Buckeye Bullet Team Blog

Summer Update: New Matlab/Simulink Licenses, Article in the "RealTimes"

2011-06-23T15:09:00.002-04:00

The team would like to thank Mathworks for their recent donation of new Matlab & Simulink licenses, as well as their continued support of the program. If you aren't familiar with Matlab and Simulink, it is a technical computing suite that the team uses for almost every aspect of vehicle design and testing. This includes: vehicle simulation, data analysis, and control of the vehicles various electrical systems. For more info check out their website at www.mathworks.com.

On a related note, an article was recently published in the ETAS RealTimes magazine on the development of the Buckeye Bullet's control system. The article includes how the team uses Matlab and Simulink to interface with ETAS' INTECRIO software and rapid prototyping hardware (the ES910). It can be found under the editors choice section on the ETAS website: "Lightning Fast - ES910 helps set a new land speed record".

More updates soon!

soon to start summer work

2011-06-01T14:47:00.000-04:00

countdown to summer work hours for the Bullet Team: 12 days!

Interview with Roger Schroer

2011-01-21T18:02:00.000-05:00

During the NAIAS, Engineering TV and Lee Teschler of Machine Design magazine took some time to interview our driver, Roger Schroer. You can watch the video below or on Engineering TV's site.

Come see the Buckeye Bullet at the North American International Auto Show

2011-01-12T17:50:00.000-05:00

Come see the Buckeye Bullet 2.5 up close and personal at the Detroit Auto Show! The NAIAS is open to the public January 15th through the 23rd. The Bullet is located in the Venturi booth next to their brand new prototype "America".

See you there!

photos from linhbergh

2010-12-04T04:02:00.002-05:00

beautiful bullet featured again

2010-12-04T04:00:00.000-05:00

fantastic article from Linhbergh of Speedhunters, great photos once again!!

http://speedhunters.com/archive/2010/12/03/car-spotlight-gt-gt-the-buckeye-bullet-2-5.aspx

Its official!

2010-11-01T13:59:00.000-04:00

The records the team set in August have now been officially recognized by the FIA. You can find them on the FIA's website under Category A Group 8 Class 3.

VENTURI JAMAIS CONTENTE - 2010 WORLD SPEED RECORD

2010-09-23T14:52:00.001-04:00

VENTURI JAMAIS CONTENTE - THE FASTEST ELECTRIC

2010-09-23T14:52:00.000-04:00

Bonneville Wrap-up: New World Record 307.67 mph *Pending FIA Approval

2010-09-01T15:09:00.000-04:00

Thank you to all the program sponsors and industry partners for making this racing season a huge success, it wouldn't have been possible without you.

Look for us at the upcoming Paris Auto Show, and keep following the blog for updates throughout the year!

Clutch Carnage

2010-08-25T12:42:00.002-04:00

Our last attempt yesterday was all set to be the best run yet, everything was looking great, but midway through the first mile, we busted our clutch. Too much torque from our motor ripped apart the half inch steel teeth that keep the motor connected to the gearbox.

After a late night of trying to disassemble the motor and reinstall another type of clutch, we decided to call it: our last record will stay the best for the VBB2.5

Now its time to pack up our pits and head back to ohio!

Photos from the Latest Record

2010-08-24T20:13:00.003-04:00

And Jalopnik

2010-08-24T20:07:00.000-04:00

http://jalopnik.com/5620955/student+built-electric-car-surpasses-300-mph

Feature on Autoblog Green

2010-08-24T16:29:00.001-04:00

http://green.autoblog.com/2010/08/24/ohio-state-university-claims-another-electric-speed-record-with/

RECORD REBROKEN: and still turning up the power!!

2010-08-24T16:15:00.002-04:00

With all systems working beautifully, its time to run on full power for the first time!

After starting from waaaay behind the zero on our 2nd pass, we were able to hit 320 MPH. With quicker shifting from Roger, and the torque limit raised we're hoping to break this in both directions

We've broken 300!!

2010-08-24T16:02:00.001-04:00

Our record from yesterday is rebroken!

Just completed 2 runs with an average of 307.66 MPH in the mile!

top recorded speed: 320 MPH

Record Run

2010-08-23T19:42:00.004-04:00

photos by Barry Hathaway

more from Barry

2010-08-23T17:59:00.002-04:00

Photos by Barry Hathaway

NEW WORLD RECORD!!!

2010-08-23T17:28:00.001-04:00

NEW WORLD RECORD!!!

291 MPH mile average

292 MPH kilo average

(pending FIA certification)

windstorm!

