After 2 months of metal work, and 2 weeks of electrical work, I'm basically done with my go-kart.
It is quick as s***! Acceleration is borderline rediculous. Geared for top speed around 30-35mph.

Here are some specs and features:

• powered by 9000-watt DC motor, 10+ hp
• full torque from 0 to 10,000 rpm
• 12:1 dual-gear/chain reduction/transfer
• 51.2 volt, 900 amp deep-cycle battery bank (yes thats over 46,000 watts of constant delivery capable)
• 400 amp PWM (pulse width modulation) controller
• regenerative: brake pedal switch configures motor as a generator and charges battery bank as you slow down
• disc brake on axle engauges as you press the brake farther... going to upgrade to hydraulic and better rotor since the vehicle is quite heavy
• 1000 amp cut-off switch
• key-start energizes 5v, 12v, and 50v circuits... all fused
• electronic throttle sensitivity/range control
• variable torque management/limiting
• LCD/microcontroller displays motor RPM and vehicle speed
• 12V and 50V digital panel meters
• 200 amp current analog meter
• motor temperature digital panel meter
• throttle safety cut-out and other various controls
• 55W headlight

total cost <$2500
Paid for mostly by IEEE branch, which I am projects and finance chair of, and several sponsors.
Last weekend I took it to a regional IEEE conference for project showcase display.








Video of first drive ever:
note: throttle position sensor would not go past 60%. also the tire worn around test subject is protection again possible chain breakage haha

http://www.zuulmusic.com/img/gokart/first.3g2

quicktime format. sorry for the 90* camera

Looks like a lot of fun to drive. Was this your senior project?

Looks awesome!!!!!

Nice job.

How did it fair at the conference?

Thanks.
Most people loved it. You can definetly pick out the nerds from the car guys / thrill-seeking people.


I forgot to mention that it is very meneuverable. Fairly easy to do stunts... slides, drifts, 180s, 270s, etc. Impossible to flip due to the low spread out mass of the batteries. I'll post some stunt-ish videos sometime.

I'd suggest two mods.

One is Put some sheetmetal over the chain drives so the operator doesn't have to wear a tire lol and the other is put some sheetmetal around the batteries to clean up the look.

Then make a bunch and put em on ebay

It doesn't matter what kind of new vehicle somebody gets... theres always somebody telling you to mod it right away haha!

Yeah, I completely agree. The chain-gaurd is going to be made shortly. The battery covers are still up in the air, but I agree. More importantly right now is upgrading the mechanical brake.
Thought about the ebay thing... production in large quantities would cut the prices... and the roll cage really isn't necessary since you can't flip it.

Yes, more vids! That thing looks like a load of fun, too bad it cost so much to make.

Don't ever say it can't be flipped! Someone some how will manage to flip that things doing somethign stupid. Looks cool, but four huge batteries, wow.

Are those deep cycle?

A set of blue tops would look sick on there

They're deep cyle marine batteries. You can tell by the threaded posts for wingnuts.

Yes, I also mentioned they were deep-cycle in the first post. They are actually too big for this application. Even though they're heavy, its plenty fast, but we could save more weight and space with a smaller set of batteries. Driving hard for almost an hour only took them down to 80%, even with the regeneration disabled. Perhaps next fall we'll get smaller ones for this kart and create a larger more powerful "version 2" that uses the current batteries.

There are a lot of things to cut out or skimp on that could make this cheaper, mostly in the fancy electronics and the somewhat expensive metal fabrication costs. The expensive parts are the motor and PWM controller.

More vids later this week.

what is that motor out of? because i have an extra motor out of a golf cart i would like to use

Nice go kart there.
Just kidding.