Much has changed since you've last heard from us all those long 8 months ago. The team is now independently welding on our own, which has expedited progress tremendously. Our rear end has been successfully attached to the car, along with our motor, back wheel sprocket, and chain with great help from Mr. Matthiessen. In order to do so, he manufactured for us a motor mount that we drilled into our swingarm. We then took the wheel and swingarm to Pasadena Yamaha where they fitted the chain for us. After hooking up our batteries in the battery box, mounting it to the back of the car, and powering up our motor, we had a driving car!!! During this time, we also mounted our front brakes and rear brake. The front brakes are mechanical, put together from parts designed and made by Mr. Matthiessen. The rear brake is hydraulic and bought from Wilwood, a well-known automotive brakes company. The moment our car first started driving with Mr. Fletcher in the cockpit and his foot on the throttle was a monumental leap in progress for the team. However, our work was just beginning.
Shortly after testing our car for the first time, we realized we needed to increase our motor to wheel gear ratio to keep the car from overheating. Thus, we calculated the new ratio we wanted (12:1), bought the new sprockets we needed, and had Mr. Matthiessen manufacture a jackshaft that brought our design to life. Yet, with further testing, we encountered a new scary problem. Our car was not reaching 20 mph, the minimum speed needed to race. Luckily, the fix was relatively simple. By changing out one sprocket, we got our gear ratio down to 10:1, and this solved the problem. Our current top speed down Wilson (around Poly) is 28.6 mph.
During this time of testing the car, we finished 99% of the little things that makes our car look more like a car. We put brake lights, turn signals, a horn, and a fan on our car. We welded on a crush zone and zip-tied coroplast body panels to the outside. We made a windshield from an acrylic sheet and mounted on a five-point harness to our racing seat. We're putting together relays and disconnects to ensure our car can be quickly and safely shut down in case of emergency. Since school has let out in June, we've worked from nearly 8 am to 6 pm every day with the goal of getting our car ready for Texas. Looking forward, we're renting out a trailer and race tracks to test the endurance of our car before packing up for Texas. Hopefully the next you hear from us will be at the Texas Motor Speedway preparing for the journey from Fort Worth to Palmdale, California!
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