2010-08-22T19:47:00.001-04:00

too windy to run! winds are currently in gusts of 40-50 mph!

back to pits

2010-08-22T15:05:00.001-04:00

inverter troubles... 2nd run topped out at 166MPH, back in the pits to find out what's what

turning around

2010-08-22T13:53:00.001-04:00

were in the turnaround now,

kilo speed from the first run: 295 MPH

FIA first day

2010-08-22T12:19:00.001-04:00

getting ready to head to the start for the first run of the FIA event

Barry's photos from our second run

2010-08-21T18:07:00.001-04:00

the end of speedweek

2010-08-21T18:05:00.002-04:00

yesterday we just barely missed the cutoff for the second run (dang those parachutes! so hard to pack, but not something you want to mess up!)

we've moved pits and are planning on low speed runs today while we wait for the FIA event to begin.

Second run

2010-08-20T14:18:00.002-04:00

top speed: 255

still no shifting, started in 3rd running at 75% power

were trying to get the car turned around and ready before the cutoff time for speedweek, more to come in a bit!

heading up to the start line

2010-08-20T12:20:00.001-04:00

yesterday's run: 155 in first gear

2010-08-20T10:33:00.007-04:00

(photos by barry hathaway: http://www.barryhathaway.com/)

Yesterday we had our first (and completely issue free) run on the salt! Running at less than half power, in first gear only, we were able to hit 155 MPH. Roger reports that all systems felt great, and the car felt just as stable as last year (even without the extra 2000lbs of fuel cell systems.)

This morning we'll be running again at 75% power with shifting.

155 on half power run yesterday very early morning today to try at full speed

2010-08-20T08:26:00.001-04:00

SPEEDHUNTERS desktop

2010-08-19T14:46:00.003-04:00

an awesome shot of the bullet was featured as a desktop on SPEEDHUNTERS today, here's the small version preview:

the full version is available at their website

a bit of wind damage to tarps and tent but the car is untouched by the storm

2010-08-19T10:32:00.001-04:00

things look a bit stormy heading out to the salt thismorning

2010-08-19T09:25:00.001-04:00

on the salt for a test of the wheelspeed data acq.

2010-08-18T13:50:00.001-04:00

the team got to sleep in a bit today hitting the salt at 7:45

2010-08-17T09:51:00.001-04:00

leaving the salt for today

2010-08-16T22:02:00.002-04:00

another beautiful day in wendover UT

2010-08-16T19:17:00.001-04:00

team lunch break for grilled cheese and soup before afternoon testing

2010-08-16T14:14:00.002-04:00

bullet fan gear for 2010 is now available in our pits

2010-08-16T13:32:00.001-04:00

successful wheel spin test

2010-08-16T13:21:00.003-04:00

wheels are spinning, and were ready for the next round of testing

sunrise on the salt

2010-08-15T11:47:00.004-04:00

the team got an early start sunday morning to finish setting up pits and begin readying the car for racing this week

unpacking

2010-08-15T11:32:00.003-04:00

the semi arrived early friday morning, followed by 2 full days of unpacking and setting up the pits

salt flats 2010

2010-08-15T11:21:00.002-04:00

we made it!

Dyno Testing at Electro-Mec with American Traction Systems

2010-08-03T21:04:00.000-04:00

We just finished our second day of testing at Electro-Mec in Indiana, PA and are heading home to Columbus. With our new inverter from American Traction Systems we were able to achieve more horsepower and higher torque then ever before. The team would like to thank Tony and Sandy from ATS, as well as Sean and Al from Electro-Mec for their long hours and hard work put in for the project.

Next stop, TRC.

thank you hewland!

2010-07-26T11:47:00.006-04:00

its shiny,

its new,

its custom just for us!

500 buckeye bullet awesome points to the first person to guess what this is!

Scarlet and Gray and.. Chrome?

2010-07-22T15:51:00.006-04:00

Roger stopped in yesterday to try out some new VBB3 steering wheel options. An alternate shape allows for improved driver visibility, and the scarlet and gray chrome looks sweet!

A day in the life: EE

2010-07-06T16:54:00.002-04:00

that's not a mess, that's a car in progress!!

Pimp my Vehicle Hauler!!

2010-07-01T13:41:00.005-04:00

Our custom built vehicle hauler got equipped with a set of LEDs today, making it easier (and more energy efficient!) to safely load the car after dark.

Thanks to our high school interns Michael, Conor, and David

for "pimping" our car's ride!

Battery Packs: now available in an easier to move version!

2010-06-25T14:05:00.004-04:00

Battery packs are reaching their final design stages, and now include an integrated carry-point for easier handling on the salt. (So even I can help moving them around!)

OSU Motorsports Photoshoot

2010-06-25T13:53:00.005-04:00

All of the student projects' cars were shined up and rolled out today for an OSU motorsports "family portrait"

(I even got to head up to the roof for a better view!)

