Mini Oscar Mayer Wienermobile Takes Moxie In KC

August 24, 2017 by John Baichtal 4 Comments

There are no shortage of fantastic and creative Power Racing Series cars, but here’s an especially fun example. [Pete Prodoehl] of Milwaukee Makerspace and his teammates [Kathy Cannistra] and [Kyle White] built a Power Racing car based on the design of the iconic Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.

They created the wienie and bun out of fiberglass and foam. Meanwhile, with the KC Maker Faire approaching, the team scrambled to finish the project, with [Kyle] working on assembly while [Pete] tackled the electronics. [Kyle] also proved to be the best wiener rider, with everyone else getting thrown off.

It should be noted that Milwaukee Makerspace got a Moxie bump because a wienermobile is on the PPPRS’s “hit list” of desirable designs. Anyone being the first to create a Top Gun F14, a Mystery Machine, or a non-DeLorean car from Back to the Future gets extra points.

If you like the Power Racing Series, you’ll be able to catch the wienermobile at both Maker Faire Detroit and Maker Faire Milwaukee. Also check out our posts on better racing with Power Wheels and checking a PPPRS car into baggage.

Fauxrarri Is The PPPRS Champion

August 13, 2012 by Mike Szczys 7 Comments

The Power Racing Series (PPPRS) is an electric vehicle competition with a $500 price ceiling. This is Fauxarri, the 2012 Champion. It was built by members of Sector67, a Madison, WI hackerspace. To our delight, they’ve posted an expose on the how the thing was built.

It should come as no surprise that the guys behind the advance electric racer aren’t doing this sort of thing for the first time. A couple of them were involved in Formula Hybrid Racing at the University of Wisconsin. That experience shows in the custom motor controller built as an Arduino shield. It includes control over acceleration rate, throttle response, and regenerative braking. But you can’t get by on a controller alone. The motors they used are some special electric garden tractor motors to which they added their own water cooling system.

If you want to get a good look at how fast and powerful this thing is head on over to the post about the KC leg of PPPRS (it’s the one towing a second vehicle and still passing the competition by).