New World Record at Bandimere 7.890 second (also 174 MPH!)

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The KillaCycle®, ridden by Scotty Pollacheck, made drag racing history AGAIN at Bandimere Speedway October 23rd, 2008. 7.89 seconds @ 168 MPH is a new official National Electric Drag Racing Association (NEDRA) record and makes KillaCycle® the world’s quickest electric vehicle of any kind in the quarter mile! This was the very last run down the strip for this season at Bandimere. What a great way to finish the year.

Lightning struck twice on the mountain as we set the new mark for top speed in an earlier run that afternoon, 7.955 seconds@ 174.05 MPH. The M&H Racemaster tire really gripped the awesome track prep provided by Larry Crispe and the crew at Bandimere Speedway. We turned up the launch current to 1850 amps per motor, well beyond what we ever had before, and still did not slip the tire! (The all new temperature-controlled track surface provided the very best possible traction.)

Jim Husted at Hi-Torque Electric did his magic to the motors and they were able to withstand more RPM, current, and voltage from the battery pack than we thought was even possible. This is what delivered the “back half” performance that made the new top speed record possible.

The A123 Systems NanoPosphate batteries are changing the entire landscape for electric vehicles, and battery-powered devices in general.

The History Channel recorded it all that day. The footage will air early in 2009, perhaps February or March.

If you don’t want to wait that long for the professional footage, here is a video clip (digital camera) of the run

(You can go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVv0NVLFPig if the above link doesn’t load)

Nice write-up with a few more interesting facts added in click here on AutoBlogGreen.

Please visit the National Electric Drag Racing Association (NEDRA) site to learn more about fast, exciting, and “green” drag racing.

27 thoughts on “New World Record at Bandimere 7.890 second (also 174 MPH!)”

  1. Thats one scary giant electric drill
    Congratulations!
    P.S. Did a motor go? It seems it doesnt matter it is the fastest EV in the world.

    We “sindged” one motor slightly. We turned the bike around a bit too fast and the motors did not have time to cool off enough between runs.

  2. Congratulations to the KillACycle team.
    Another great ending for the year.
    Are your motors AC? If so, is that why you reached
    a higher speed?

  3. We are still running DC motors. We are always finding better ways to make them take more HP, however.

    AC is is coming soon, but is not completed yet.

  4. Hey Bill & Scotty!

    Good job! I wish there were more people in the stands to get to see you break your old record! We look forward to seeing you back at P.I.R. sometime… (^:

    Congratulations!! (^: Carol

  8. First i would like to congratulate Bill the owner and Scotty the driver for their new record. I don`t think that AC drive will do what DC drive can, but anyway good luck and keep it up.

  9. Congratulations on the 7.89s run! According to Jim’s blog (http://www.hitorqueelectric.com/index.php?s=killacycle ), the brushes in Killacycle’s motors tend to take a beating and be a weak point. Switching to AC drive will eliminate the brushes but we’ll have to wait and see how the “magic smoke” finds it’s escape next. So far, controllers and motors sound like the weakest links; at some point won’t their power handling capacity catch up with the A123 pack!?

  10. Hello from one of the guys who worked on your pack that came from Bolder Technologies.

    I’m sorry I didn’t get to see the bike return as a winner to the old stomping grounds…

    On the burnout incident; at least it didn’t happen when the bike was in the lobby of our building. >8->…

  11. It’s so awkward how quiet it is before the burnout and during staging

  12. Very very cool.When your mans not asleep at the lights for half a second hes gonna do a 6.99. See you in NZ
    Stage tight,react on yellow begone on green not having a snooze LOL

  13. it is really quiet but i dont know. i guess ill still ride it

    You have to see it run in person to really appreaciate it. When we ran it at Pomona and put it in the 7′s the first time in front of the All Harley Drag Racing Association crowd (including the Hell’s Angels) they cheered after the burn-out. At the finish line, the entire crowd said, in unison, a hushed “whooooaaaa”.

  14. I saw an electric 4-wheel dragster run at Edgewater Raceway Park outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. Don’t remember what it ran, it was a college project if I remember. Unbelievable speed leaving the starting line!

    That would be John Emde’s dragster, most likely. John has the 60th time record for an electric on the dragstrip.

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