Would it be possible to discuss this like grownups? :-)

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No, 20 ch@aracters :wink:

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I don’t want to drive an e-kart and I don’t live in Europe. Yet at least.

My biggest issue with anything that the FIA does for karting is that it doesn’t seem to come from any demand from the customer base, aka us. It’s all just what the FIA thinks is good. I don’t see people clamoring for this. So why are they doing it?

Whatever someone wants to race is fine with me. Just like the big scary topics (politics, religion etc.), if you have facts and evidence that this is needed and you come with good intentions, I will listen and try to understand. If the FIA (or whoever) came out and said “listen, we know you love internal combustion engines, but honestly we cannot race them for much longer because of x, y, z, and if you want to continue karting we have to go this way,” I would at least understand the need and I could accept that.

In my eyes, the type of motor/engine we run is very low priority. If I were at the FIA, I would put things like the skyrocketing costs of karting, the poor promotion of international events to anyone not in Europe, the growing move toward “Formula 5” as Alan calls it, and more above e-karting in my priority list of things karting needs to work on.

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I’ve yet to find much information other that the very undetailed image and some post text… Is there more info I’m missing. Like, what was even approved?

As manufacturer, we have nothing on this. But the idea is not bad as beside chassis , engines (or as you want to call them) are supposed to be fixed and that is consistent with cost reduction..

YEAAAAAAA !!! They have finally accepted us who love EKARTS !!! Be glad to just excited !!!

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Heres more all I can find for now

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I would be interested in driving an electric kart to see what it is like, but I don’t see this being a net benefit.

What is the gain we see that is stronger than the increased weight (danger) and infrastructure (cost) that are going to be seen from implementing this. This feels like introducing solutions and trying to find the problem it solves afterward.

Rotax have tried this and failed, very limited fields, some other brand have had a go, very limited fields. And now FIA want to have a go……

And then we have all issues.

  1. Recharging the batteries between heats, last time Rotax rented several Diesel generators to fix that.
  2. Weight of the thing.
  3. Price for the thing.
  4. FIA trying Togo green…..
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I’ve driven the Blue Shock package and it was a blast. I’ve worked on lithium ion battery system design in the ground-based EV and aerospace world for 10 years, and the biggest issues I see with the FIA regs as I see them presented here:

>Mandating the battery volume as being effectively just the existing fuel tank volume: I can understand not wanting batteries out on the chassis sides, in the region where the side pods normally crumple in large collisions, but there’s simply not enough physical volume in the fuel tank area to fit a pack that can output 28kW (38 HP) for full length races without doing a pretty deep depth of discharge (effectively using most of the pack energy in a single session). If you look at what Blue Shock or the F.A.T. league uses, they’re putting packs on both sides of the driver (because they need the volume) and they only partially discharge in a single session. (I think I was burning like 20% of a charge in a 5 min warmup session. Smaller pack means less energy, which means using most of the pack every session, which is harder on the long-term performance of the cells.

>Limiting the pack voltage to 60V: I know there are safety guidelines that consider anything over 60V as hazardous and thus worthy of extra safety, but such a limited voltage for something that’s going to be pushing 28kW seems a little mis-sized. Even at top voltage that means a 466A current draw at full power, and definitely 500A and more as the voltage sags. That’s a LOT of current, and will require some hefty HV cabling, and more robust and expensive contactors, current sensors, speed controllers, etc. and generate a lot of waste heat. Even just doubling the voltage to a modest 120V would keep the current draw under 300A and reduce the heat load by 4x.

I’m excited to see what people come up with for this, but I’d really like to see the full technical regulations first because there’s definitely some engineering challenges with these restrictions to make a system that isn’t prohibitively expensive.

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Not sure how this is could be a bad thing.

E-karting needs to start somewhere. Homologations allow a sanctioned product to be developed for global use, right? Then we can see how the market responds to what comes out?

I think its great to explore new things in karting.. Other than new fuels for ICE or other motor manufactures Tillotson as one. What else is there.. Bring them on. Some of the technology like Batteries need to advance in size other than that they are brutally fast with the torque and quick to speed… And to get tracks to accept them..

Toyota is working with Sumitomo Metals Mining to mass produce solid state cathodes; aims for a 2027 rollout of a SS cell EV

Solid state batteries, if they deliver the goods, will be a watershed moment. Then the problem will be power generation & delivery infrastructure. Good luck with the “renewables" fantasy. If anything, current infrastructures are sufficient to meet energy demands for karting, but it’ll be blackout city when pure EVs start overtaking the automotive market & plugging into the grid.

I hate the idea of ev in general.

Why wait recharging for couple hours whereas we can fill up gas tank for under 1 minute for karts. For cars from empty to full under 10mins.

Why just why. Making the battery itself is also polluting the air.

From what I’ve seen the batteries can be charged in about 15-20 mins on a fast charger.

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Yep charging times are shorter than couple hours .. 15 to 20 minutes. FIA needs to talk to Blueshock / OTL / FAT League and others. Before they had made the rules they have implemented. Don’t think battery size technology has got where batteries are small enough to just fit where gas tank is for distance running .. I may be wrong don’t know.. Technology changes from day to day on battery’s. Would LOVE to hear from more people who have run these Full Race Ekarts and there input and thoughts of the whole thing and how they liked the karts of any electric make ??

Oh that one is fast.. but those fast charger cost is gonna be higher right?

But in general. To me, fun part is where u can hear engine noise. I watched formula-e couple nut its just didnt give me the thrill of racing. Its like watching those rc cars.

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At K1 Speed in Canton Ohio the owner had batteries designed and had them made by a battery company and installed in his karts. He can charge the batteries at different charging rates and levels for big endurance events.. So Yes battery charging rates can change..

You can make compromises on speed and duration of runs of course. Swappable modular batteries are a thing, not an insignificant cost though.

Looking at the responses on social media, it’s interesting how much resistance some people put up against something that’s not even intended for them :joy:

lastly, I’m not convinced that it’s really a track problem that’s slowing adoption. I’m not in denial that some tracks are not super welcoming because they’re concerned about fire hazards. Whether that’s found it or not that’s a different discussion. I’m just saying that that’s the perception of some tracks and operators and drivers have

I think most tracks would it would accommodate electric karts if there was a genuine interest but at this point, as far as purchasing one is concerned, the price is just a little high for adoption right now for people that own and operate the own karts. For rental operations we’re seeing more high performance setups like FAT electric karts series.

i’m curious to hear feedback from people who run the FAT series so far see if their thoughts are on them. Anybody here on the forums driven the FAT series