth noting in the context of this video that coal-fired power plants are a big source of CO2 emissions (and other nasty pollutants,) because the narrator emphasized that the car produced "zero emissions". That is not factually true if the car was charged up via coal plants. (Although he IS in Oregon, so it's likely that it was hydropower. Still, in the interests of accuracy, the narrator should have made the point.)

[Simsims]

Originally Posted by jkp1187

Fair point, although it is worth noting in the context of this video that coal-fired power plants are a big source of CO2 emissions (and other nasty pollutants,) because the narrator emphasized that the car produced "zero emissions". That is not factually true if the car was charged up via coal plants. (Although he IS in Oregon, so it's likely that it was hydropower. Still, in the interests of accuracy, the narrator should have made the point.)

the efficiency of a coal plant is >>>>>> than the efficiency of any internal combustion engine.

[jkp1187]

Originally Posted by Simsims

the efficiency of a coal plant is >>>>>> than the efficiency of any internal combustion engine.

And therefore....what...? Does this efficiency eliminate CO2 emissions and pollution from the coal plant?

Now, there is probably a good argument to put forth that overall, the pollution will be less if we all use electric cars charged by electricity from coal-fired plants. But that still doesn't change the fact that the coal plants will still be generating pollution. Our electric cars will not be pollution-free, as was implied in the video, unless we switch power generation to wind, solar, nuclear, and hydro to the exclusion of coal and other fossil fuels.

[jkp1187]

To answer one of my questions, the range for another Datsun EV done by the same guys (Plasma Boy Racing) appears to be around 30-40 miles per charge:

http://www.plasmaboyracing.com/bluemeanie.php

[supraking]

Good old electric motors. Peak torque from 0 RPM

Engine of the year award, eh BMW? Hehe...

[Evo8MRto335I]

This video is total bullshit. I very familiar with electric cars as I do have about 8 R/C cars with Lithium Polimer batteries and brushless motors so I know the advantages of electric over my other 6 Nitro R/C cars.

What he fail to mention(he intentionally hides):
1) The cost of getting that car like that.
2)You have to spend thousands of dollars on parts
3) you have to spend thousands of dollars on modifying your car,
4) There are no shops that fix that car, go to autozone and try ordering something for that car
5) There is no room for passengers or cargo
6) the porcess of building the parts and the batteries will cause a huge impact on the environment. Someone has to build those batteries and those motors and that creates pollution..

There is no way I can agree with that guy. I ran faster on my 95 Eclipse GSX with much les money and my car has A/C and can carry people and cargo. I really don't recognize or give him credit for nothing.
How about he chooses a Cadillac Escalade for a project?, he went and found the tiniest cheapest POS frame in the market. I can go and build an electric Ford Festiva(I guess) and be cocky about it.

In this industry there is a give and take situation, there are advantages for going electric and there are huge and multiple disavantages as well and that is why there are like 0.0000000001% of electric cars on the roads.

[Small Yellow]

I am sure my future house electric bill will be shocking because people will have to charge their cars.

[DBFIU]

Producing batteries and disposing of them is more polluting than the electricity you use or even the gas you consume in an IC.

Although CO2 is a greenhouse gas, it is inert.

Batteries on the other hand, are not, and are literally toxic to the environment. To properly dispose of one takes a lot of energy.

EV's are nice on paper.

[993 911]

He killed a GT-R last night.

[MrBlonde]

Do not fear little brothers. Whatever the tree huggers do, there will be ways for guys to make cars faster and race the motherfuckers against each other.

[Jaguar66]

Originally Posted by Evo8MRto335I

I really don't recognize or give him credit for nothing.

I don't give him credit for nothing either.

[cagekicker]

great find!