Custom BB Circuit Boards

2010-06-22T19:31:00.007-04:00

Designed and hand built by our EEs: RJ and John

RJ says it was totally worth the extra hour of work to put the BB logo on it :)

Bodyland proclaimed open for batteries

2010-06-18T12:51:00.004-04:00

This week the team has been working on getting the BB2 chassis ready for the BB2.5 conversion. Out with the fuel cells, in with the batteries!

Its Official!

2009-12-12T13:50:00.004-05:00

The records the team set in September have been approved by the FIA! The records are now listed on the FIA's site, and can be found in the list of Category A records on page 19.

The team would like to thank everyone who helped make this possible, and we will see you again next year!

New video on Youtube

2009-09-29T15:34:00.003-04:00

We've got this new video on youtube, and a new channel that will eventually be populated with more videos:
http://www.youtube.com/buckeyebullet2

Record

2009-09-25T19:15:00.000-04:00

Hydrogen Land Speed World Record now over 300 mph!

2009-09-25T18:15:00.009-04:00

over 300 mph world record any way you look at it! more later

(Photos By Ray the Rat)

Average Speeds:
Flying Kilometer: 303.025 mph (487.671 kph)
Flying Mile: 302.877 mph (487.433 kph)

(Note: These are unofficial speeds, and do not qualify as records the vehicle and speeds have been verified by the record sanctioning body. As such, any record is subject to FIA (or ASN) recognition before it may be recognized as an official record.)

Ready to try again!

2009-09-25T17:17:00.037-04:00

(3:16pm) Heading down to the starting line. Getting ready to make another attempt.
(3:17pm) Roger is putting his helmet on.
(3:20pm) Roger is getting into the car.
(3:23pm) BB2 is about 3 minutes from running.
(3:25pm) Course is clear.
(3:26pm) Main power on the BB2 is on. Gasses on. Vehicle is underway.
(3:27pm) High Voltage and go. Through the 1 Mile.
(3:28pm) Through the 3 mile. And 5 mile. Enter

Entry Speed: 297.787 mph (479.242 kph)
Flying Kilo: 302.081 mph (486.152 kph)
Flying Mile 301.949 mph (485.940 kph)
Exit Speed: 305.783 mph (492.110 kph)
(The best times yet!)

(3:29pm) Through the 3 mile and slowing down.
(3:30pm) Just inside the 1 mile, coming towards the pits.
(3:32pm) BB2 is in the pits, getting ready to get the car turned around for a follow-up run.
(3:44pm) 40 minutes remaining on turn-around time
(3:56pm) Putting the car back down on the ground in the pits. Nose being put back on car.
(4:02pm) Pushing the BB2 onto the trailer to head to the start line.
(4:05pm) BB2 leaving the pits to go to the starting line.
(4:07pm) 20 minutes remaining on turn-around.
(4:10pm) Radio check complete, getting ready for the return run. Preparing to go through startup sequence.
(4:11pm) Main power to the BB2 is on. Gasses are on. Starting Fuel Cells.
(4:12pm) High Voltage and GO!

Entry Speed: 300.324 mph (483.325 kph)
Flying Kilometer: 303 mph (488 kph)
Flying Mile: 303 mph (488 kph)

(Note: These are unofficial speeds, and do not qualify as records the vehicle and speeds have been verified by the record sanctioning body. As such, any record is subject to FIA (or ASN) recognition before it may be recognized as an official record.)

FIA Pit Stop

2009-09-25T14:54:00.003-04:00

Time lapse video from Wednesday's record run:

(shot by Ben Sinsheimer)

Qualifying timed mile and return run start:

(shot by Bob Sinsheimer)

Sept25 - Attempt 2 - Return Run

2009-09-25T14:40:00.008-04:00

(12:40pm) Vehicle is under way.

Entry speed: 294.515 mph (473.976 kph)
Flying Kilometer: 298.5 mph (480.4 kph)
Flying Mile: 298.401 mph (480.230 kph)
Edit Speed: 301 mph (484 kph)

(Photos By Ray the Rat)

Tons of thanks to the landracing.com crew for their coverage of the FIA event this week!

Cooling Fixed, Ready to Go

2009-09-25T13:47:00.007-04:00

(11:45am) The team is minutes away from running. Will have more info as it comes.
(11:50am) Roger is in the car, being strapped in. Should be running shortly.
(11:55am) Canopy is lowered. Beginning startup of car.

