Author Topic: Treadmill Dyno  (Read 164041 times)

0 Members and 4 Guests are viewing this topic.

Frank S

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1901
  • Country: us
  • Home with a view of Double mountain
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #264 on: June 02, 2012, 07:21:04 PM »
  Since our starter battery is not regulated, I can put a bigger battery in the car with 2200 mah, but that will cost us another 100 grams or so and make things a bit more complicated for charging batteries (currently our accessories battery and starter battery are the same battery, so they can be swapped).
No problem just don't let the driver eat for a couple of days or figure out how to have him toss his cookies after weigh in without being caught  Just Kidding
I live so far outside of the box, when I die they will stretch my carcass over the coffin

SparWeb

  • Global Moderator
  • Super Hero Member Plus
  • *****
  • Posts: 5452
  • Country: ca
    • Wind Turbine Project Field Notes
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #265 on: June 03, 2012, 05:20:03 PM »
Yesterday we did some more testing, even though it was dark outside and raining  8)   ...
We did break our rear wheel mount yesterday....
 I also found a bolt that was rubbing on our rear tire spokes....
The only thing that still worries me at this point is how much power we are using on the starter motor.  ....

You are so far a head for having left yourselves enough time to do this testing!!
Many many years ago (sorry) I arrived at the college's robotics competition with a completely untested robot.  All kinds of silly errors cropped up.  Things that would have been solved if only we'd given a few days' time to testing it out properly.  We did well at the competition mostly because many other teams were equally under-prepared.
No one believes the theory except the one who developed it. Everyone believes the experiment except the one who ran it.
System spec: 135w BP multicrystalline panels, Xantrex C40, DIY 10ft (3m) diameter wind turbine, Tri-Star TS60, 800AH x 24V AGM Battery, Xantrex SW4024
www.sparweb.ca

Frank S

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1901
  • Country: us
  • Home with a view of Double mountain
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #266 on: June 03, 2012, 07:34:40 PM »
What was that about the 5 "P"s  I used to drill into my students minds as a PsyOps drill instructor OH yes, Prior planning prevents p*** poor performance & death in many cases
 These guys building this car have done their homework and more importantly their lab work and it is clear to see that they are in it for the long haul I wish them all the best
I live so far outside of the box, when I die they will stretch my carcass over the coffin

taylorp035

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1204
  • Country: us
  • Stressed spelled backwards is Desserts
Supermileage Results
« Reply #267 on: June 09, 2012, 09:07:45 PM »
The official results:  1485 mpg, which was good for 1st place  :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D 8)

More on this later when I have the time to post more.

electrondady1

  • SuperHero Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 3120
  • Country: ca
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #268 on: June 09, 2012, 09:28:10 PM »
wow,
you guys won!

nothing sweeter than victory.
congratulation !

taylorp035

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1204
  • Country: us
  • Stressed spelled backwards is Desserts
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #269 on: June 09, 2012, 10:00:33 PM »
Thanks!  It was surprising that we were able to win with such a low score.  I was expecting the winner to get at least 2000 mpg, but many teams struggled to get their cars running well (only 9 cars had a successful run).  There were a lot of teams that just didn't show up, which seems odd considering the attendance from previous years.  On test day, we measured 3 test runs for mileage and our best was 1,777 mpg on 3 laps.  But on race day, the car was rolling just a bit less good, the winds had changed, and we think the AFR ratio was messed up for our first 4 runs.  At that point, we made a major adjustment to the carburetor and the numbers went from 1219 and 1203 to 1485 mpg.  I imagine that our engine wasn't as efficient as it could of been.  At the start of the 1485 run, our driver did a massive 20-25 ft burnout off the start line  ;D  That poor rear tire had zero rubber left on it by the end of the day, but amazingly there was no signs of little rocks trying the puncture the tire, even at 80 psi.  The tubeless tires worked well all day, even though we were loosing about 15 psi between runs.  Also on the 1485 mpg run, our driver averaged 15.039 mph, which means that she was off by only 6 seconds over 38 minutes of driving!

