818e Track Day report- the go kart test

[ehansen007]

Adams Motorsport Park- Riverside, CA "Good god it's like a magic carpet on the ground," we said after an hour long session at the famed karting facility in California's Inland Empire. Trying to describe it escaped us for a while until we calmed down, stopped shaking, and found something more descriptive and G-Rated to call it. But it was different. Very different.

We decided that having a familiar kart track so close and accessible would be the perfect venue to wring out the kinks and tweak where necessary. I used to race KT100s there in the 90's and hosted our FFR time attack there last year so the decision was an easy one. Besides, the car is in "go kart" mode with no body so why not a go kart track?

My dash readout in my trusty Honda Pilot tow vehicle had notified me that we had arrived on the hottest day of the year at the small, family owned facility that also hosts time attack, Mini Enduro, drift night, and the occasional wet t-shirt contest. 100 degress, wet T-shirts? I guess! We staged for an hour setting up cameras, talking strategy, while a few of our other compadres took to the course in their Electric powered VWs for a few laps.

Once all cameras were rolling I took the 818e out for the first few laps. I was once again very happy that we chose this venue because knowing the track meant I could concentrate on the car. First impressions were that steering was effortless. It turns in like a go kart with a very light touch and tracks the line perfectly. The instant torque from the twin AC35 motors means that you can step it out sideways at almost any moment but what’s more impressive is the way it comes back in line. We wanted to get the fun drift moments caught on film so we worked at it on almost every lap. The straightaway brought another new sensation as acceleration onto the straight is brisk, but when you go into 3rd at 50MPH, the torque surge comes back again and it’s on to a new adventure. I can’t wait to get this to Laguna Seca! Chassis balance is spot on and with only the FFR manual-supplied setup info and manual alignment, the car felt very neutral with no sway bar. It’s no wonder as the CG is very low as all the battery boxes are centered in line with the wheel hubs and only necessary chassis and controller weight weight is above the hub-line. So with the 215/40/18 Hankook Ventus V12 Evo’s (chosen more for milage purposes) set at 22.5PSI the car would create noise in the turns but it was very predictable and never snapped. I can’t imagine what it would be like on on 888’s or NT-05s with some further suspension tuning! Only (track) time will tell.



I did my normal 4 lap stints, being fairly conservative, coming in and checking heat, battery state, and then going back out for more video. I also kept coming back in because I was eager to let the EV West guys get some seat time as see how amazing the car was with their EV design propelling it.

Michael Bream was the first to hop in and it was on from there. He pushed the car much harder than I did taking it in deep on every corner and spinning tires coming out. The tire noise might as well have been screams of joy as he tortured our poor little creation for about 20 laps. He went off track more than a few times trying to find the limit and even caught a wheel on the inside edge of a corner which is now due for replacement. After he got out, several expletives were thrown out to the tone of “It’s just so fun to drive, I want to stay out there all day!” To which we replied, “Yeah, we know!” I think we’ll have a new kit order being made very soon.

Matt Hauber had just come in from taking his Pike’s Peak Winning EV BMW out on the track and quite frankly, it’s a lot of car for that track. And I’ve seen Cobras, Vette’s, and 800HP Pro Touring rigs out there! So to jumping in the 1700lb 818 Go Kart was shedding some girth. He too came of the came out of the car so beside himself he couldn’t believe it. This was extremely rewarding as Matt and I worked side-by-side a lot on this build and I couldn’t have done it without him.



At 6PM our time was up which worked out well because we had really worked the car hard and created some heat. The batteries were getting low so we decided to take some photos and let it cool off. All in all it was a fantastic day and we stuck around and watched the sun set while the Subaru vs. Mitsubishi Time Attack was just starting up and had a beer.

[Santiago]

Great write up! So good to hear feedback from folks who are starting to track their cars. Such a cool build so far too!

Best,
-j

[Mechie3]

Nice pics! Makes me excited to be hopefully go karting soon.

[Evan78]

It'd be great to get a few 818's out to Adams at the same time once there are a few completed in the area. I can't believe there's not more in SoCal on the 818 registry map.

Is any raw video available for viewing?

[jayguy]

Awesome, sounds like you all had a blast, and built a fantastic car! Can't wait to see video of it in action.

[WIS89]

Wow, what a great day! I really enjoyed your write-up, and it looks like everybody had a blast!

Thanks for sharing, and I look forward to watching as she gets all wrapped up.

Really very exciting!

Regards,

Steve

[svanlare]

Sounds great. Posting the video anywhere?

[rtz]

At 19 seconds in; some brief footage:

[Flamshackle]

wow! what a sensation!

[ehansen007]

Yes we are working on the video now.

[Aspaholic]

That VW bus making the round in the background looked more out of place than an FFR go-kart!

[ehansen007]

It's amazing how fast you can go when you remove 200lbs of glass. I can imagine that bus needed some Advil after that work out. At over 50 years old it's joints have got to be sore!

[ZwickFF]

Eric,

Are you going to bring that machine out to the FF Huntington show? I'd really like to see it. At least I hope to see you there and we can have a beer and talk about it.

[lsxsean]

Very cool

[D K]

Ahhhhh
Adams

Nothing like going through big Monza in a shifter kart....

[ehansen007]

Eric,

Are you going to bring that machine out to the FF Huntington show?

Glenn, does a wookie crap in the forest bushes of Endor? You bet!

That one's for you Hodgkins!

[David Hodgkins]

NNNNNNNNNNNNN GGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNN



I'll have to get back to you on that. Has anyone seen my coffee?!?

[SkiRideDrive]

Awesome. I run Adams all the time on the supermoto.

[Canadian818]

Where's the vid?

[Evan78]

Just got an automated email that a video is up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8bV8SKeQOo