First Pass Times:
Entry: 295.64 mph (475.79 kph)
Flying Kilometer: 299.757 mph (482.412 kph)
Flying Mile: 299.64 mph (482.22 kph)

(Photos By Ray the Rat)

(12:28pm) Minutes away from making the return run

Amazing Speed Increase, Looking to Run Faster

2009-09-25T13:20:00.000-04:00

So we came in two teams this morning, one at 5am to preheat the fuel cells and another at 6:30 to finish up car prep and push the car out. The transmission lever was fixed by 10pm last night. This morning after the first run we made some code changes which resulted in a 15 mph increase in speeds at the 1.5 mile marker. Unfortunately, our cooling code couldn't keep up. We adjusted a few items to let the fuel cells get slightly warmer and are going to not only precool the motor but also cool between runs. This run should be the highest power we have ever gotten, steady at around 520 kW. Below is an image of the improv motor cooling setup.

Lets hope this run is the best yet.

Morning Run, Shifting Problems Fixed

2009-09-25T10:28:00.009-04:00

The BB2 just made a morning run, with a flying mile speed of 296.782 mph (477.624 kph). The team is preparing the car for a return run, within the next 45 minutes or so.

(8:44am) Putting the body panels back on the car, getting ready to make the return run.
(8:53am) BB2 is under way, through the one mile.

Run times:
Entry speed: 290 mph (467 kph)
Flying Kilometer: 294 mph (473 kph)
Flying Mile: 294mph (473 kph)

(9:01am) Car is down at the 10 mile

(Photos By Ray the Rat)

Something to Fix

2009-09-24T21:22:00.002-04:00

After a bit of pushing, coasting, and attempted shifting we finally found our problem. The transmission shift lever is broken, only allowing downshifting. We are removing the lever and a fix should be in place for an early morning run.

Here is a quick pic from after we figured out the problem out on the course.

Shifting Issues, Run Again Tomorrow Morning

2009-09-24T19:18:00.001-04:00

We are still diagnosing but found that nothing is likely broken. We are hopeful there is a code problem that causes shifting/clutch position to be slightly off. We are working on fixing this and should run again early tomorrow morning.

-Edit- The issue could be code OR clutch pressure.

Attempt #3: Let's try this again

2009-09-24T18:05:00.006-04:00

(4:04pm) The BB2 is heading towards the Northeast end of the track (mile marker 12) again to give it another shot today.
(4:24pm) Doing a few radio checks to get ready.
(4:26pm) Gas on. Starting. High Voltage and GO!

Stopped accelerating at the 2 mile, had a problem shifting, it may be the clutch.

"That's all right, there's a spare on the trailer."

Almost Ready to Run Again

2009-09-24T17:00:00.000-04:00

We had a 200 MPH run earlier this morning when a red shutdown light turned on. Coasting to the pits we checked the recorded data and found that the cooling pump signal had intermittent failure. We think we tracked the problem down to a loose cable but could not duplicate the problem. Aren't intermittent failures fun? At any rate, we are prepping now for a late afternoon run at 180% torque limit (out of 190% max). Yesterday during our record run, we limited it to 170%. Hopefully we will go FAST.

FIA Record Attempt #2: This time, with more power

2009-09-24T13:40:00.006-04:00

(11:38am) The BB2 is heading down towards "floating mountain" (the Northeast end of the track) for a run.
(12:01pm) Canopy is closed. Gas is on. Starting...
(12:02pm) High Voltage and GO!
(12:14pm) Vehicle was shutdown, they're bringing it back to the pits to take a look at it.

New (unofficial as of now) World Record!

2009-09-23T18:22:00.001-04:00

Picture says it all. (Speed for the kilometer average)

We Broke 300!

First Run of the FIA Week!

2009-09-23T17:01:00.011-04:00

I Just received word that the BB2 just made a run at the following speeds:

Entry Speed: 293 mph (472 kph)
Flying kilometer Speed: 298.898 mph (481.030 kph)
Flying Mile Speed: 298.776 mph (480.833 kph)
Exit Speed 303.574 mph (488.554 kph)

The team is gearing refueling, checking the vehicle, and preparing for a return run (which must be made within an hour of the first run).

More details will follow as I get them.

(3:12pm): The car has been turned around, and is being transported to the zero mile marker for the return run

(3:16pm): Pushing off.

(3:18pm): Return Run Speeds are in:

Entry Speed: 296 mph (476 kph)
Flying Kilometer Speed: 301 mph (484 kph)
Flying Mile Speed: 300.992 mph (484.400 kph)
Exit Speed: 304 mph (489 kph)

(3:24pm): And the Two-mile average speeds are:
Mile: 299.900 mph (482.642 kph) (Record is 132.129 mph)
Kilometer: 300.992 mph (484.400 kph) (Record is 132.378 mph)

(Note: These are unofficial speeds, and do not qualify as records the vehicle and speeds have been verified by the record sanctioning body. As such, any record is subject to FIA (or ASN) recognition before it may be recognized as an official record.)

