Electric Touring Car Racing: Is Such a Thing Even Possible?

"For Sweden" (rallybeetle) 01/27/2014 at 16:00 • Filed to: Tesla model s, Tesla, model s, touring cars, racing, ctscc, wpa

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Juan Barnett's !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! of a rendering of a race-spec Tesla Model S got me thinking; can the Model S be realistically adapted for production-based touring car racing? How much must the car be altered to meet regulations? How will the electric motor's performance be matched with competing internal-combustion engines? Can the battery pack be made as safe as a fuel cell? And, the biggest question; is it realistic to race a car with a energy-replenishment time measured in minutes, not seconds?

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The production-based aspect of the World Touring Car Championship went the way of NASCAR, DTM, and V8 SuperCars long ago, so I will imagine a Tesla effort to compete in either the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! or the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the two top production-car-based race series in Tesla's main market, North America.

Energy Replenishment: Can electrons stay competitive with hydrocarbon fluids?

A cursory search of Youtube will show that !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! keep up with traditionally-fueled cars; at least over short distances. Nissan has highly modified a Leaf to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , which is probably the closest car in existence to an electric touring car, and it can manage 20-40 race track miles between very lengthy pit stops. A DC quick charger !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to bring the Leaf's battery to 80% charge; quite a long time, but the tire changers will love it.

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At the CTSCC race last week in Daytona, cars drove for a minimum of 45 minutes before routine pit stops could begin. On the 3.56 mile course, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , or around 70 miles into the race. As for PWC, they have fifty-minute races without pit stops that last a similar distance. This is out of the range of the NISMO Leaf, but !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! an 85kW Model S traveling at a constant 80 miles per hour can achieve a 200-mile range. Consider the NISMO Leaf's upper estimated range of 40 miles and compare that to the production Leaf's range of around 70 miles with the same drive train. If a race-spec 85kW Model S's range would decrease by the same ratio, a big if, the Tesla should easily manage a 70 mile race stint. If battery-swapping could happen within 25 seconds, a Model S could theoretically match pit strategy with existing CTSCC cars. However, the lack of pit stops would seemingly make the PWC ideal for the Model S in its current form.

Safety: Can the battery pack be as safe as a fuel cell?

The current generation of racing fuel cells is an engineering marvel. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! cause a fire, and even then fires are easily manageable for well-placed safety crews. Conversely, Teslas seem to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , even if publicity makes their fires more memorable than the average K-Car-B-Q on your local motorway. Lithium fires are !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and while a trained track safety crew would likely be better prepared than your municipality's bravest, the battery packs will have to be that much safer. The car itself is incredibly safe, having actually !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in classic Ford GT style. However, the answer to this question is ultimately up to Tesla. Their battery pack sits spread out in the car's floor pan, meaning any large collision would likely damage it in some way. This does raise reliability issues that won't be discussed here, but only testing will see if the battery pack can withstand racing damage.

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As for the charge in the car, all existing race cars have an external fuel cut-off switch that safety crews can use. An analog cutting off the wires from the battery to the car should be possible, but if anyone knows otherwise, please share in the comments.

Buzz Buzz vs. Vroom Vroom: Can electric cars keep up?

We already know that electric cars can blow past fuel-powered cars, but can the Model S keep up with CTSCC and PWC cars?

An 85kW Model S produces 416 horsepower and accelerates from 0-60 mph in 4.2 seconds. The CTSCC top series cars make anywhere from !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (I cannot find the acceleration specs, share if you know them) and the PWC 2013 championship winning CTS-V !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! 460 horsepower and accelerates from 0-60 in 3.1 seconds. Tesla may have to reduce the Model S gearing, but the drivetrain should need little bolstering to be competitive.

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Building a Racing Model S: Can the Model S comply with regulations?

Neither the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! nor the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! have rules that would bar a Model S from competing, though neither has specific rules for electric competitors; these would have to be written. However, both series mandate bulkheads between the driver and fuel cell, with PWC requiring a metallic bulkhead. A metal capsule around the battery may count as a bulkhead, but there is no precedent for that.

Interestingly the CTSCC mandates stock door latches, which may be interesting with the Model S' trick handles

Conclusion: Probably

Such a thing as electric touring car racing is likely possible if Tesla and sanctioning bodies want it to happen. The criminally under-watched CTSCC and PWC would likely love the attention the Model S would bring, but Tesla would be hard-pressed to find the business case for it.

Photo Credit: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (cropped for Kinja)

vdub_nut: scooter snob > For Sweden 01/27/2014 at 16:08

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That probably is still contingent on the development of swappable battery packs, of course. (Unless I'm missing some key info.)

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > For Sweden 01/27/2014 at 16:14

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Don't forget to strip the interiors!

i guess the tesla can do 0-60 in higher 3's if that thing has a stripped interior.

Tim (Fractal Footwork) > For Sweden 01/27/2014 at 16:20

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I think they can , and I think battery swapping is the only current way to accomplish this. The only current problem with battery swapping is building the infrastructure up into the numerous pits around the world. unless they can get some sort of moveable battery swapping platform that can go where ever the car goes, I don't think electric cars can really compete with the likes of gasoline.

