How to improve BSR electric race karts?

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Breaking Records! BSR - The Fastest Production Electric Kart in the World!

In 2018, our journey began with the slowest karts in the First World National Electric Kart Championship, armed with a budget of just 35,000 Euros for the entire season. It was an impossible mission, with odds of success less than 5%. But against all odds, we succeeded!

Since then, we’ve come a long way. The BSR team has attracted a whopping 1.2 million Euros in investments, prepared our factory, and managed to export our karts to 37 countries across the globe. We’ve weathered the storm of COVID-19, the electronics crisis, and various other challenges. BSR has emerged as the undisputed leader in the world of electric karting.

In September 2023, we embarked on an exhilarating journey to Sweden’s GotlandRing This was where the legendary Top Gear auto show was filming its latest series, featuring the most cutting-edge electric and biofuel cars. Formula E had brought its latest formula for rigorous testing, alongside numerous magazines and athletes keen on exploring the frontiers of technology.

During this event, we embraced a new challenge. After two days of intense track testing with talented athletes, on September 4, 2023, Blue Shock Race set an astonishing new industrial production electric kart speed record, clocking in at a mind-boggling 163 km/h (101 mph). This record was set using an industrially produced electric kart, the very same technology you find on racetracks around the world.

In doing so, BSR has earned the title of the fastest purchasable and race-ready electric kart on the planet, with official data and records to prove it.

Track: GotlandRing
Driver: Leo Obrant

Kart Specifications:
Chassis: CRY32-S14 (Homologation N° 007/CH/12)
Powertrain: BSR 2.2 25kW+ version
Battery: BSR B5500 (Capacity: 5,376 Wh)
Gear Ratio: 14/21
Tires: Vega XM3-CIK PRIME

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That’s pretty impressive for a kart track, well done.

I know Gary did a 109.84 MPH run at a 1/4 mile dragstrip with his rather heavy motor kart and was set to go faster before something failed on the latest run and threw him hard into the wall. It’s possible to go much faster than that (how many KW’s do you want to throw at it), but personal safety really becomes an issue with karts due to the lack of safety cages and restraints. Although I do have to admit that I’m still thinking about building a 200+ MPH kart for the Texas Mile. At least there’s nothing solid to hit on the runway.

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Congratulations! I always love seeing small companies succeed.

Where can someone drive a BSR kart?

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Yes, it is possible to squeeze out even higher speeds, especially when the kart is specifically prepared for drag races or top speed runs. In our case, we focus on standard racing karts, which primarily serve their function on the track. However, with this, we demonstrate that even in full race mode, it is by no means slow in the top speed category.

Reaching 200 mph with a kart is quite insane. I think without additional aerodynamics, it would just take off. I can’t even imagine how a driver would stay inside, and the wind resistance wouldn’t push them out.

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Progress starts with small steps and then gradually transitions into big ones. We’re not so small anymore. In the electric karting segment, we are well-known now. Where can you try it out? It depends on the location where you’re looking for the opportunity to try it. Of course, you can always come to visit us.

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Artis, the BSR site is down…

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Needs more SS battery.

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IMG_1856
It’s back up.

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Yes, our page was under construction and some technical things took more time than planned. Sorry for it :slight_smile:

Now page running insane speed like our top performance karts :smiley:

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If you could put 2 battery packs on the rentals and up the power to 7kW, it could have some real use for outdoor rentals, and it would be still lighter than a RT10.

I feel like 7kW and 45min of range would be the sweet spot as it would allow for endurance and league racing on top of your typical arrive and drive.

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Artis, how does one change the kart for long versus short layouts? Is one able to somehow broaden the powerband using software so that one doesn’t hit limiter midway down straight?

Or is traditional gearing involved?

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From the specs, uses 428 (shifter) chain, I’d wager gearing would be the primary method.

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Hmm. That would make sense because it appears the karts are setup exactly same for t1 and t2. I would think if they could somehow change it on software, the karts would have different power curves on the long track versus the short one.

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Great question. We don’t interfere with the racing program; it’s tested and limited by the BSR factory to match race times with about 0.01% accuracy. To improve lap times on small or large tracks, gear shifts are changed on the kart, just like with gas-powered karts.

The difference lies in how it’s done. With gas karts, the RPM is known depending on the model, and as RPM increases, power increases up to a certain limit before it starts to drop. In practice, it feels like shifting up a gear gives you a boost in top speed but loses some acceleration. The right balance depends on the track.

With electric karts, it’s a bit different. Electric karts deliver high torque right from the start. So, changing gears, even for a higher top speed, sometimes doesn’t lose much on corner exit but gains significant top speed. The peculiar thing is that the electric motor starts losing maximum horsepower quickly. The window for maximum power is very short, so shifting to a higher gear for more top speed is usually chosen because there’s enough torque from the start. However, this puts more strain on the kart, requiring more Amps from the battery, which generates more heat and puts everything under more stress.

So, with electric karts, according to BSR data, to achieve the best lap times, you shouldn’t focus solely on top speed because it’s just one parameter and often doesn’t significantly affect the overall lap time. Instead, you often look at the minimum speed on the track and figure out how to improve it. A higher minimum speed usually results in better lap times. Additionally, you need to consider how much the kart is loaded because you can get a fast lap time, but if the kart is overstressed by an unproportional gear ratio, you can have a 20% greater energy consumption, which leads to shorter run times and more overheating, even if the top speed is 2-5 km/h lower.

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BSR power unit programs are set the same for everyone and are not altered by the manufacturer. They are created to be highly optimized for the specific class specifications to provide the respective power, maximum speed, and optimal energy consumption. Modifying the program in karting is not necessary because karting is about pilot training. With BSR power units, we aim to provide 100% equal opportunities, and the difference lies only in the pilot and the chassis configuration for the pilot. Everything else is 100% the same for everyone.

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Thanks Artis! I had assumed that it was all software based. That is a helpful explanation.

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This was the information that I was looking for Thankyou

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This just blew my mind. As a tuner I’d have to completely re learn and re think gearing choices.

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-15 Degrees winter drift in revers.

https://twitter.com/ArtisDaugins/status/1744074855891292363

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Well that’s certainly different.

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