We also won the best design report / presentation and we were first through tech inspection.  Our only tie up in the inspection was that our rear tail light didn't have 6 square inches of visible area when looking at the car from straight back.  The fix was using a dremmel tool to cut out more carbon fiber from around the  tail light and covering the hole with packaging tape.  We were also the only car there with lithium batteries, since the other teams didn't want to mess with complicated rules that were associated with running them.

From a design point of view, our car preformed quite well, as the good aerodynamics and low rolling resistance were visible by how far the car rolled.  The rear drive belt fell off on our first run and it took us about 90 minutes to realign the rear axle.  Our battery management units caused us to have two failed runs and probably killed one of our 65C Lipo batteries :(

I have to also say that everyone there was super friendly and helpful both days, especially Brigham Young University.  Their day ended after two good runs with a friend engine management unit.

« Last Edit: June 09, 2012, 10:06:54 PM by taylorp035 »

SparWeb

  • Global Moderator
  • Super Hero Member Plus
  • *****
  • Posts: 5452
  • Country: ca
    • Wind Turbine Project Field Notes
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #270 on: June 10, 2012, 12:47:50 AM »


Yahooooo!

No one believes the theory except the one who developed it. Everyone believes the experiment except the one who ran it.
System spec: 135w BP multicrystalline panels, Xantrex C40, DIY 10ft (3m) diameter wind turbine, Tri-Star TS60, 800AH x 24V AGM Battery, Xantrex SW4024
www.sparweb.ca

Frank S

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1901
  • Country: us
  • Home with a view of Double mountain
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #271 on: June 10, 2012, 02:40:45 AM »
good on ya
I live so far outside of the box, when I die they will stretch my carcass over the coffin

taylorp035

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1204
  • Country: us
  • Stressed spelled backwards is Desserts
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #272 on: June 10, 2012, 05:22:03 PM »

Bruce S

  • Administrator
  • Super Hero Member Plus
  • *****
  • Posts: 5370
  • Country: us
  • USA
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #273 on: June 11, 2012, 12:34:59 PM »
YEAH!!!!
!!!!CONGRATULATIONS !!!!!
A kind word often goes unsaid BUT never goes unheard

Frank S

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1901
  • Country: us
  • Home with a view of Double mountain
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #274 on: June 11, 2012, 12:48:18 PM »
   At the start of the 1485 run, our driver did a massive 20-25 ft burnout off the start line  ;D  That poor rear tire had zero rubber left on it by the end of the day,
Did you get first place for best burn out as well? this ought to show the AA fuel dragster guys the you don't need 1500 HP to do a spectacular burnout.
 Next year try for a wheelie 

 I can just see the stats now 1st in MPG 1st of Show , record burnout , best & only wheelie
 maybe we need to think about getting you some wrinkle wall tires
I live so far outside of the box, when I die they will stretch my carcass over the coffin

SparWeb

  • Global Moderator
  • Super Hero Member Plus
  • *****
  • Posts: 5452
  • Country: ca
    • Wind Turbine Project Field Notes
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #275 on: June 11, 2012, 03:36:03 PM »
... at next year's Supermileage Tractor-Pull.
No one believes the theory except the one who developed it. Everyone believes the experiment except the one who ran it.
System spec: 135w BP multicrystalline panels, Xantrex C40, DIY 10ft (3m) diameter wind turbine, Tri-Star TS60, 800AH x 24V AGM Battery, Xantrex SW4024
www.sparweb.ca

taylorp035

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1204
  • Country: us
  • Stressed spelled backwards is Desserts
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #276 on: June 11, 2012, 09:15:41 PM »
We have had the car on two wheels before going around a corner  :)  Also the car did a drift on the back corner of the track in an evasive maneuver....   The 2011 car has been pushed to the point that it understeered... quite scary on 3 wheels.

Quote
... at next year's Supermileage Tractor-Pull.

Yep... add some wheel weights on it and hope that the super skinny 13g spokes don't break ;)

zap

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1107
  • There's an app for that
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #277 on: June 11, 2012, 09:29:26 PM »
Congrats to you and the team!

