Getting CRATE Results!
January 28, 2024
The very first CRATE to hit the track in competition brought home the overall win in a field of 10 cars on a half-mile course in Jacksonville, Florida. This CRATE was entirely stock but with the optional 13 tooth motor sprocket and the standard 57 tooth rear and was running three Interstate DCM0035 batteries.
At the end of the two hours of racing it was 20 laps (10 miles!) ahead of second place and had averaged approximately 30mph.
A great first result!
March 20, 2024
Monroe Area High School finished 5th out of 70+ cars with their CRATE at the Georgia TSA state competition. Congratulations on a great result!
April 6, 2024
The CRATE hit the track again this time in Pensacola, Florida on a half mile, banked, stock car track and once again brought home the big trophy. In a field of 26 cars (including some lithium powered) it completed 132 laps in 2 hours of racing besting second place by ten laps (5 miles!) and was the overall winner.
It was once again running three Interstate DCM0035 batteries but with a 13/55 sprocket setup and the newly offered motor heat sink for additional motor cooling.
Not bad for a budget-minded, bolt-together kit car!
April 27, 2024
Well I feel like I finally found the limit of this little motor and controller combo. I went to a race In Jacksonville, FL on a very rough and twisty parking lot track with approximately 10-12 feet of elevation change. THE CRATE was running a 13/59 sprocket ratio but was having trouble maintaining speed up the hills. It used less than 23 amp/hours of battery capacity (I can usually get 26 amp/hours out of my packs) due to the controller not having a high enough current limit. In the end it took second place out of 11 cars and was 2 laps behind the winner at the end of the two hours of racing. It also suffered some minor nose damage from a bit of a snarl in a congested corner when the car in front broke their steering and caused a bit of havoc among those of us in the immediate vicinity. The styrofoam nose really does absorb impact nicely though. I always intended to offer a more powerful motor and controller as an upgrade option and I think this experience may be the impetus to get that started.
