Name Lux Aeterna Lux Perpetua Lux Millennia John Lee John Lee 1.5 John Lee 2.0
Number 480 7 7 77 77 77
Configuration 3 Wheeled Inverted Tricycle (Tail Dagger) 4 Wheeled Traditional Car 4 Wheeled Traditional Car 3 Wheeled Tricycle 3 Wheeled Tricycle 4 Wheeled Traditional Car
Drive 1 rear 1 rear 1 rear 1 front 1 left rear 1 left rear
Steer 2 front 2 front 2 front 1 front 1 front 2 front
Dimensions (LxWxH) 5.9m x 1.9m x 1.0m 5.3m x 2.0m x 1.0m ? 5.0m x 1.8m x 1.0m 5.0m x 1.8m x 1.0m 5.0m x 1.8m x 1.0m
Weight (incl. 80 kg driver) 484 kg 300 kg 360 kg 240 kg 254 kg Approx. 270 kg
Completed June 1997 June 1999 March 2002 July 2003 March 2004 July 2005
Design Time 21 months 13 months 9 months 7 months ? ?
Construction Time 9 months 20 months 12 months ? ?
Approximate cost (incl. in-kind donations) $240,000 $350,000 ? $400,000 ? ?
Number of team members 16 34 17 13 8 8
Races entered Sunrayce 97 Sunrayce 99 - ASC 03 Phaethon 04 NASC 05
Finish 9th, 1st Rookie Team 15th - Did not qualify (electrical and braking problems) 7th Did not qualify (suspension failure)
Body
Body Construction Flat panels with a wet-layup nose Wet layup in fiberglass molds made from CNCed plugs Wet layup in fiberglass molds made from plywood and Lexan plugs Autoclaved prepregs in fiberglass molds made from CNCed plugs The John Lee 1.5 and 2.0 used the same body as The John Lee
Body Skin 0.25" (6.4 mm) prefab carbon-Nomex panels - two layers of 2.47 oz/yd^2 (84 g/m^2) unidirectional carbon tape (in 0/90;45/45 arrangement) and one layer of 108 S-glass scrim both pre-impregnated with F515 resin; 0.25" (6.4mm) 3 oz/yd^2 (102 g/m^2) Kevlar-Nomex array panel 2 layers each 2 oz/yd^2 (68 g/m^2) fiberglass and 1.8 oz/yd^2 (61 g/m^2) bi-directional Kevlar Kevlar top; carbon fiber bottom 1 layer Cytec Kevlar top, 1 layer Hexcel carbon fiber bottom; prepreg
Body Core Hexcel HRH-10 Nomex, 1.8 lbs/ft^3 (29 kg/m^3) Hexcel HRH-10 Nomex, 1.8 and 3 lbs/ft^3 (29 and 28 kg/m^3) 0.25" (6.4 mm) Nomex 0.3125" (8 mm) Nomex top, 0.4" (10.2 mm) Nomex bottom
Body rib material 0.25" (6.4 mm) prefab carbon-Nomex panels 0.4" (10.2 mm) prefab fiberglass-Nomex panels 0.4" (10.2 mm) prefab fiberglass-Nomex panels 0.25" prefab carbon-Nomex panels
Canopy material Celcast acrylic Celcast acrylic Lexan Acrylic
Canopy manufacture Thermotech Team Lux Team Lux Team Lux/Sikorsky Aircraft
Frame
Frame material W7A 10A ceramic matrix Al W7A 10A ceramic matrix Al Lux Millennia was built on the same mechanical platform as Lux Perpetua 3-2.5 Ti The John Lee 1.5 used the same tube frame and steering system as The John Lee 0.75" (19 mm) high density Nomex core and wrapped with 2 plies AGP370-5H/3501-6 Hexcel carbon fiber arranged at 45°/-45° and 6 plies of unidirectional Cytec carbon fiber tape at 0°. 0.125" (3 mm) 6061 Al hard-points laid-up directly into the frame
Frame size 1.25"x0.060" (32x1.5 mm) tube 1.25"x0.060" (32x1.5 mm) tube 2.5"x0.037" (64x0.9 mm) tube reinforced with three plies of carbon fiber Variable, typically 5.12" (130 mm) thick
Frame welded at Yale University, Gibbs Shop Brewer's Dauntless Shipyard Sikorsky Aircraft Cured in autoclave at Sikorsky Aircraft
Seat Molded fiberglass from Stallion Racing Milk crate wedge and assorted padding Foam and composites ?