Motor Spin Test Success! Ready to Race!

2009-09-23T14:33:00.000-04:00

After a quick switch on the inverter current sensors we were able to successfully spin the wheels. This shows that there are no faults all the way from the driver to the ground. We are now ready to refuel and hit the track.

Motor Back, Installing Now

2009-09-23T11:45:00.000-04:00

We got the motor back to the salt at about 8 am. Installation has almost completed. Ready to run as soon as it is in and the track is open. More pics later.

Get Motor Tomorrow Morning, Race ASAP.

2009-09-22T20:42:00.000-04:00

We are driving to Salt Lake City tonight in preparation to pickup the motor as soon as possible from CW Silver in the morning. The word is that the motor is in the oven for its final baking stage. If all goes well we should have the driveline in place and ready to spin the wheels around noon. More info as we get it.

In the mean time, here is a picture of the spinout tracks from the Mormon Missile. They ended up pointing towards our trailer, about 200 degrees from where they wanted to be. There must have been a little too much power to the ground. They easily restarted and got their return run in at 341 MPH, smashing the old record. Congrats to them!

Photo Shoot In The Cold

2009-09-21T10:46:00.000-04:00

Brrr. This morning was windy and cold. We woke up very early to get some good sunrise shots with the car and team together. Here are some photos from that event (from my little point and shoot).

Moved Courses, Ready Once Motor Is

2009-09-21T07:19:00.005-04:00

Saminco sent out a service tech and replaced the broken IGBT in our inverter and reassembled it. That part of the driveline is now good. We took the motor to CW Silver in Salt Lake City where we opened it up and found wires that had been burnt through by the carbon windings on the motor's rotor. The cause of this is still being worked out. Below you can see the stator and a closeup of the location where the carbon fiber is shorting from rotor to stator.

In the mean time, we moved our pits to right next to I-80 in preparation for when we receive the motor back. Since we have some down time, we are getting some photography and "extra" projects out of the way.

Two Potential Problems, Both Have Solutions

2009-09-19T17:48:00.009-04:00

We pulled apart the drivetrain and may have found two potential problems. A tech from one of our awesome sponsors is being flown out tomorrow to verify and repair the part that appears broken. Just to eliminate a potential cause of the failure, we are also inspecting the rest of the drivetrain to verify/fix any problems with it.

We are now preparing to move to the FIA track near the highway.

Waiting on Parts.

2009-09-19T16:15:00.001-04:00

No good run today. The lines to race have consistently been 3-4 hours for a run. For whatever reason there are fewer tracks to run on, clogging everyone up.

We attempted to run earlier today but had no power to the ground. The fuel cells showed current available, but we just couldn't get it to the motor. After a bit of troubleshooting we think we narrowed it down to the inverter.

More info as we get it.

Panorama from this morning

2009-09-19T10:56:00.005-04:00

(Move the image with your mouse, press "Shift" to zoom in, "Ctrl" to zoom out)

Second Run ....

2009-09-18T19:37:00.002-04:00

We went pretty fast. Not bad for a second run at 286 MPH. More details and photos to follow.

Back in Line

2009-09-18T15:47:00.000-04:00

We are pretty sure we isolated and fixed the problem limiting us to a 131.91269 MPH first run and moved to get back in line. Here are some photos from preparation for this run.

Photos From Today's First Run

2009-09-18T14:08:00.002-04:00

Well, they've brought the car back to the pits, getting it cleaned up and hopefully making another run this afternoon.

In the meantime, here are some photos from the run earlier today... enjoy!

Red Light, Shutdown

2009-09-18T12:52:00.000-04:00

Our first shakedown run and we found some issues pop up. Bringing it back to the pits to troubleshoot.

Waiting in Line

2009-09-18T12:25:00.002-04:00

We have about 3 long course cars ahead of us. Waiting in line, ready to go fast.

No Runs Yet, Getting Back in Line.

2009-09-18T10:55:00.000-04:00

Last night about 5:30 P.M. we got in line for the first time. Unfortunately there was a wreck on the track (he is O.K.) which delayed runs and pushed us past closing. We packed up and brought the car back to the pits in order to top off fuel and preheat the stacks. This morning along with Mike and Paul's help we put on new fuel cell code to help improve safety factors along with performance of the stacks.

We are fueling up, filling up with ice and getting back in line now.

Pit Setup, Track Ready!

2009-09-17T14:13:00.001-04:00

We arrived at the access road just ahead of the sun. After a short wait in line we were told to "stick to the right" so as to not get stuck in the salt/water/mud combination at the end of the road.