Frank S

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1901
  • Country: us
  • Home with a view of Double mountain
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #278 on: June 12, 2012, 02:18:29 AM »
Where can I download copies of the rules and spec sheet guidelines or previous white papers for the various classes of competition?
  Every year 3 of the Universities over here send me a cadre of students for real world OJT they stay for 1 month through the summer a project such as this could keep them out of my hair, then maybe I could focus on my designs without having to spend 45 minutes out of every hour explaining things to them that they will never be able to grasp without hands on trial & error experiences
I live so far outside of the box, when I die they will stretch my carcass over the coffin

taylorp035

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1204
  • Country: us
  • Stressed spelled backwards is Desserts
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #279 on: June 12, 2012, 10:29:08 AM »
Here are the rules Frank:

http://students.sae.org/competitions/supermileage/rules/

The main rule is goes something like this:  "Everything must be done in the spirit of supermileage (aka no cheating)"  Also, don't skimp on any of the safety rules, as they will call you out on it during the tech inspection.

Frank S

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1901
  • Country: us
  • Home with a view of Double mountain
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #280 on: June 12, 2012, 06:07:06 PM »
Thanks for the link I could see right off any project such as this would never fly for the students over here. This years crop of so called mechanical engineer wannabes would have difficulty designing a soap box racer to compete against a  a cub scout troupe. these are all 4th year students. the thing that tells me they will never be worth the amount of sand it would take to cover their bodies. is not 1 of them could tell me what the free flow ratio of 1" or 25mm id pipe to that of 2 " or 50mm pipe so I asked them if they had a 20 tooth driving sprocket turning @ 1000 rpm how me teeth would their driven sprocket need to be to get  250 rpm output?  I got answers of 40T and 100 T. I mean give me a break I makes me want to move back to Papua New Guinea
I live so far outside of the box, when I die they will stretch my carcass over the coffin

taylorp035

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1204
  • Country: us
  • Stressed spelled backwards is Desserts
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #281 on: June 13, 2012, 06:50:40 PM »
My advisor gave a different problem..... " If you had a rotating shaft with 15 hp input and you have a set of gears in the middle of the shaft taking 3 hp off, how many hp is left at the end of the first shaft.  Obviously the answer is 12 hp, but students today are not taught in such a why to make this obvious.  And to make the problem more interesting, you needed to understand this before you could solve the wear on the teeth of a gears.

On a more complex side of things, here is the distilled notes for improving our supermileage car engine for next year.... some of this has particular importance towards the idea of using a rotating pipe for the valves.  Basically, I have had the luxury to bury my face in an engine design and fundamentals book for the last 2 days  :)  Also remember that this engine has a very low design life, runs on 100 octane fuel, and will run for less than 30 seconds at a stretch.  Efficiency is everything.  And hopefully it won't spin the rear tire with ~ 50 lbs on it.
,
•   Put the fuel injector close to the intake – Less likely for the fuel to end up on the sidewalls of the intake
•   Possible Miller Cycle with rotary pipe – choose valve timing to eliminate some of the pumping losses
•   Longer Stroke than bore -  better thermodynamics, better at low RPM’s, keeps mean piston speed up.  (piston face area is r^2, sleeve area is just r)
•   If turbo is used, place as close to the exhaust as possible for maximum energy recovery
•   High Compression Ratio -  faster burn, less left over exhaust air, higher theoretical thermodynamic efficiency
•   Dual Spark Plugs – less burn time  higher pressure and temps
•   Intake diameter needs to be relatively small for carbureted engines
•   Use EFI, else carburetor needs to be run near WOT
•   Keep intake warm for better fuel vaporization
•   Smooth intake for high velocity power (not for us), Rough intake for low speed running, which helps cause more turbulence (causes better mixing on a levels). Pg 194
•   Mechanical losses go way up at higher engine speeds, therefore, the best efficiency is somewhere is the middle of the rpm band, if not slightly less.  Also, most engines have their best efficiency at ~75% of their max torque at the near middle rpm.  Definitely don’t go high in the rpm band or low in the torque level.
•   We should close the intake valve slightly earlier than stock since we are running the engine slower (pg 195)
•   No EGR valve
•   Combustion chamber shape is very important to tumble, swirl, and squish
•   To get more swirl, you can have the air come in at a tangent to the cylinder, which could easily be achieved by offsetting the rotary pipe. Pg 252
•   Dish the piston – as the swirling air is compressed, the radius is lowered from the outside wall to the diameter of the dish, causing the air to rapidly increase the rate of swirling due to the conservation of angular momentum.  A dish like the GX35 should work well for this.  Pg. 254
•   Lean mixture  slower flame  more pressure later in the stroke.  This may or may not be better
•   Tumble – the cylinder heads on the Cummings engine in the hallway have a deep almost squarish dish, this causes tumble
•   Pg 315-318 Theory on Exhaust Timing
•   Pg 321 Exhaust temperatures
•   Pg 373 Engine temperatures, commonly found
•   Stoichiometric AFR is 15.1:1  Energy Values are in the back of the book
•   2 Pressure rings instead of 3 due to the low RPM of our engine.  Maybe even 1 pressure ring, since removing one ring could increase the engine efficiency by 1% (~7% of the mechanical losses).  The oil ring provides almost no pressure resistance.
•   Possible oil additive to keep oil on surfaces  less start up friction
« Last Edit: June 13, 2012, 07:05:53 PM by taylorp035 »

