Hi all,
Go Kart speed to Horsepower question.
Working towards an electric go kart.
The end result of this quest is to find the hp needed to drive a go kart at a certain speed.
The text I'm reading tells me, Work = Force x Displacement
The displacement will be 44 ft-----in 1 sec, (30mph)
The Force? How do I find or calculate the Force?
Assume 400 lb go kart with 50 lb rolling resistance (wag), and no wind resistance.
Can I connect a scale to the go kart and pull it a slow speed to find the force?
Will the speed I pull it matter?
Let's assume I get an answer of, Force = 40 lbs (again a wag)
So, Work = Force x Displacement
40 lbs x 44 ft = 1760 ft-lbs Work = 1760ft-lbsThen;
Power = Work / time So, Power = 1760ft-lbs / 1 sec
Now to calculate Horsepower
1HP = 550 ft-lbs / secSo a conversion of ft-lbs/sec to Horsepower
P = 1760 ft-lbs /sec x 1HP/550ft-lbs / sec = 3.2 HP
( huh, good wag, bet I'm within a factor of 2) :-)
Two questions;
Did I work through that properly?
How do I find the Force?
Mike
PS. Do you know of group that better fits this topic?