[changzuki]

Prelude to details of Centurion's success at the Green Grand Prix...
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1st, Centurion owes its success to R.Q. Riley who designed it and gave it life. Had this never happened, this thread wouldn't be taking up your time. The plans for the original build are solid, and anyone looking to replicate what CrazyJerry's Centurion has done needs to start with them. Deviations can be made but using those original blueprints will yield a car that falls easily within the mpg figures that are supplied - at least that is my experience and the experience of the original that was built and tested back in the early 80's. The original magazine (Mechanix Illustrated) is defunct now but the plans are still available from the original creator at:
128-mpg Diesel-Powered Sports Car
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2nd, The initial reason for registering/participating in the Green Grand Prix was not about winning. It was also not about collecting the grand prize of $1000. In fact, if you could see where I live, it would be really easy to have used the $1000 prize to, well, do alot of things. As as side note, 100% of the winnings were given back to the Green Grand Prix as a donation:
SUNY Canton staffer hits 200 mpg in his ‘Total Recall’ car at Watkins Glen Green Grand Prix
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So ,why go at all? As Centurion got broke in and I made changes, the new mpg numbers were posted on the front fenders. You cannot imagine how much criticism this generated - both on and off the net. To the point where I almost scrapped posting them entirely. So, when Bob Gillespie invited us ecomodders to the Green Grand Prix, I thought - perfect! Let the Green Grand Prix tally the results and whatever they are is what I'll post - even it was 25 mpg. (And since the Green Grand Prix results are posted on the net, I wouldn't have much choice anyway but to follow suit.)
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Admittedly, a few of my deviations from the original plans returned some impressive gains, and this also got me thinking that my numbers may just be good enough to "possibly" win the Green Grand Prix. Specifically, a previous West Philadelphia High School’s Factory Five GTM fitted with a TDI had turned in numbers around 160 mpg:
West Philly High School Builds 160 MPG Supercar, Win Green Grand Prix
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Centurion is lower, narrower and lighter than that car sooooo, might it do better? Judging from the lack of press, you might think not.
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With a target in the sights, it was game on!
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Looking at the factory five photos, the keen observer may have noticed a couple of things: It doesn't exactly fit the ecomodder aero template, and they didn't run wheel disc covers....
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Both of the above items also apply to Centurion...
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Also of interest: I studied the Watkins Glen raceway and elevation maps. If there was ever a competition designed exclusively for Centurion then this was it!! With its lightweight, I pretty much knew it could take the hills with no problem, and its center of gravity truly makes it corner like a slot car so it was pretty sure that any turns would be no problem (and they weren't)..
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This completes the yawning festival portion and now it is time to move on to more substance....
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~CrazyJerry