Rehab1 Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 I have been invited to the Michigan Technical Resource Park tomorrow morning to hopefully begin testing my ACM 1600. The proving grounds was originally owned by Dana Corporation but was purchased a number of years ago by some local investors. The company has various auto manufacturers and car enthusiasts come out and use their testing grounds but never an EUC! "An EUC riding around on the auto proving grounds will be a first" according to the president of MTRP Mike Jones.The entire facility sits on 320 acres including 112,000 sq feet of office space. Pretty sure I will need to sign a 'Not Responsible for Personal Injury ' waiver but that's OK. Hopefully I will be able to obtain some beneficial temperature data on the ACM along with some photos and aerial footage to share soon. I am also going to take my wife's new KS 16S on the course if time allows. Here is some info and photos of their test tracks: Oval track You can test vehicles at speeds up to 90 MPH with this three lane, 1.75 mile concrete track with a ½ mile straightaway. The oval track also includes a 6 degree, 15 minute track bank and 12 degree, 30 minute subtended spirals. This track should be awesome! Grade Hill Grade hill course, complete with a concrete portion at 20% and 30% grade, and an earth portion at 45% and 60% grade. Perfect for testing brakes, clutch, driveline loading, shocks, and EUCs! Durability Route Assess and evaluate the durability of your vehicle with this 5 mile unimproved gravel road course. This track is designed to replicate real world usage so that you can determine reliability and longevity. This could be interesting. I will need to see the surface first. Burma Road 300 feet of cobblestone. To ensure stability of the course surface, cobblestones are embedded into a concrete base. Ugh...not sure about this one. Rail Road Tracks & Potholes This rail road crossing or potholes simulation course is set up to evaluate vehicle stability, safety, endurance, reliability, and ride comfort....not EUCs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kour Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 sweet! crush it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunka Hunka Burning Love Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 Gonna be some Mavic footage? That would be awesome to get some aerial views and chase scenes. Maybe watch some "Top Gear" to get some ideas. Would be epic to have a film crew to help do the shoot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Backe Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 3 hours ago, Rehab1 said: I have been invited to the Michigan Technical Resource Park tomorrow morning to hopefully begin testing my ACM 1600. The proving grounds was originally owned by Dana Corporation but was purchased a number of years ago by some local investors. The company has various auto manufacturers and car enthusiasts come out and use their testing grounds but never an EUC! That is very cool. Look forward to your results. I would not want to ride the wheel on those cobblestones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rehab1 Posted July 28, 2017 Author Share Posted July 28, 2017 3 hours ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said: Gonna be some Mavic footage? That would be awesome to get some aerial views and chase scenes. Maybe watch some "Top Gear" to get some ideas. Would be epic to have a film crew to help do the shoot. 1 hour ago, Marty Backe said: That is very cool. Look forward to your results. I would not want to ride the wheel on those cobblestones Only if my wife felt that way. I should not have told her. She's ok now once I explained I would be geared up. This meeting happened so fast that I should have had the wherewithal to hire a videographer. Heck I don't even know the cost yet. It will be nice to get some different shots both on the ground and in the air. I hate being rushed so I hope this guy does not have some outrageous hourly rate. I'll find out tomorrow. @Marty Backe when you use the wheellog do you download the files afterward on a separate app or just record the screen? Fortunately the temperature data logger is easy. Just set and forget. So at some point in time I will be recording wheel data, temperature data and flying a drone at the same time. Ugh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Backe Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 25 minutes ago, Rehab1 said: Only if my wife felt that way. I should not have told her. She's ok now once I explained I would be geared up. This meeting happened so fast that I should have had the wherewithal to hire a videographer. Heck I don't even know the cost yet. It will be nice to get some different shots both on the ground and in the air. I hate being rushed so I hope this guy does not have some outrageous hourly rate. I'll find out tomorrow. @Marty Backe when you use the wheellog do you download the files afterward on a separate app or just record the screen? Fortunately the temperature data logger is easy. Just set and forget. So at some point in time I will be recording wheel data, temperature data and flying a drone at the same time. Ugh. I don't record my WheelLog data. I just use if for real-time monitoring of my battery, speed, and temperature. Swipe from the left to configure WheelLog - what to record and where to save the log files. Then be sure to enable the logging when you start the app (upper right corner). You should be able to drag the files off the phone and do want you want (I think people paste it into a spreadsheet to plot it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunka Hunka Burning Love Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 Ah skip the drone. It's not important. I just thought it might be perfect to have it do a follow mode around the track. It sounds like you've got a lot going on while you're there already! Gimbal steady footage will do fine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rehab1 Posted July 28, 2017 Author Share Posted July 28, 2017 7 hours ago, Marty Backe said: I don't record my WheelLog data. I just use if for real-time monitoring of my battery, speed, and temperature. Swipe from the left to configure WheelLog - what to record and where to save the log files. Then be sure to enable the logging when you start the app (upper right corner). You should be able to drag the files off the phone and do want you want (I think people paste it into a spreadsheet to plot it. Thanks! I might just take some screen shots along the way and leave the recording for areas such as hill climbing and speed. 