BATTERIES
A well maintained battery is a must in todays race cars. There is more current draw on batteries of todays race cars than any other time in history. This is due to high capacity ignitions, throttle stops, delay boxes, nitrous solenoids & timers, not to mention high amp draw fuel pumps, water pumps and electric fans. With these components demanding their share of juice from the battery, it is easy to see why a battery needs to be well maintained. The best way to do this (at Instant Karma the ONLY way to do this) is with an alternator.An alternator needs to have enough amperage out put to run the components that you have on your race car. At Instant Karma we use two batteries, BUT this is not a necessity. One battery will preform just fine, provided it has the proper set-up.
Also at Instant Karma, we charge the batteries between rounds. Most Importantly during the cooling process to ensure the battery does not lose any of its charge. We believe this keeps the car more consistant, and as we all know... being consistant is key in going more rounds. As for the myth that alternators are a huge draw on engine power, we have seen cars that actually pick up E.T. when an alternator had been installed. This pick up is due to proper ignition voltage. The fuel pump also has more voltage, which in turn allows it to pump more fuel volume which can make the car faster. Even if a car would slow down 2 or 3 hundredths (which most cars DO NOT), an alternator is the only way to go. The race car will be more consistant and give you, the driver, a better chance to win more rounds!!!!!
RELAYS
Relays have a very important place in race car wiring. Relays should be used on a high amp draw components such as fuel pumps, electronic fans and water pumps as well as electric shifter solenoids (some models) and nitrous solenoids. The beauty of relays are that the component (fuel pump kit) will get the proper amount of current with not voltage drop. This is due to the way that they (relays) are wired. A positive wire direct from the battery connect to the relay.
This current is sent to the water pump or any other component that it is hooked to only when you turn the switch in the cockpit on.
In short, the switch tells the relay to send the current to the electric motor. With this system the switch does not have to send the current which allows the switch to live longer and the components gets a better supply of power. It is our opinion at Instant Karma Racing that all race cars should be wired with relays. This is not to say that a race car will not work without relays as many of them do, we just feel this is a superior way to send the proper power to each electric part. This will in turn give the car more consistency which will give you a chance to win more rounds.
RACE CAR WIRING
THE IMPORTANCE OF GROUNDS
When wiring a race car one must always keep in mind that the ground path is as important as
the positive (hot) path. This is due to the fact that no circuit is complete until current reaches the negative side of the battery. If a racer is trying to ground thru the chassis, frame, engine or transmission this can cause a potential problem just due to that certian metals are not as good of conductors of electricity as other metals are. Couple this with the rust, corrosion, rubber isolators, loose bolts and bad welds that the current has to travel thru to get back to the battery it is easy to see why this is a bad idea.
With that being said it is our contention at Instant Karma Racing that the only way to wire a race car is with a direct ground wire from the negative post of the battery going to each electrical component especially the fuel pump, radiator fan and water pump. These high amp draw motors will also draw less amps with the proper grounds which in bulbs etc. are not as critical and can be grounded to the chassis without any problem.
Remember, consistinency is what wins races and good grounds direct from the battery will help you achieve this.