Below you can see the car and crew mozying our way off the "end of the road", through the water and onto dry salt. The pits and track are dry as far down as needed.

Our pit setup is finished and we are getting the car through the last preparations in order to race. A quick run to the local grocery store to load up on ice for fuel cell cooling and a few code changes later, we should be ready to get in line to race. Both Paul Mann from Ballard and Mike Procter from AFCC are here to provide fuel cell support and help squeak out every last bit of power from the fuel cells. Thanks guys!

Wheel Spin Test

2009-09-16T19:25:00.002-04:00

During our down time we decided to make sure all electrical systems were still in good condition. The clip below shows a quick startup and wheel spin with the carbon/carbon disc brakes chattering at the end (which is normal). Still hoping the salt looks better tomorrow.

Passed Tech Inspection, Salt Still Wet.

2009-09-16T13:59:00.007-04:00

We arrived at the Salt Flat's entry road early this morning as the sun was creeping over the horizon. First in tech inspection line, we heard news of no racing today. A look at the end of the access road showed the photo below... water and ruts everywhere. Luckily it only appears to be 0-0.5" deep so the hopes are that it will evaporate by tomorrow.

We passed tech inspection after a bit of explanation and quick fixes before noon. Since we couldn't yet setup our pit on the salt, we are back in the trucker parking lot until tomorrow morning. We were told that we could setup shop early in the morning and race after noon.

Roger also found a loyal following that required his autograph on one of our "hero cards" that give info on the car. The signature was requested by an "important guy who's job is a liaison" by the "liaison's assistant". Go Roger! :).

Waiting on the rain.

2009-09-15T15:42:00.005-04:00

Our trailer arrived at the Pilot/McDonald's truck parking lot last night. We checked out salt conditions early this morning and found at least 2 stuck cars near the access road. It had rained the entire drive down from Salt Lake City so we weren't expecting much. Weather conditions have been holding steady today and the rest of the week looks rain free.

Since we have some down time we are finishing up last-minute projects in our makeshift pit setup. The two pictures below are push bumper retrofitting and canopy shock modification.

Tech inspections will more than likely take place off of the salt, just to make sure everyone is ready to race as soon as the salt will to let us.

Arrival of Our Trailer

2009-09-04T17:31:00.007-04:00

Our recently refurbished trailer arrived today from Amptech Fabrication, and thanks to Dana and George, is ready to carry our car and all of our gear out to Bonneville! We also got a preview of the impressive semi cab (driven by Rick from Cowen Truck Lines) that will be pulling our trailer to the Salt Flats. On a sunny day like today, you could get a tan just from standing next to all that gorgeous chrome!

Dyno Testing: lots of noise, even more horsepower

2009-09-04T17:03:00.008-04:00

This week we've been running full length simulations on the dyno. Compared to the relatively quiet resistor load bank testing, earplugs are a necessity here!

OSU's 1000 horsepower dyno setup allows the team to run the motor at full power and simulate a complete Bonneville run, without the salt of course. So far we've been able to sustain 500 kW (nearly 700 horsepower) and are constantly pushing for more.

The Body is Back!

2009-09-01T15:28:00.006-04:00

We picked up the body today from Achbach Auto Industries, and it looks b-e-a-utiful thanks to Dan and the team. The previously all black finish was cool for Black Boss, but racing stripes sure make a car look fast!

On our way to Bonneville 2009

2009-08-27T14:55:00.007-04:00

With just over 2 weeks till the BB2 is on salt again, exciting things are happening at CAR!

Today Roger came out for a visit, and wiggled into a driver tub full of foam beads for a new seat.

In case you missed it...

2009-01-05T00:08:00.005-05:00

The episode of Speed Capital of the World: Bonneville will re-air Monday at 10:00 PM (EST) on the Discovery Channel. If you didn't get a chance to see it last time, you get a second chance!

Buckeye Bullet 2 On the Discovery Channel Tomorrow Night!!!

2008-12-15T11:20:00.006-05:00

This summer the team worked with Big Fish Entertainment to produce a show for the Discovery Channel called "Speed Capital of the World: Bonneville."

The show will premier on Discovery and Discovery HD on Tuesday night 12/16 @ 10pm following "Dirty Jobs".

It will replay several times over the next few weeks at various times, check your local listings at: Discovery Channel Listings.

The camera crew followed several major Bonneville teams at Speedweek 2008. The crew also visited CAR in the final days before heading out to the salt. It should be an entertaining show and provide some great exposure for the team.

Thank you for your continued support and Happy Holidays from the BB2 Crew!

Quick Final Update - FIA meet 2008

2008-09-28T11:01:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the delay in the final report. We made our last attempted run around 6:00 PM, and then were cleaning and packing up well into the night.

