Speed meets fuel efficiency
U of O Supermileage team aiming for perfection after second-place win
FOR THE UNIVERSITY of Ottawa’s Supermileage team, fuel is not served up as tall, grande, or venti. Fuel, according to these U of O engineers, correlates with efficiency, and that has become the basis of the team’s challenge since the group was founded in 2008.
Led by captain Lihang Nong, a recent engineering graduate, the Supermileage team has created a vehicle that recently scored them second-place among the 30 North American universities competing in the fuel efficiency category at the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Supermileage Competition.
The goal of the competition is for the vehicle to run through a pre-set course while obtaining the highest number of miles per gallon.
Their vehicle was rated at 1,496 miles per gallon, allowing it to travel from Ottawa to Winnipeg on a single gallon of gas.
According to the SAE Competition website, “the Supermileage competition provides engineering and technology students with a challenging design project that involves the development and construction of a single-person, fuel-efficient vehicle … Students have the opportunity to set a world fuel economy record and increase public awareness of fuel economy.”
The vehicle’s fuel efficiency lies in its weight—or lack thereof—and aerodynamic build, enabling the vehicle to travel at a consistent speed using only 0.03 horsepower. In fact, the driver is able to turn off the engine and coast for the majority of the run. Although the vehicle is ultra fuel-efficient, Nong admits that “driver comfort was not a top priority when designing the vehicle.”
“The visibility is rather poor, the steering is very hard, and every bump on the road can be felt. It is also like a giant oven in there [especially] if you drive it outside when it’s sunny and warm.”
Nong explains that the Supermileage vehicle’s lightweight design is the secret for transferring this fuel-efficient technology from the U of O campus to the car dealership. “By making road vehicles lighter and smaller, we can expect huge gains in efficiency,” said Nong. “The efficiency of internal combustion engines has also been steadily improving with the introduction of technology such as direct injection, variable valve timing, cylinder deactivation, etc.”
Despite taking home second-place at their first competition, the team believes there is room for improvement. The Supermileage team is making periodic test runs throughout the summer at Capital City Speedway in Stittsville to prepare for an attempt at breaking the North American fuel efficiency record.
The team shares their progress via a blog on their website, uosupermileage.ca, where they have posted videos of the car and even photos of a 1 a.m. test run through the corridors of Colonel By Hall.
The official record-breaking attempt will take place next April at a competition in Houston.
