Watkins Glen, NY, "Green Grand Prix" Sat May 2, 2009; fuel economy competition & show

[SVOboy]

I don't think any of us can get to the results until they're up on the web. I'll be checking the page regularly to see when they pop up.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Matt: speaking of Sunday paper, the Corning Leader ran an article about the event in today's edition. ... I'll ask him if I can repost it here - it's not on their web site.

Permission granted from The Corning Leader (link to home page only; the article is not online there).

Links added by me.

Drivers gather in Watkins
Alternative-fuel vehicles focus of Green Prix

Photo: (the diesel trike pic Will posted further up the thread)

Caption: Evan Schmidt and Bill Buchholz, both of Maine, pose with their homebuilt, three-wheel diesel car. The car, which has a shell made of red cedar and carbon fiber, gets 89 miles per gallon.

By Derrick Ek

Watkins Glen - There's more than one way to get from Point A to Point B, as Saturday's fifth annual Green Grand Prix demonstrated.

The Green Grand Prix, organized by Watkins Glen's International Motor Racing Research Center, drew a wide array of alternate-fuel vehicles for two events on the roads around Seneca Lake - a fuel economy run and a Sports Car Club of America-sanctioned rally.

"It was a good turnout. We had 26 vehicles in the fuel economy run and 15 in the rally," said Bob Gillespie, a member of the organizing committee.

After the morning road events, the drivers gathered near the International Motor Racing Research Center to display their vehicles and discuss their design and performance with groups of curious onlookers.

The Green Grand Prix is meant to promote methods of transportation that use renewable energy or are highly fuel efficient, and thus have a lesser impact on the environment.

Beyond that, though, the vehicles' owners seemed to really enjoy the design and construction process.

For example, Evan Schmidt and Bill Buchholz - tow men from the coast of Maine - brought a three-wheeled diesel car which they built from scratch. It has a steel frame, a red cedar shell, and carbon fiber fenders. The street-legal car gets 89 miles per gallon and zips along at more than 70 miles per hour.

Also competing Saturday was Darin Cosgrove of Ontario, Canada, who modified his Pontiac Firefly - the Canadian version of the Geo Metro - to get nearly 100 miles per gallon.

There were also several high school clubs on hand.

One, from Newburgh Free Academy in the Hudson Valley area, built a solar cell car that resembles a flying saucer. The car has competed in an 1,800-mile cross country race and has been featured on the Discovery Channel, said club advisor Chris Eachus, a physics teacher at the school.

The car took two years to build and cost $80,000, Eachus said.

Another group of students, from Auburn High School, were on hand with their electric motor -and battery-powered vehicle resembling a go-cart.

"We compete at electrathon races, and we basically try to cover as much distance as possible in one hour on an oval track," said Auburn senior Matt Clancy.

Other vehicles that competed in Saturday's event included Watkins Glen International's hybrid pace car, a hydrogen fuel cell car, a liquid propane-powered antique Ford truck, and several scooters and motorcycles, Gillespie said.

[MetroMPG]

And if you haven't seen it, Ben posted a summary in the EM blog: EcoModder Takes Home 3 Wins at the Green Grand Prix

[Lug_Nut]

I've heard back from Bob Gillespie. My result was not admitted as it was considered a possible calculating error. It was too far (4x) above expectations for the car's EPA ranking. My (and their) calculated mileage was a good 50% above even what I'd have expected based on prior competitions, so something was up.
It was a good course, and I had a local Penn Yan resident familiar with the roads and terrain providing advance notice of hills and descents to allow better driving, but that isn't worth 50% improvement over my best ever.

I had passed the Vespa pair early on to get consistently up to 40+ mph. My automatic transmission controller won't allow 5th gear operation until above 1200 rpm or 40 mph. 5th at 42 is a good 10% better economy than 4th at 40 according to the on board instantaneous MPG display.

I did get 45+ mpg over 400 miles in a rental Breeze (automatic and 2.0, a Neon 'Plus') when I was considering buying one back in 1997. If I knew then what I know now, maybe 50+ would have been possible.

Ciao

[blownb310]

Originally Posted by McTimson

'98-'02 Corolla's have that problem. It's something with the charcoal canister, it can get messed up if you overfill the tank, so Toyota recommends filling it to the first click.

Very interesting. So it seems this is a Toyota/Lexus brand situation perhaps? Are there any other cars that have been known to have had a problem with overfilling?

Mike

[MetroMPG]

Thanks for the update, Lug Nut.

I've been mulling over the filling method issue. Maybe another way to do it would be to fill the tank into the neck, and use a dipstick to note the level (without coming right to the top where the evap tube opening usually is).

It wouldn't avoid the problem of fuel expansion, but it would at least avoid putting faith in "1st click" being consistent from pre-competition fill to post-competition fill.

[SVOboy]

Thanks for stopping by, Lug_Nut, definitely a bummer on the fill issues. Hopefully they can figure out something better for next year (MPGuinos for everyone!)

[MetroMPG]

I had someone email me asking what mods were in place on the Firefly for the Green Grand Prix. Here they are, plus driving notes:

Aerodynamics:

- additional grille block (in the hood/bumper gap; see Wonderboy's pic, above)
- regular partial grille block (home made "bra")
- headlight gaps sealed
- one (1) front wheel skirt
- smooth wheel covers
- radio antenna delete
- passenger mirror delete (internal convex mirror in its place)
- driver's mirror folded back on highway portion of route
- rear wheel skirts (2!)
- Kammback
- washed & waxed before the event (just kidding! NOT an aero benefit!)

Drivetrain:

- tires around 50 psi (didn't actually check before the event, embarrassed to say)
- 5w20 synthetic engine oil
- GM Synchromesh semi-synth transaxle oil
- Metro XFi camshaft
- transmission with taller final drive ratio

Electrical

- plenty of use of the shifter-mounted ignition kill switch (for P&G, engine off coasting)
- alternator electrically switched off past the half-way mark
- daytime running lights used selectively depending on perceived risks (installed an "off" switch)
- I listened to the radio during the highway portions of the drive though

Instrumentation:

- ScanGauge 2, monitoring: instant MPG; tank MPG; average speed (time limit); open/closed loop; voltage (after switching off the alternator); elapsed time (watch)

Driving techniques:

- Pulse & glide, monitoring SG to keep engine in closed loop during pulses
- Light timing & traffic timing in urban areas to avoid stops & minimize slowdowns - driving without brakes
- Moving to the extreme right of my highway lane ("ridge riding") or part way onto the paved shoulder to facilitate/encourage passing by faster traffic (there wasn't a lot).
- Pushing the car (part way) to the start; at the mandatory rest stop in Geneva; in the gas station for the post-competition fill
- and more than a few other from our 100+ eco-driving / hypermiling tips

I think that's everything...

[SVOboy]

Add links, darin!

[MetroMPG]

I thought of that. Too much work! Every line is a link.

EDIT: OK, OK, links added.