Frank S

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1901
  • Country: us
  • Home with a view of Double mountain
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #282 on: June 13, 2012, 09:11:08 PM »
Aw Gee maybe that is why we use a serpentine belt  and accessories that rob less power today than back when every accessory had its own "V" belt less power used means more power available LOL

 I had a friend who had dabbled with the miller cycle valve train nice high performance values but horrible train life sealing was his main problem even with very high end ceramics or titanium.
 for a while I was doing some work on a bent axis piston rotary the cylinders were the valves as well using slotted bores like a 2 cycle I think it would have delivered good power but low performance in both reliability and efficiency
I live so far outside of the box, when I die they will stretch my carcass over the coffin

taylorp035

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1204
  • Country: us
  • Stressed spelled backwards is Desserts
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #283 on: June 13, 2012, 10:13:38 PM »
The cool part is that we don't need a new camshaft in our new engine to change the ""valve timing"" and making a new rotary valve can be quickly made on a 4-axis lathe or cnc mill.

We will probably use a mxl timing belt for the drive on the rotary valve... i have seen the extreme cars to even have carbon fiber timing pulleys.

I'm hoping for carbon fiber steering too... I'm thinking another 2-3 lbs could be cut out.  And maybe C.F. axles all around  :)

Frank S

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1901
  • Country: us
  • Home with a view of Double mountain
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #284 on: June 14, 2012, 07:07:42 AM »
Another cool thing is it is a single cylinder, the duration overlap & timing,  if using separate valve shafts is a matter of opening width or length, the degree of the sprockets can be set independently. Combustion chamber design is critical with the rotary valve though.
 But you guys seem to have a good handle on being able to figure out things like that.
 I agree that you will want longer stroke to bore ratio better for lowering the RPMs of the lower end of the torque curve
I live so far outside of the box, when I die they will stretch my carcass over the coffin

taylorp035

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1204
  • Country: us
  • Stressed spelled backwards is Desserts
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #285 on: June 15, 2012, 08:11:35 PM »
I was surprised at competition that the rocks didn't penetrate our tires at 80 psi... I guess we will have to try harder next time :)  100 psi on tires that are as flimsy as 3 sheets of normal paper is quite trusting of the engineers at Michelin (they claim 50 psi...).

DamonHD

  • Administrator
  • Super Hero Member Plus
  • *****
  • Posts: 4125
  • Country: gb
    • Earth Notes
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #286 on: June 16, 2012, 02:07:22 PM »
I'm late to the party, but just Wow!  Well done!

(Of course it was FL that made the difference!  B^>)

Rgds

Damon
Podcast: https://www.earth.org.uk/SECTION_podcast.html

@DamonHD@mastodon.social

taylorp035

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1204
  • Country: us
  • Stressed spelled backwards is Desserts
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #287 on: June 16, 2012, 07:19:18 PM »
Thanks DamonHD, and everyone else who has been following my project.  I guess it shows that you can do something technically great without large amounts of money.

Quote
(Of course it was FL that made the difference!  B^>)

I guess it does get the project out on the internet if anyone was trying to search for it.  There are only a handful of teams (probably less than 5), that have all of their information out in the open.

