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Eco-Marathon Team Hits 2,843 mpg

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the hard-to-fit-your-groceries-in-there dept.

At this year's Shell Eco-marathon Americas event the team from Mater Dei High School shattered last year's record by traveling 2,843.4 miles on a single gallon of gasoline. "How did the Evansville, Ind., team come up with its winning airfoil-meets-teardrop design and beat out its largely collegiate competitors? "It comes from trial and error, seeing what works and what doesn't," an unidentified student and team member told a local newscaster Friday. Those top three vehicles, like most in the competition (25 out of 33 total), used internal combustion engines. The goal for all entrants was to travel as far as possible using as little fuel as possible. Vehicles--sans driver--couldn't weigh more than 160 kilograms (352 pounds), while drivers had to weigh at least 50 kilograms."

3 of 314 comments (clear)

  1. Burn and Coast by michaelepley · · Score: 5, Informative

    Also, an essential strategy for achieving high mileage is to burn the engine at optimum efficiency RPMs to quickly get to speed, and then use your mass combined with low aerodynamic and rolling losses to coast as long as possible (frequently almost to the point of stopping). This is why there are required average lap speeds and maximum speeds. Of course, this strategy could hardly be used in production vehicles or in public roads.

  2. Re:Not Eligible by atommota · · Score: 5, Informative
    Maybe if you'd RTFA you'd see that only solar cars were excluded from the grand prize (all other fuels were ok including LP, H2, fuel cells, etc) and for a good reason. From the contest rules...

    Shell Eco-marathon Americas Grand Prize - $10,000 Awarded to the educational institution or University in honor of the team who completes the farthest distance with the least amount of fuel. Because solar cars do not use "fuel" and the solar energy that is used is limitless and cannot be converted into an equivalent measure to compare to other engine types, solar cars are not eligible for the Grand Prize award. Enough with the Slashdot corporate whining already.
  3. Calm Down by Hubec · · Score: 5, Informative

    The reporter got it wrong (as usual). The single entry was actually running Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) not as he reports "liquid petroleum gasoline". I believe the "combustion" class of which the winner was a part is plain old gasoline, just as the headline states.