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EV Racing Crash / Vapor

1K views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  Bob Denman 
#1 ·
Saw this link on Jalopnick (https://jalopnik.com/smart-eq-racing-crash-is-both-adorable-and-extremely-in-1838286933). It's a fun video about Electric Smart racing but I have a question.


I have had my Cabrio since 2009 but don't know much about the new Electric smarts. If you watch the video, you will notice that in some scenes, there is Smoke/Steam/Vapor escaping from the front of the car(s) in the "Incidents". Since these are electric, is there still some sort of radiator/cooling system for the Battery and/or Motor? Or is there some other explanation for the vapor cloud.
 
#2 ·
Yes, the Smart ED, and most other electric cars have radiator/cooling systems (which also are used as warming systems in cold weather) for various components like the inverter/controller, charger, battery pack, and in some cases (including the 451 Smart) the motor.

The cooling demands are pretty low though - the coolant never gets more than lukewarm in my ED under normal use, and the radiator fan has never run except when using the AC. But racing is another matter.

What would be interesting to a lot of us is how those racing Smart ED's had their drive train control software modified to remove the speed limit (140 kph/85 mph) and allow continuous wide-open operation.

But more likely, of the stock electric components were replaced with all aftermarket stuff.
 
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