At track power options | GTAMotorcycle.com

At track power options

Gixxer6

Gixxer6

Well-known member
Hello Ladies and Gents

At the last couple track days i suddenly became extremely irritated by gas generators and began thinking about alternatives.

My question is, are there any alternatives?

I have considered Solar Panels to an controller to a battery then to an inverter
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/3000-watt-pe...236?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item337d95eb74

or
Running something off of the car/truck.

Are these options viable for tire warmers and such?
Do you guys have any other ideas?
Does anyone here use some sort of sound deadening material to mute some of the generators volume?

I'm considering building some sort of set up for the track, any constructive input would be helpful, thanks.
 
Cant you just use a longer extension cord, and put the generator further away from you.
 
Usually a longer extension cord just means the generator is farther from you but closer to someone else.

Buy a honda or yamaha inverter. Problem solved.
 
caboose483 said:
Usually a longer extension cord just means the generator is farther from you but closer to someone else.

Buy a honda or yamaha inverter. Problem solved.
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Not when I went to the track, everyone parked side by side. Put the generator behind your setup, closer to the bushes, not other people...

Meh I dont see a need to invent a new kind of power source, but I guess if your an inventor type why not...Nuclear reactor power maybe
 
JohnnyP636 said:
Not when I went to the track, everyone parked side by side. Put the generator behind your setup, closer to the bushes, not other people...

Meh I dont see a need to invent a new kind of power source, but I guess if your an inventor type why not...Nuclear reactor power maybe
Click to expand...

That won't always work. Certain tracks you can position your generator away from people easily. Other tracks you can't without hundreds of feet of extension cord.
 
Gixxer6 said:
Hello Ladies and Gents

At the last couple track days i suddenly became extremely irritated by gas generators and began thinking about alternatives.
Click to expand...

These track days you were at. Were they track days for electric vehicles?
 
Gixxer6 said:
I have considered Solar Panels to an controller to a battery then to an inverter
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/3000-watt-pe...236?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item337d95eb74

or
Running something off of the car/truck.
Click to expand...

The system you linked to won't run your warmers for very long. The 115Ah battery they recommend will give you 1380W for one hour. The 120W solar panel is about 12% of the power you need to run a typical set of tire warmers. If you nearly deplete your battery first thing in the morning (45 minutes on the warmers) the solar panel won't be able to get enough charge back into the battery during your 15 minute session, and the battery will likely be depleted before lunch. This is assuming it's a cold day and you need to run your warmers all day. If it's a hot summer day you can usually get away with just keeping the tire warmers on the tires but not powered between sessions (about 30 minutes at most 3 group track days) if they have good insulation.

Running if off your car means you're running your car all day. No doubt quieter than a generator, but probably burns more gas and adds wear and tear to your car.

Get 10 of those solar panels and you'd be good to go. Put them all over the top of a covered trailer. That would be pretty awesome.
 
Pretty sure that 120-W panel is 120 W peak. As in, 120 W output at solar noon on a perfectly clear day on June 21 with the panel tracking the sun. These things are about 12% efficient, and maximum solar irradiance in southern Ontario is about 1000 W m2. Panel looks to be about 1 m2...so....
 
caboose483 said:
That won't always work. Certain tracks you can position your generator away from people easily. Other tracks you can't without hundreds of feet of extension cord.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I'm on the grass at grand bend for 2-3 nights..... there is no escape from the rattle boxes even if they are 30-50 feet from you.

I don't care about on-track time... everyone runs their generators. But after lights out? Almost unbearable if you have a clunker (and you'll get the reputation of being the clunker-buyer that annoys people overnight).

I slept 10 feet from my friends Yamaha 4000 and only woke up when it ran out of gas in the middle of the night (once). I'm a heavy sleeper, but I've been annoyed by the KRRRAAAAAAAAAARAAAAAAAARRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAA clunkers from crappy tire time and time again.
 
I think the tracks should consider installing power distribution and charge say $30-50/track day to use their power. No noise, extra source of income. And I truely believe many people would go for that option. A good generator is what $2000-3000 that puts you at 50-100 track days depending on which numbers you use. Or in other words a few years before you could have bought your own generator.
 
Problem solved: get an expensive Honda generator with their low-noise setup. They aren't cheap but they're practically silent.
 
Freestyle72 said:
I think the tracks should consider installing power distribution and charge say $30-50/track day to use their power. No noise, extra source of income. And I truely believe many people would go for that option. A good generator is what $2000-3000 that puts you at 50-100 track days depending on which numbers you use. Or in other words a few years before you could have bought your own generator.
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Buy a Honda EU2000 or Yamaha EF2000 for about $1000. Use it for 4-5 years then sell it for $800.

Power would be nice though. Some tracks do what you describe. Shannonville has 16 outlets that are free but first come first serve.
 
Freestyle72 said:
I think the tracks should consider installing power distribution and charge say $30-50/track day to use their power. No noise, extra source of income. And I truely believe many people would go for that option.
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That will cause a problem itself...... outlet wars.

FYI: a good generator will be about $1,200 (yamaha 1000 inverter brand new) or you can buy a used 1000 watt for $500 if you can find a deal like I did. Your numbers are grossly inflated.

Cherrypickerracing is gold for those inverter deals. But they go FAST
 
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Also, if you have 100 riders using warmers you're going to have a total power consumption of about 90kW.
 
caboose483 said:
Also, if you have 100 riders using warmers you're going to have a total power consumption of about 90kW.
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Makes you think....... we could start our own little permanent shanty town if we stacked all of our generators/inverters together. lol
 
Mr.Azim said:
Makes you think....... we could start our own little permanent shanty town if we stacked all of our generators/inverters together. lol
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Maybe I'll go buy a EU6500 and charge $50/day to plug in?? I'll be rich!!
 
caboose483 said:
Maybe I'll go buy a EU6500 and charge $50/day to plug in?? I'll be rich!!
Click to expand...

That's potentially $300/day.... you could make that money back in a season if you make enough regular track days (99% of people are well equipped/self sufficient for racing).

Lightbulb.
 
I've got a 3200 for the camper. It's loud. Deal. :)
 
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