SparWeb

  • Global Moderator
  • Super Hero Member Plus
  • *****
  • Posts: 5452
  • Country: ca
    • Wind Turbine Project Field Notes
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #288 on: June 18, 2012, 12:24:33 AM »
I guess it does get the project out on the internet if anyone was trying to search for it.  There are only a handful of teams (probably less than 5), that have all of their information out in the open.

How much thought and discussion was there among the group about this?  Were other team members blogging their experiences?  Did others prefer to stay quiet?  I'm not asking for dirty laundry, but I am wondering if the decision to write and publish your info was contentious - if so, how did you deal with it?
No one believes the theory except the one who developed it. Everyone believes the experiment except the one who ran it.
System spec: 135w BP multicrystalline panels, Xantrex C40, DIY 10ft (3m) diameter wind turbine, Tri-Star TS60, 800AH x 24V AGM Battery, Xantrex SW4024
www.sparweb.ca

taylorp035

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1204
  • Country: us
  • Stressed spelled backwards is Desserts
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #289 on: June 18, 2012, 10:41:17 AM »
Quote
How much thought and discussion was there among the group about this?  Were other team members blogging their experiences?  Did others prefer to stay quiet?  I'm not asking for dirty laundry, but I am wondering if the decision to write and publish your info was contentious - if so, how did you deal with it?

Interesting question.  Definitely one I have thought of before.  There was really only one other person in our group that was concerned initially about me posting the information, but our group is more of a club and we try to be friendly to the other teams.  Some teams are really uptight and won't let you take pictures or get close to their cars.  The main thing that we kept quiet was the design of our new body, but by the time we actually made it, it was late enough in the year so nobody could copy us, not that it would be easy to do so....   As for getting good mpg (2000+ mpg), I would say all of the teams understand the concept, but half don't know how to actually pull it off.  Then maybe 25% have half of the things right, say a good body, light weight, but then they will put bad tires on their car and ruin their chances.  Then there are ~5-6 teams who do know how to get 2000+, but due to budgets, personel, and the kids behind the program, they fail one of the required things.  If you get tires, an engine, a lightweight and aerodynamic body, a simple efficient drive train, and do some math to figure out the optimum driving strategy  (and then actually pull it off...), getting 2000 mpg is easily attained.  This year, our engine was efficient, but not in the ~1/2 hp range where we were running it, so that hurt our numbers.  Everything else, I would say we got a 10/10 on.

As for why I publish this stuff.... I find it fun to show off a project that I am truly proud of.  Earlier on, I asked a few questions to the FL people on the engine, but that didn't yield a whole lot.

DamonHD

  • Administrator
  • Super Hero Member Plus
  • *****
  • Posts: 4125
  • Country: gb
    • Earth Notes
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #290 on: June 18, 2012, 01:16:25 PM »
Well, I'm glad you kept FL posted however much or little FL input was used, because it's great to see a project where the challenge is "how little" not "how much" IMHO.

I've spent a lot of my work improving software performance for banks, or efficiency, and really they are two sides of the same coin, doing more with a given bunch of hardware and energy.

Roll on the day that keeping up with your neighbours is all about how efficiently you can have fun, not how wastefully, though I suspect that basic sexual selection works against that hope!

Rgds

Damon

Podcast: https://www.earth.org.uk/SECTION_podcast.html

@DamonHD@mastodon.social

taylorp035

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1204
  • Country: us
  • Stressed spelled backwards is Desserts
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #291 on: June 18, 2012, 03:27:33 PM »
This year I got to see inside of some of the Canadian team's cars, and I was somewhat disappointing.  I was impressed by their structural layout of the car and good use of carbon fiber, but the engines, drive trains, and accessories in the back of the cars were all way too complex and heavy.  Our car was super simple so nothing could go wrong (hence why we won this year).  Running jack shafts and complicated gearing systems is not a good way to make things lightweight and efficient.