Earlier in the day we made two runs within the specified 1 hour period. The first run we recorded speeds in the 100-130 MPH range. This low speed was the result of a problem that was preventing the fuel cells from putting out maximum power. Even thought we weren't happy with the first speed, we took the chance to practice the 1 hour turn-around, and see if we could fix the problem before the second run.

The second run was slightly faster, in the 130-150 MPH range, but still clearly below the vehicle's capability.

We spent some time in the pits to diagnose the problem, and implemented a few code changes that we hoped would allow the fuel cells to put out all the power we were accustomed to.

We pushed to the other end of the track to begin another attempt for a record. Shortly after the vehicle pulled away the vehicle experienced a failure in the gas delivery system that sent too much pressure to the fuel cell stacks. All the implemented safety systems caused the vehicle to shut down immediately, and kept the driver safe. However there was irreparable damage to the vehicle and we had to call the meet for the week.

Thanks for the support of everyone involved.

Ed

Update from Ben, Current Status

2008-09-26T13:39:00.003-04:00

I just got word from Ben, who is on the salt with the team, about the current status of the car:

The motor was finished at 6:15 this morning (Mountain Time) . It is now installed and we’ve completed our system checks and are they’re putting the body on now
We re-tuned the hydrogen/oxygen ratio so that the car can last for 6.5 miles. We did a quick load bank test, and wheel spin check. All systems look good.
We’ll load it in the trailer and head to the mile 11 for the qualifying run (west bound). Our pits are at the west end where we refuel and service the car and do our east bound return run
Tom Burkland is ahead of us in line and will take a shot at 450+ mph before we do our run.
We’re going after the 132 mph record we set last year at the FIA meet

Update 3 - FIA meet 2008

2008-09-25T14:56:00.002-04:00

We brought the motor to a repair shop in Salt Lake City at 7:00 am Wednesday morning. Fortunately Salt lake city is also the home to the worlds largest mine, and lots of electric motors are involved in the mining industry. We located a shop that is well versed in motor repair, and had them do some more diagnostics.

It only took them about 2 minutes to determine that the motor had a problem inside, and they would have to open it up.

Once the motor was opened, it was clear we had some short circuits between the rotor and the stator of the motor. This was surprising to us, as the motor had no signs of this fault in any of the August runs.

The motor shop normally operates 9am - 5pm, and we asked what it would take to get the motor back to us by Thursday night. They said they would have to order a lot more copper coil wire, and work around the clock, but it was possible to do in time.

We gave them the go-ahead to start the repair. The winding process it self only takes a trained technician about 4 hours, but there are many other time consuming heat and chemical processes involved in breaking down the old insulation, and installing the new insulation.

We are expecting to get our motor back late tonight or early Friday morning. In the mean-time we have been load-bank testing the fuel cells, and checking all other vehicle systems to be sure the car is ready to go in every-other aspect. Also today we will do a complete rehearsal of the 1-hour pit stop turn-around.

We are hoping to get performance similar to speed-week in August, and will go for as many runs on Friday as they will allow us.

The good news is many of the cars are still struggling with problems, and there will be other teams who want to race on Friday also. We are hoping for a full day of running. Friday will likely be a busy day, so for more up-to-the-minute updates you can check www.landracing.com.

Update 2 - Bonneville FIA meet 2008

2008-09-23T17:42:00.002-04:00

Just when you think you’ve seen every possible problem with the car, something new pops up. As of this time all signs are pointing to a problem with our electric motor. Here is how we got to this point.

We spent all of yesterday fighting off what we thought was an inverter problem. Before coming back out to the salt, we thought we had made the changes needed to get all the extra power the fuel cells were making to be put through the inverter and into the motor.

Just before we wanted to push to the start line, we decided to do a spin test of the wheels, and found the wheel spin to be jerky and uncontrollable with the throttle pedal. We tried all the normal checks with no success, so decided to revert to all the settings and parts used in our successful runs in August. This resulted in the same problem.

Next we hooked the fuel cells up to our resistor load bank, to be absolutely sure they were providing power and working properly. The worked flawlessly. Frustrated and confused we went home well after the sun had set on the Salt Flats.

We came back in the morning with some sunlight to work, and some fresh ideas, and all signs pointing to the inverter. Luckily Ford had provided us with a new spare inverter left over from their Hyrdrogen 999 program. We programmed this to work for us, and tried another spin test with the same jerky poor results.

At this point we were forced to consider that our most reliable part of the car, the part that powered the Bullet 1 to its battery electric record, the motor, might be having a problem.

Initial testing is confirming that the motor might be the problem. Obviously we don’t have the tools on hand to do full diagnostics or any repairs on the salt. We are contacting some electric motor repair shops in the Salt Lake City area to see if they might be able to perform some more advanced diagnostics, and possibly open and repair our motor.