5 hours ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said: Ah skip the drone. It's not important. I just thought it might be perfect to have it do a follow mode around the track. It sounds like you've got a lot going on while you're there already! Gimbal steady footage will do fine! The Mavic will definitely be used. I finally have a safe area with no trees, obstacles and pedestrians to worry about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rehab1 Posted July 29, 2017 Author Share Posted July 29, 2017 Awesome day at the Michigan Technical Resource Park proving grounds! http://www.mitrp.com/ First I sat down this morning with Mike, the president of the company, to discuss my reason for utilizing his facility. I then turned on the ACM and rode around his large conference room. He then became very interested in the BLDC motor and amount of torque it offered. I then received a personal tour of his massive 112,000 sq foot indoor facilities some of which include data logging equipment for military and civilian conveyances, a full CNC machine shop, aircraft simulators, testing and prototype of anything you can dream up, electrical engineering, data and logistics, etc! Then I visited this huge auditorium that commands an hydraulic floor located up by the front stage. Large trucks can be pulled over the platform and then the floor is raised up so the audience can inspect the undercarriage. Now off to the proving grounds. Mike was really interested to see if the ACM could climb a 20 degree grade. Once I accomplished the hill climb he asked if I could transverse a 30 degree incline. I went onto the other side of the hill and there before my eyes appeared this miniature 30 degree mountain. The ACM handled the climb effortlessly. Mike was so interested in the high torque BLDC motor capabilities that he wants my old ACM motor to inspect and rebuild. We then headed back to headquarters for me to sign a contract for the use of the proving grounds. I purchased 2 hours on their 2 mile oval track which was not near enough time to complete any testing but fortunately I can return to the facility at anytime and select the track or the hill climb. Regarding my ride around the oval track you have the sensation of traveling so much slower compared to riding on roads and trails. I guess it's due the massive size of the open surroundings. Mike did give me permission to fly my Mavic drone to record my ride but I had to keep the altitude at a minimum as their is confidential testing going on throughout the grounds. You may see in my upcoming video a large truck in the background that was performing payload testing. I did not focus on any data logging today as it was so hectic trying to ride, record and fly a drone in bright sunlight. I need a second pair of hands! I also did not have access to the hill climb area after the initial test which will be perfect for the temperature data logger. Being I can continually use the test facility in the future it will be great to focus on the 20 and 30 degree grade hill climbs. The video of my experience should be complete by morning will be posted on the video thread. What a fun day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunka Hunka Burning Love Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 Sounds like fun! How much do they charge for two hours? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rehab1 Posted July 29, 2017 Author Share Posted July 29, 2017 7 minutes ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said: Sounds like fun! How much do they charge for two hours? Somehow I knew you would be the first to ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunka Hunka Burning Love Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 That's not too bad for free use of the facility. Can you bring more people for the same rate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rehab1 Posted July 29, 2017 Author Share Posted July 29, 2017 8 hours ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said: That's not too bad for free use of the facility. Can you bring more people for the same rate? I did not think so. My wife's mouth dropped a bit. No unfortunately additional people with my hobby would not be allowed. Traditionally you need a $2m liability policy. We had to work out a plan. Sorry but I can't discuss it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Westland Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 On 7/28/2017 at 0:15 AM, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said: Ah skip the drone. It's not important. I just thought it might be perfect to have it do a follow mode around the track. It sounds like you've got a lot going on while you're there already! Gimbal steady footage will do fine! I have had my DJI Spark for a few weeks and am still trying to get it to properly follow me around. For the DJI videos it looks easy to pull off, but I'm still working on it. One downside is that I live in the city in Chicago (a block away from Wrigley Field) and this area has a cell tower capacity for 10's of thousands of simultaneous calls, so the electromagnetic and magnetic interference from trains is huge ... it really messes up drone tracking systems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunka Hunka Burning Love Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 I guess it's all relative. I remember paying $80 per half an hour for a SeaDoo rental at Sylvan lake. That included the wetsuit and life jacket rental. The canoe rental at Lake Louise was about $105 per hour! Being allowed to use a huge test facility like that seems pretty good in comparison! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rehab1 Posted July 29, 2017 Author Share Posted July 29, 2017 Here it is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Backe Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 5 hours ago, Rehab1 said: Here it is! Great video. The time probably went way to fast. So how fast did you take the ACM? When the drone was following you what was your approx speed. The scale of this place is so huge it probably makes the wheel feel slow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slaughthammer Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 8 hours ago, Rehab1 said: Here it is! Uh... those slopes look look like they are 20% and 30%, not 20 or 30 degrees! The signs next to them indicate the same. that's a huge difference, with 20% beeing around 11° and 30% about 17° Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rehab1 Posted July 30, 2017 Author Share Posted July 30, 2017 15 hours ago, Marty Backe said: So how fast did you take the ACM? When the drone was following you what was your approx speed. The scale of this place is so huge it probably makes the wheel feel slow Not sure about the speed but the drone did have a hard time keeping up. I set up the wheellog but and came home to edit the video and check the log but then all hell broke loose (work related.) I packed up and headed to lake the lake for some R&R. Not looking forward to tomorrow morning! 23 hours ago, Chris Westland said: For the DJI videos it looks easy to pull off, but I'm still working on it. When using the active track follow mode it works best if you wear contrast colors. The bright green vest was not my idea as I was mandated to wear it while on the track but it paid off as the drone never lost sight of me. 11 hours ago, Slaughthammer said: Uh... those slopes look look like they are 20% and 30%, not 20 or 30 degrees! The signs next to them indicate the same. that's a huge difference, with 20% beeing around 11° and 30% about 17° Thanks for the info. I learned something! I found this chart online than helped me further understand the difference between slope percentages and degrees. For anyone interested the red numbers on the chart indicate the slope percentages and the corresponding numbers above indicate the slope measured in degrees. So the 30% slope = 16.7 degrees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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