Safety Belt Simpson 5-point racing harness Simpson 5-point racing harness Simpson 5-point racing harness Simpson 5-point racing harness
Design and Analysis I-DEAS Master Series Algor, AutoCAD, SEA through EDS's online server ANSYS/DesignSpace, Cosmos SolidWorks, COSMOSWorks ANSYS/DesignSpace
Steering Rack and pinion Rack and pinion manufactured by Stiletto Push/Pull using 1"x0.045" (25x1.1 mm) 3003 Al tubes supported by nylon linear bushings and connected to 7075T6 Al steering arms Push/Pull using 1"x0.045" (25x1.1 mm) 3003 Al tubes to 6061T6 Al and 304 stainless steel linkage with adjustable mechanical advantage
Braking Dual front hydraulic disk brakes Dual front hydraulic disk brakes Front/rear mechanical disk brakes Front/rear hydraulic disk brakes Dual front hydraulic disk brakes
Brake actuator Pedal Pedal integrated with dual master cylinders Bicycle hand grip Bicycle hand grip to custom-built master cylinder Bicycle hand grip to AP Racing CP4325 Dual-Bore Master Cylinder
Front Wheel(s)
Suspension type Double-wishbone A-arms Double-wishbone A-arms Lux Millennia was built on the same mechanical platform as Lux Perpetua Double-wishbone a-arm Aircraft style telescoping strut Double-wishbone A-arms
Suspension material A-arms: 1.25"x0.085" (32x2.2 mm) 4130 steel tube; upright: 1" (25 mm) square 4130 steel tube A-arms: 0.625"x0.125" (16x3.2 mm) 4130 steel tube; upright: 0.125" (3.2 mm) 6061T6 Al plate welded into box shape A-arms: 1.25"x0.045" (32x1.1 mm) 3-2.5 Ti tube with 6-4 Ti flanges and plugs; upright: machined from solid 6061T6 Al billet 6061T6 Al Upright and A-arms machined from solid 6061T6 Al billets
Shocks Carrera coil springs "Mini Koni" oil-damped coil over shocks with custom springs Rock Shox SID air shock Integrated in strut Rock Shox Pro series coil over with Risse Racing custom springs
Axle Weld Racing press fit steel spindles none (motor mount) ground and polished 1018 steel ground and polished 1018 steel
Hub Weld Racing custom Al hubs none (motor mount) custom Al hubs custom Al hubs
Rim Weld Racing Dragster Frontrunners, 17"x2.5" (432x64 mm) steel NCM SC-W100, 14"x2.25" (356x57 mm) Al Custom, 16"x2.15" (406x55 mm) carbon fiber NCM SC-W100, 14"x2.25" (356x57 mm) Al NCM SC-W100, 14"x2.25" (356x57 mm) Al
Tire Goodyear D1121 Bridgestone Ecopia Michelin Solar Car Radial Bridgestone Ecopia Bridgestone Ecopia
Brake Two Enginetics calipers on each wheel One Enginetics 700B dual caliper on each wheel Avid MTB caliper Custom two-piston caliper machined from Al Custom two-piston caliper machined from Al
Rear Wheel(s)
Suspension type Trailing arm- single shear Trailing arm- single shear Lux Millennia was built on the same mechanical platform as Lux Perpetua Trailing arms- double shear Trailing arms- single shear Double-wishbone A-arms
Suspension material 4130 steel square tube 0.125" (3.2 mm) 6061T6 Al plate welded into box shape 1"x0.037" (25x1 mm) 3-2.5 Ti tube with 0.25" (6.4 mm) 6-4 Ti flanges and plugs 6061T6 Al Upright and A-arms machined from solid 6061T6 Al billets
Spring Carrera coil spring "Mini Koni" oil-damped coil over shocks with custom springs Rock Shox SID air shocks Rock Shox SID air shocks Rock Shox Pro series coil over with Risse Racing custom springs
Axle none (motor mount) press fit steel spindles Custom Ti axle bolt ground and polished 1018 steel ground and polished 1018 steel
Hub none (motor mount) Custom Al hubs Custom Al hubs Custom Al hubs Custom Al hubs
Rim NCM SC-W100, 14"x2.25" (356x57 mm) Al NCM SC-W100, 14"x2.25" (356x57 mm) Al NCM SC-W100, 14"x2.25" (356x57 mm) Al NCM SC-W100, 14"x2.25" (356x57 mm) Al NCM SC-W100, 14"x2.25" (356x57 mm) Al
Tire Bridgestone Ecopia Bridgestone Ecopia Bridgestone Ecopia Bridgestone Ecopia Bridgestone Ecopia