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And I'll say it again, swapping cars is a dumb idea... (looking at you Formula E)

willkinton247 > For Sweden 01/27/2014 at 16:22

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Nice write up. They probably should try a TC series before they go full on endurance. I think that racing is really the ultimate test for a car company, and it should be embraced

ihm96 > For Sweden 01/27/2014 at 16:24

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The Model S only has a top speed of 130 mph which could be a problem at tracks with long straights

nobody > vdub_nut: scooter snob 01/27/2014 at 16:24

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All Model S's have the capability to have their batteries swapped.

nobody > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 01/27/2014 at 16:35

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They built it into the stage that they did the battery swap demo on. If anything, they could build a temporary swap station at the end of pit road and then do the rest of the work at their pit stall.

vdub_nut: scooter snob > nobody 01/27/2014 at 16:36

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This I was not aware of. Thanks!

Ad Astra > For Sweden 01/27/2014 at 16:36

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Tesla can currently perform a battery swap in about 90 seconds, if I remember correctly. It seems feasible that that number could be brought down to under 30 seconds with a bit of work.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > For Sweden 01/27/2014 at 16:56

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This post is nothing without this gif.

Gimmi-Sagan-Om-Draken > For Sweden 01/27/2014 at 17:17

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From an engineering point of view, currently, I don't think batteries are good enough yet, the charge plummets when run flat out, get hot and they would have to stop far more often and take longer pit stops against a petrol car. The batteries are heavy and would have to be low, so jack the car up and drop them off the bottom maybe. The Tesla is software limited, probably for good reason, like heat. Still this all takes more time than the others. I doubt the top speed would match them either, at least not for very long. In my opinion you would have to practically design a different car to race and even then currently I don't think it would win because of the loss of time due to more frequent and extended pits.

DailyTurismo > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 01/27/2014 at 17:21

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A stripper interior? Where would you put the pole?

The Transporter > For Sweden 01/29/2014 at 19:38

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Perhaps what is needed is a battery equivalent of a fuel cell. Something like a crash resistant box that all the batteries go in, with a built-in circuit breaker that could be remotely tripped by the driver or emergency personnel. Now if I recall correctly, the battery packs add to the structural rigidity to the chassis and removing them would remove some of that rigidity. However, a well designed roll cage could compensate for this. With the batteries removed and placed in a crash resistant box, it can be placed anywhere in the car, such as behind a firewall in the trunk or even in the frunk . Placing them in a box in the trunk or frunk means that they could be lifted out in a pit stop with conventional tools like the kind of wheeled shop cranes that are used for pulling engines out. A well designed set up and well trained pit crew might be able to do this as fast as a regular pit stop.

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gear332 > For Sweden 01/30/2014 at 01:20

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Good article. I don't think you can reduce the gearing on the Tesla as it already tops out at only 130mph. That said, I don't think you'd really need to to be honest. Tesla says 4.2 seconds to 60, but they're pretty conservative. Drag Times consistently did 3.9. With the weight loss needed for racing, it should pick up quite a bit more acceleration.

Additionally, I wouldn't worry much about the fires as they happened from heavy impacts to the bottom of the car, not the sides. Race tracks tend to be more clear than the roads are, and a race would be yellow flagged if there were anything significant on it. Bits of broken bodywork alone wouldn't be anywhere near enough to puncture the 1/4" of steel on the underside of the Model S.

tromoly > For Sweden 03/10/2016 at 13:21

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Why it didn’t catch on, who knows.

Also, CTSCC isn’t Touring Car racing, just to be pedantic.

RallyWrench > For Sweden 03/10/2016 at 13:22

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It’s going to happen eventually. I think World Challenge would be the best bet for an initial foray, because the sprint race format suits the range limitations, and nobody refuels so that keeps the field level as far as time on track goes. The Model S’ size and weight will be hard to overcome, perhaps the Model 3, whenever that happens, would be the one to try it with.

Edit: why am I gray? Is this not on Oppo?

Hoccy > For Sweden 03/10/2016 at 13:34

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I actually think rallycross will be the first “old” racing series to feature electric cars. Here’s why:

Short distances: The longest races are still only 6-10 laps on a track around a mile long. No need for a lot of heavy batteries as long as they provide enough power at once, and can be charged up between races.

Instant power: Rallycross usually have tight, tricky tracks where accelleration is critical. To have maximum power at low revs would be a huge benefit.

Simple technology: Okay, you have to keep the battery pack safe, but the engine should be cheaper and more reliable than a 4-cylinder turbo with 600 hp. It wouldn’t need as much cooling either.

The only downside is that you lose the flame-spitting, noisy monster aspect of the cars, and the challenge of driving a car with gears and less predictable power curve. And that not a single team has done it before.

And that the regulations doesn’t allow it yet, but I am sure Nissan would be allowed to enter a Leaf RX if they asked nicely. Petter Solberg (2x WorldRX Champ) mentioned in a recent interview that the first team with an electric car would dominate the sport, so there is something there for sure..