Dry Lakes Racers Australia

Baffles are fine, I won't need much water. 20L or so I believe is my guess. (Haven't got any data other than talking to a few people) I believe the Doble steam motor revved out at 750rpm and was clocked above 100mph. I'm looking at a similar displacement in my engine, but not designing the engine to...

Hey David, The bolt together also assists with working on it, I can build the entire rear end then just bolt it in place. Certainly makes it cheaper to build and test initially. With regards to the transmission, a bit more theory on steam engine operation. Steam engines, unlike turbines and the Otto...

Rob wrote:I'm guessing you have it covered but...remember to well baffle your water tank(s).

Thank you Rob for the pickup!! I had completely forgotten about watertank baffles! (My train has a tall tank instead of a long one so doesn't suffer from the problem)

Sorry! I'll try and explain a bit below, but I doubt it's much better. You have a couple of different methods of producing steam in a car, these can be loosely summarised as one of the following; Fire Tube Boiler - The traditional boiler used in locomotives, powerplants and the Stanley Steamer. Wate...

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to add more cylinders/expansion room in the engine itself. Where you run into issues is the production of enough steam to feed the engine. The engine may only be 150mm across but the steam generator powering that is the size of a coffee table. The Pom's car suffered from...

Yep that's the current record holder. The Pom's turbine behemoth. Weighs in at a couple of ton and the only way they managed to get it to go as fast as they did was pack it full of dry ice. Cost a lot to build as well! Thanks for the link and the picture, I hadn't seen if from that angle before. Nic...

By the way, your Dad's JPS "Lotus 79" looked great. Was it quick? For a speedway car I think it was, I don't think dad's brother managed to keep it out of the walls for long though. Dad's brother moved onto race boats, (Airborne) and now runs Horizon boats. That happened before I came alo...

Thanks Reverend, I was looking through the rule book and read that each wheel must be sprung, not that each sprung wheel much have a shock. (Pays to read the rule book a few times) What's the vibration like without shocks? You're right on the vibe, this is a fun project and it need not be shoehorned...

The ability to use other power plants is useful, but ultimately I'm treating this as a fun project to build a steam power plant. Call me crazy, but conventional power plants don't really appeal as much I'm sorry to say. The ultimate speed I go isn't as much of a concern. I'l love to get above the 10...

Hello all, It's been one hell of a Christmas and new year. So much to be done and not enough time to do it. David: Mark Webber/Mercedes style backflips are not on the agenda. That's a prime example of them not doing enough time in the wind tunnel and designing an aerofoil. The moment the nose lifted...

Hello David, It does a bit now doesn't it! The chassis pictured is 1m from ground to top with the exit strategy through the top! The coverings over the wheels are only half done and I'm yet to add in the rest. What I was envisioning was something that looks like a Le Mans car, with the streamlining ...

I've given up trying to get the time to complete this this side of Christmas, so I'm putting it up as a tease. http://steam-racer.com/Archive/Chassis%20Render.jpg Been way to busy with work and just have not stopped the last few weeks. Not finished yet, just nailing down the rollcage. Moreover, I'm ...

How big is the steam engine and all its ancillaries? How much water will you need for each run? I was also thinking about fire safety, how small can you get the LPG cylinder? A skinny cylinder would fit nicely in the tail of the car and be a long way from you. How fast do you think you can get the ...

Nice one! I'm not the only crazy steam guy! I started looking at a kart chassis, then realized the control valves would not fit on the chassis. Then moved to a f500 chassis, which I am now aware as not being up to scratch safety wise. (Tube sizes along with me just being too large in all directions)...

Early days at the moment, but I'm well underway. I'd be expecting around 3 years from now, depending on finances etc. Either way it's a long term project and I want to do it right. Some bits are easy, the steam generator's coils will take a weekend. The motor I'll be doing some machining, but will p...