Brake none none Avid MTB calipers ? none
Electrical
Motor Type In-hub brushless axial flux In-hub brushless axial flux In-hub brushless axial flux In-hub brushless axial flux The John Lee 1.5 and 2.0 electrical systems were incremental improvements of the original John Lee electrical system
Motor NCM SC-M100 NGM SC-M150-08 NGM SC-M150-08 (enhanced) NGM SC-M150-08 (enhanced)
Motor Controller NGM EV-C150 NGM EV-C200-092 NGM EV-C200-092 (enhanced) NGM EV-C200-092 (enhanced)
Battery Chemistry Lead Acid Lead Acid Lead Acid Lithium Ion
Nominal/Maximum Voltage 84V/105V 108V/135V 96V/120V 96V/110V
Race Regulation on Batteries 140kg 5kWh 165kg (lead acid)
30kg (lithium ion)
165kg (lead acid)
30kg (lithium ion)
Battery Weight 135 kg 147.2 kg 158.4 kg 28.9 kg
Battery Capacity 4 kWh @ C/3 4.9 kWh @ C/3 5.2 kWh @ C/20 4.8 kWh (nominal)
Battery Power Density 29.6 Wh/kg 33.6 Wh/kg 33.3 Wh/kg 166 Wh/kg
Battery Type Delco #19010704 "White Case" VRLA AGM deep cycle Delphi #19002255 Freedom AGM/SLI Optima "Yellow Top" D750U deep cycle LG ICR-18650W2
Number of Batteries 7 in series 9 in series 8 in series 650 total, 26 groups of 25 paralleled cells in series
Battery Protection Circuity n/a n/a n/a Custom with Worley backup
Battery Box ? 0.25" Kevlar-Nomex panel 0.4" thick fiberglass-Nomex panel 0.4" thick fiberglass-Nomex panel reinforced w/ Kevlar prepreg
Solar Cells Siemens Monocrystalline Silicon - laser cut Siemens Monocrystalline Silicon - laser cut BP Solarex Monocrystalline Silicon - uncut Spectrolab dual junction Gallium Arsenide - saw cut
Rated efficiency 14% 13.5% 16.25% 23%
Number of cells 920 1200 477 3051
Array area 8 m^2 ? 8.5 m^2 (8.1 m^2 effective) 7.97 m^2
Array coverage 95% ? ? 88.58%
Array power (theoretical/max measured) Approx. 900W Approx. 1100W 1140W / 800W 1900W / 1640W
Array construction Cells chained by Team Lux, attached and sealed with Dow Corning conformal coating Cells chained by Team Lux, attached with 3M VHB, and sealed with Dow Corning silicone elastomer Cells chained by Team Lux, attached with ? and sealed with conformal coating Cells chained and encapsulated by SunWize Solar and attached with 3M VHB
Blocking/Bypass Diodes ? International Rectifier 80SQ045 45V 8A Schottky Barrier Rectifiers ? General Semiconductor 1N5404 400V 3A Silicon Rectifiers
Array layout ? Chains of 10 cells connected series/parallel into 3 zones: front, left rear and right rear Chains of 3-7 cells series connected into three zones: left, center, and right Modules of 2-80 cells in series connected in series into chains of 75-100 cells, matched chains connected in parallel to form array sections
PPT type AERL 600BHV "race-trim" buck AERL 600BHV "race-trim" buck AERL 600BHV "race-trim" buck AERL 600BHV "race-trim" buck (modified for GaAs cells)
Number of PPTs 3 3 3 9 8
Telemetry Data collection modules from DGH; shunt for battery current measurement Custom system based on Parallax basic stamps with an analog state of charge calculator; shunts for battery and array current measurement Off-the-shelf microprocessor development board; shunts for battery and array current measurement Custom PCBs based on three PIC16F877 microprocessors
Hall effect sensors for battery, array, and motor current measurement
Custom PCB based on PIC18F458 microprocessor; CAN bus; 900MHz RF data-link to PPTs for voltage and current measurement; Hall effect sensors for battery, array, and motor current measurement; Driver data display shared with rearview camera
Wireless Link to Chase Vehicle Xetron Hummingbird 900MHz Serial Modem Xetron Hummingbird 900MHz Serial Modem ? Linx Technologies HP series 900MHz RF modules Linx Technologies HP series 900MHz RF modules

Abbreviations and notes: