About DBIS   | Story archive  |  DBIS home

Super Mileage Cars

Engineering Students Achieve Over One Thousand Miles-Per-Gallon in Competition

September 1, 2009

Engineering students teamed up to build super- efficient gas-powered cars (approximately 1,200 miles-per-gallon) that compete for the highest miles-per-gallon. One-cylinder lawn-mower engines were modified to increase fuel economy. The teams maximize aerodynamics by streamlining the features of the vehicle, and minimize weight by using light materials, such as carbon-fiber. Each vehicleŭs fuel is weighed before and after every six laps-where the speed cannot exceed 25 mph. The vehicleŭs miles-per-gallon can be calculated from the difference in weight in fuel.

read the full story...

Science Insider

MPG COMPARISONS: When traveling the same distance, what would save more fuel -- improving fuel efficiency of Vehicle A from 8 miles per gallon to 10, or improving the fuel efficiency of Vehicle B from 25 mpg to 50? Surprisingly, the answer is that the Vehicle A saves more gas. Over the course of 100 miles, the Vehicle A uses 12.5 gallons of gas at 8 mpg, and 10 gallons at 10 mpg, a savings of 2.5 gallons. Vehicle B would use 4 gallons of gas at 25 mpg, and 2 gallons of gas at 50 mpg, a savings of 2 gallons. Although driving a vehicle that uses the least gas is the optimum situation in terms of the emissions and the cost, this example highlights the way small improvements in mileage can add up to savings for the trucking industry.

WHAT IS CAD: A computer-aided design system combines hardware and software to enable the user to design everything from furniture to cars and airplanes. The user can view a design from any angle and zoom in or out for close-up or long-distance views. CAD systems typically rely on a combination of a keyboard and conventional mouse to control what's on the screen.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.-USA, contributed to the information contained in the TV portion of this report.

Latest stories

More information on this story

To Go Inside This Science:
Nancy Lewis
Corporate Communications Manager
Warrendale, PA 15096-0001
nlewis@sae.org
412-977-2894

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
IEEE
IEEE-USA
Pender McCarter
p.mccarter@ieee.org