4396 replies to this topic

[The Batman]

dont most claim to be around 800 supercharged anyway

[CHILL Gone DUTCH]

It's currently weighs 900kg wet with just over half a tank of fuel

[Tony H]

What are these capacitors about then, how much electric can they keep? Could you delete alternator and run for a couple of hours?

[CHILL Gone DUTCH]

You will always need a alternator A capacitor bank could replace the battery but it dosent hold the charge for long but has enough power to start the car

[CHILL Gone DUTCH]

It will probably run a radio for half hour But you can charge the capacitors back up wasyily and quite quickly

[The Batman]

But whats the point and is it worth the effort / money

[pete-r]

But whats the point and is it worth the effort / money

Get an Aliant X4. 1.6kg and it'll work ok with a cteck and normal alternator.

What this guy said

Edited by pete-r, 29 September 2017 - 10:42 PM.

[Nev]

I'd not replace a car battery with a capacitor. For a start if it were to short out, the instantaneous current it can release is massive, enough to to be deadly and/or destroy your car electrics - 1 Farad is fooking massive capacitance - roughly the same as a police taser. Whereas a race battery can only push out 700 amps at a very safe 12v. I had a 2kg race battery in mine for a few years, but gave up with it and replaced it with a lead acid battery in the end as the alarm would discharge it in 2 days. However, if you don't have an alarm etc then a 1.5Kg to 2Kg race battery is hard to beat for weight/value/ease of installing.

 

TBH, most of us who fiddle with the VXes reach a point where the invested effort in trying to make it faster reaches a point of such diminished returns that you'd be better selling it and actually buy a car that is better suited for going fast. The compromise of a VX is that it is designed for Euro4 safety + longevity + robust enough for daily usage, with all the added weight and compromise that that incurs.

 

There was a French guy on here who went to extreme lengths to lighten his VX220 and came to the same conclusion. He gave up eventually and just bought a 450 Kg Radical. No way a VX can compete with that, no matter how much time you spend trying to get it's weight down you won't get near 450Kg (clearly!)

 

 

Edited by Nev, 29 September 2017 - 11:19 PM.

[CHILL Gone DUTCH]

IM not going to replace the battery with a capacitor I'm going to replace it with 6 super capacitors 500mf each 2.7 v Capacitors are the future

[fezzasus]

Sorry Chris I really don't see the point in replacing a standard battery function with super capacitors. Completely understand why they are desirable in hybrid applications as they have a great ability to collect and release transient current changes, but that is not the function of a standard car battery as there's a relatively constant current once running.

[Dan r]

When I stripped my old vx I was shocked how heavy the rear subframe was, I realise this needs to be a rigid structure, but seems a shame to see such a large piece of steel bolted to an aluminum chassis. A bit of an extreme engineering challenge for someone with the facilities and skills!

[mbes2]

You going up a class thus need the weight loss ?

[pete-r]

The only way to take tens of kg out of the car is to go extreme as Dan mentioned. A carbon subframe or dare I say it a pilbeam carbon tub base. But the costs would be frankly bananas. If your at 900, say your saving 20 with the lotus wheel swap, 5 with a fuel tank, 10 with the battery then your at 865. You'll add a bit if you fit a garw display. Anything under that will start getting tricky without either incurring costs or losing functionality but you could definitely take a cumulative approach and shave grammes off everything you can think of. Cutting the boot out would save a good bit and be inexpensive, as would venting the rear clam, fitting Perspex side windows, carbon panel for a rear window, remove the bonnet and boot hinges and use carbon tabs, WOSP, reverie seats, no dash trim, airbag delete, lose the door cards and handles and rear mirror, motorbike side mirrors, cut holes over the arches for pressure release and fit mesh over them not the fibreglass, remove the heater system completely (fit a heated screen), Make some LED light units and finally go around the car drilling holes in everything. Do all that and your going to be a lot lighter but who knows how much... I hope you do some of it cos I'd love to see it happen and I can copy you

Edited by pete-r, 30 September 2017 - 08:07 AM.

[SteveA]

There was a French guy on here who went to extreme lengths to lighten his VX220 and came to the same conclusion. He gave up eventually and just bought a 450 Kg Radical. No way a VX can compete with that, no matter how much time you spend trying to get it's weight down you won't get near 450Kg (clearly!)  

https://www.rugissante.com/ Totally agree with Nev, VX220 is a great car but its going to cost serious wedge (tens of thousands) to allow it to complete with a properly prepped modded atom. It would be worth doing if the prize money was big to offset costs otherwise its an exercise in burning money.

[CHILL Gone DUTCH]

I'm not quite sure where competing against the particular atom mentioned came from ,it's in a completely different class to me not just financially but also a different class of competition and it's unlikely it would never be in the same class. Unless he detunes the car massively

[CHILL Gone DUTCH]

Or maybe even put a small battery on to the capacitor bank to keep them charged

  

Sorry Chris I really don't see the point in replacing a standard battery function with super capacitors. Completely understand why they are desirable in hybrid applications as they have a great ability to collect and release transient current changes, but that is not the function of a standard car battery as there's a relatively constant current once running.

[fezzasus]

 

Or maybe even put a small battery on to the capacitor bank to keep them charged

  

Sorry Chris I really don't see the point in replacing a standard battery function with super capacitors. Completely understand why they are desirable in hybrid applications as they have a great ability to collect and release transient current changes, but that is not the function of a standard car battery as there's a relatively constant current once running.

 

 

But why not just use the small battery without the capacitors? It sounds like you're engineering a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

[siztenboots]

hybrid drive

[SteveA]

I'm not quite sure where competing against the particular atom mentioned came from ,it's in a completely different class to me not just financially but also a different class of competition and it's unlikely it would never be in the same class. Unless he detunes the car massively

Probably because you are already miles ahead in your class so the only reason to do more to your car is to complete with the next class up.

[CHILL Gone DUTCH]

I'm not quite sure where competing against the particular atom mentioned came from ,it's in a completely different class to me not just financially but also a different class of competition and it's unlikely it would never be in the same class. Unless he detunes the car massively

Probably because you are already miles ahead in your class so the only reason to do more to your car is to complete with the next class up.

Even when I go up a class I won't be in same class as stuart , the strange thing is the way the classes were this year my class was actually quicker than the class above, so I'm hoping the classes will be looked at next year, But with all these updates it's not just about to make the car better/lighter I enjoy trying things and see it as a hobby and enjoy messing about, inquisitive brain,