Something that has been bugging me about those million mpg vehicles is the speed they operate at. 15 mph in a hyper light and aerodynamic vehicle with no shock absorbers requires so little power that driver input could seriously contribute to that, thwarting the competition and invalidating the result.
Let me explain that.
Engine starting.
Many vehicles use pulse and glide, and use a very short pulse of just a few second and a coast of over a minute or so. If the engines start by a starter motor and battery, fine. If they bump start, okay. But they start by a pull cable... That's physical input, and at these speeds a good jolt will hurl the paperweight cone forward. Me no like.
Suspension.
Some cars have systems that harvest damper energy to provide propulsion. If the driver lies still that's fine. But in those cars the driver can load the system by moving up and down. As the driver is alone in the car ther is no excuse for that kind of movement. (sex drive ?
)
Steering.
At the day care center we used to visit my son had a favourite toy; a little trike that steers in the middle of the frame. All wheels roll free, yet it moves forward quite quickly by swinging the front part left and right. As he pushes his legs sideways the front wheel follows the motion speeding up at every swing.
There's the swing step; same effect, all free rolling wheels, yet propulsion from sideways motion and steering. Same with skateboards and swingboards.
Power steering, for sure.
Surely they know and use that?
So I refuse to take those mile on a single drop claims serious anymore. Drive at a decent pace, replace the driver with sandbags and a standardized R/C unit, then I might regain some interest.