Unfortunately our motor is a very special motor custom built to allow us to attain these speeds, so off the shelf replacement isn’t possible. Ford built an exact copy of our motor to power the Hydrogen 999 vehicle, but the vehicle is currently on a show tour in Europe, so any chance of them sending us the motor is impossible.

The week is getting shorter, but we are pushing to keep things moving. Hopefully more to come…

Bad luck is apparently not only playing games in our pits. The Speed Demon ran the first day and their engine-bay caught on fire and destroyed their turbo engine. They are currently rebuilding a naturally aspirated motor to go for a different record. The Royal Purple car destroyed their 3^rd engine in as many years as they have gone for FIA records on their first run of the meet. Some of the other vehicles are running but their records are proving hard to beat.

Report 1 - Bonneville FIA event 2008

2008-09-22T12:09:00.003-04:00

From the Bonneville Salt Flats: 9:45 AM 22 September 2008

Here on the Salt Flats, the temperature is in the low 70’s and warming with light winds and not a cloud in the sky.

The team arrived in Wendover on Saturday night, and drove the 1.3 miles to the pit area for the first time Sunday morning to begin setting up the pits. The team all pulled together and quickly spread the tarps, erected the tents, and unloaded the trailers. After setup, final fitment on some modified body mounts began.

The body mounts changes were required due to some aero issues discovered during the August trip when higher than ever speed were reached, and were hindered by hurricane Ike and the electrical outages in Columbus. Last evening, the modifications were completed, and fueling of the car began to allow startup testing before the team retired to the hotel for the evening.

This morning found the team on the Salt at 7:00AM waiting for a light rain to pass the area. Because of the rain, the track is closed but expected to open soon; so the team is doing final fuel cell tests in preparation for a run today.

If the weather cooperates we expect to get the first run in around 12:00 local time.

More to come......

GO BUCKS, GO FAST....

Broken Axles, Hurricanes, and Power Outages… oh my

2008-09-19T12:01:00.001-04:00

Well, the perfect storm of bad luck did its best to hold us back from going to Bonneville again, but despite Murphy’s best efforts, the car is on the trailer on its way to Bonneville.

The string of bad luck started on the drive back, when our push truck towing our equipment trailer broke down. After spending 10 days being repaired in Salt Lake City, the truck hit the road again, only this time it managed to make it to the middle-of-nowhere Wyoming before breaking down again. With the short timing of our planned return, the trailer had to sit and wait in Wyoming for us to return.

So, with our tools, generators, and resistor load bank stuck in Wyoming, the team decided our best bet would be to get the car on the Dyno at CAR, and make sure everything would be ready for Bonneville, so we got the motor installed on the dyno-stand by borrowing tools where we could. Then Hurricane Ike decided to join in the fun.

You wouldn’t think a hurricane would cause any problems here in middle of the country, but somehow the extents of the storm caused the jet stream air to dip low, and put most of Ohio in sustained winds of 70-100 MPH for about 6 hours. This knocked out power all over the state, and included us here at car. Some people in Columbus are still without power today.

Now, normally we are equipped to do all kinds of work on the Salt flats without electricty by using our generators and portable equipment, even portable internet. But that equipment was, of course, all still in the trailer.

So we borrowed generators, and wired up temporary lighting in the shop where we could, but without power the dyno could not be run. 3 days later the power was restored, but then the timing was too tight and the time (and electricity) had to be used to get the car reassembled and prepped for shipping to Bonneville.

The power came back on 9:00 PM Tuesday, and most of us literally worked straight through until about 5:00 PM Thursday to get the car loaded up and back on its way to Bonneville.

Hopefully all this bad luck is behind us, it should be a great week at Bonneville!

New Push Start Video

2008-09-16T09:32:00.008-04:00

I just got some new video copied over, and I think you will all enjoy it. It's a video of one of our push starts at Speed Week 2008, and it was taken in HD, from the hood of our push truck. The video is below, but I recommend clicking on the link to watch it in full quality. My favorite part is right at 4:47 when the mist trail starts coming off the side of the car at full power.

Back to the salt flats...

2008-09-16T02:40:00.003-04:00

After returning from the salt flats, sending the fuel cells to Ballard Power Systems in Vancouver, BC for some maintenance and repair, the fuel cells have returned, and are being reinstalled into the Buckeye Bullet 2. The team is preparing for the Top 1 Oil World Land Speed Shootout, where they will continue to push the limits of the vehicle, trying to best the record set last year in the flying mile at 132.129 MPH. Look for more updates on this event to come soon!

[Source: Top 1 Oil]