Emerging Tech Day, May 7, 2011 at Indy Motor Speedway

[evchels]

Hey all,

Bit of a roadtrip for most of us, but Indy is having what is shaping up to be a pretty cool event. Three different alt fuel races, but even better, anyone who shows up in their plug-in gets to take a lap on the Indy track. Kind of a fun opp for race fans...certainly a bit of history.

More here: Lapping it up at Indy Motor Speedway evchels

 

[zack]

Yeah, that would be an interesting road trip. 585 miles. Looking at the KOA site I can see there are four campgrounds with 50A service on 94 and 90 inside Wisconsin alone... I bet the whole trip could be done by charging at campsites!

 

[zack]

I signed up for this and was accepted (seems to be an auto-reply). I've written to them to ask what kind of charging is going to be made available.

 

[GSP]

I also signed up to drive around the track. There should be charging opportunities available since there are many RV sites next to the track. Many are provided by homeowners nearby with room for 1-2 RVs, plus car parking in their front lawns.

Zack - Please let us know what info IMS (aka "the track") provides.

Thanks,

GSP

 

[GSP]

IMS Campsite info

Below is some info on IMS owned campsites. Prices are for the Race weekend. Perhaps they will make the facilities available on May 7th for a reasonable price, or complementary.

GSP

Camping Parking - Indianapolis 500 - Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is pleased to be offering electricity to campers though a partnership with MacAllister Machinery. Parking and camping staff at IMS strive to create the best possible atmosphere for all types of people as they enjoy their racing experience. MacAllister will provide electric service to campers in Lot 3 Pavement, Lot 4, Lot 4A Premium, as well as Lot 6; each lot is available with 30 AMP or 50 AMP service with the exception of Lot 4A Premium that will offer only 50 AMP service for those choosing to participate in this offer.

RV Camping in these lots is offered as a 4 day pass only, Thursday before the event at 7am through Monday after the event at 12 noon. These passes are all sold in dry camping capacity; should you decide you would like an electric hookup it will be available for an additional $150 for 30 AMP service or $175 for 50 AMP service for all four of those days. MacAllister will provide an assisted setup as well as a 24 hour on site technician to manage any issue you might have.

 

[Seneca_Chicago]

I signed up for this and was accepted (seems to be an auto-reply). I've written to them to ask what kind of charging is going to be made available.

Zack, you are welcome to charge at my father's home. He has a Nema 14-50 plug that I use when I am visiting Indy for various events.

 

[zack]

Thanks, Seneca, I've sent you an email.

I spoke with Mark Dill at Indy Raceway and he was actually in the process of making arrangements for charging stations as I was calling him. I let him know that I'll be bringing my 70A portable charging system with 50 feet of 70A extension cable and a variety of breakers for any panel they can provide me, and I can make that available for any Tesla owner who wants to charge at high-current at the track. I also told him that NEMA 14-50 is the second-best way to go for us Tesla owners.

Any news on the availability of J1772 adapters yet?

 

[Norbert]

I let him know that I'll be bringing my 70A portable charging system with 50 feet of 70A extension cable

I'd be curious to see a photo of these two items.

 

[zack]

The first mod to the HPC is pictured in this thread.

http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/5391-My-portable-70A-charging-system-for-road-trippin

I'm working on another mod to make it simpler and lighter, eliminating what my machinist calls the "horse c***" power cord going to the car and replacing it with removable lightweight banded cable instead, which will be much more flexible in the winter.

 

[dpeilow]

Glad I'm not the only one that thinks that cable is overkill

 

[zack]

It's f***ing ridiculous. All that stiff rubber for nothing. I'm going to transform every part of my Roadster into lightweight heaven.

 

[samcarney]

I went to the time trials at Indy last year and parked and charged with NEMA 14-50 at "TURN 2 RV Park" across the street from the track. Parking and Max Range charge $20.

 

[samcarney]

Zack, you are welcome to charge at my father's home. He has a Nema 14-50 plug that I use when I am visiting Indy for various events.

Zack I have NEMA 14-50 available at my home in Flossmoor, IL. 165 miles from Indy. I have also signed up for the event.
Sam

 

[zack]

Thanks so much, Sam! I'm planning on getting a full charge in Chicago at the Tesla store. If things go completely wrong I may end up at your place though.

 

[Norbert]

The first mod to the HPC is pictured in this thread.

http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/5391-My-portable-70A-charging-system-for-road-trippin

I'm working on another mod to make it simpler and lighter, eliminating what my machinist calls the "horse c***" power cord going to the car and replacing it with removable lightweight banded cable instead, which will be much more flexible in the winter.

Those photos show a shorter cable, right, not the 50 feet cable?

Be sure to let us know how it works out...

 

[Norbert]

Fascinating how there are NEMA 14-50 with 50 amp all over the place (relatively speaking), and then they install J1772 with 30 amp (instead of the 75 or 80 amps the spec allows) somewhere and make it sound like it is a huge thing to install just a single one of them.

 

[zack]

Those photos show a shorter cable, right, not the 50 feet cable?

Be sure to let us know how it works out...

I'll show pictures of the final 50-ft banded cable when it's done. The machinist/electrician is picking up the 70A charger today to make more mods, to remove the original charge cord and replace it with banded cable going to the Tesla connector, to reduce weight. We should be able to cut the weight of the cord in half at that length, or make one that's much longer at the same weight.

 

[dpeilow]

Fascinating how there are NEMA 14-50 with 50 amp all over the place (relatively speaking), and then they install J1772 with 30 amp (instead of the 75 or 80 amps the spec allows) somewhere and make it sound like it is a huge thing to install just a single one of them.

It's getting even worse over here. They install a post with 13A standard domestic socket, costing over £5000 each, that you can't even access without the right smart card, when an equivalent weatherproof socket at a hardware store is under £20. And they make this sound like a huge deal.

 

[Lloyd]

It's getting even worse over here. They install a post with 13A standard domestic socket, costing over £5000 each, that you can't even access without the right smart card, when an equivalent weatherproof socket at a hardware store is under £20. And they make this sound like a huge deal.

Sounds like a lot of Pounds are going into someone's pocket!

 

[doug]

It's getting even worse over here. They install a post with 13A standard domestic socket, costing over £5000 each, that you can't even access without the right smart card, when an equivalent weatherproof socket at a hardware store is under £20. And they make this sound like a huge deal.

Ridonkulous!! I guess that's pretty much the best you can do with a Leaf sans CHAdeMO, but really there should be an investigation on that. What a waste.