But I will probably eat my words for next year, since there are big plans for EFI, a complicated mini engine, a complex battery management system, and a powerful touch screen computer that will help the driver get better gas mileage.  The plans call for the computer to be its own entire senior design project...  I'm hoping for a speedometer accurate to 0.01 mph average and updating at least 10 times a second, auto cutoff for the engine, lap counter, suggested start speed (with "timing lights" like at a drag strip or on the tach of a BMW M3), average speed to at least 0.01 mph, acceleration sensing for maximum use of our engine, traction control (so the tires don't vaporize), and possible some accurate gyro's for detecting the slope of the road so we can determine how well the car is rolling.  Also a live update on the remaining % of energy in our batteries.  And if convenient, a readout of the air fuel ratio.   And since this will be a 7" 1080p touch screen, there will be less buttons to mess around with.... and you could watch a movie I guess :)

There was a team two years ago that did something like this, including a wide area wireless network so people on the edge of the track could analyze the ~30 sensors that they had (I think their engine would even account for the temperature and humidity in the air...).

We don't have exact data on this, but I think having an expert driver who can hit the lap times perfectly instead of someone who has a fast and then a slow lap to average 15mph, will get ~5-10% better fuel mileage.  We have somewhat proven this the last 3 years, and my excel calculators seem to agree.

Here is the information that Laval gave out today... I used google translate, so some of it doesn't quite make sense.
Quote
Jun 11
First day at the 2012 SAE Supermileage
News Send feedback »

Good news, technical inspections and testing on the track have been completed. Early morning, we arrived at the site of the competition to prepare the vehicle for inspection. After a few adjustments, we went on an inspection, where apart from a few small modifications, all went well. In doing so, we were able to attack the track for a single round due to time constraints.

The evening ahead is dedicated to test the engine code as currently it does not achieve the desired speed for testing. We are still confident of finding the required values ​​and thus be able to save during the tests tomorrow.

More news will follow.

Jun 12
Last day of the SAE Supermileage compétation 2012
News Send feedback »

The final day of competition began with a vehicle preparation to go on the track: Warm up the engine, inflate tires and of course still some small problems to solve. We were finally able to make our first attempt in late noon. Air leakage through the head of the engine due to a candle that has ruined unscrewed however this test. The whole team is then lifted the sleeves and the problem was solved in time to give us a second time on the track. Everything indicated that this test would allow us to achieve superior results, but for reasons yet unknown the result was below expectations of the team. Finally, the all or nothing has been attempted in a last attempt to track that has not been successful because it is done in just two rounds to complete the competition.

The best recorded consumption of 1050 mpg combined score of the design competition has still allowed the team to get the third place in the competition. Despite the glitches encountered, the experience for our team mostly composed of new members has been most rewarding. We gratefully acknowledge the support of all our partners without whom none of this would have been possible.

zap

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1107
  • There's an app for that
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #292 on: June 18, 2012, 07:19:01 PM »
Candles that have ruined always seem to mess up my mpg too ;D

taylorp035

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1204
  • Country: us
  • Stressed spelled backwards is Desserts
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #293 on: June 18, 2012, 07:37:51 PM »
LOL.   ;D  I wonder what they really meant...  you can find the french version by searching "Laval supermileage"

zap

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1107
  • There's an app for that
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #294 on: June 18, 2012, 09:32:10 PM »
I do believe "bougie" can also mean a spark plug.  My guess would be "a lose spark plug ruined the test".

Frank S

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1901
  • Country: us
  • Home with a view of Double mountain
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #295 on: June 19, 2012, 04:39:47 AM »
candle or more accurately candela  Italian, bougie French/ Dutch,  Zündkerze German, bujia Spanish
no matter what you want call it, a Spark plug (sparking Plug) a device inserted the closed end of a chamber for the express purpose of delivering a highly energized electrical charge, said electrical energy is discharged at a termination point in the form of an electrical arc thereby igniting a mixture of compressed volatile and accelerating oxygenated combustible gases releasing ionized expanding energy.
     
I live so far outside of the box, when I die they will stretch my carcass over the coffin

taylorp035

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1204
  • Country: us
  • Stressed spelled backwards is Desserts
Re: Treadmill Dyno
« Reply #296 on: June 29, 2012, 10:27:08 PM »
I'm thinking our entire front frame, steering assembly, tie rod, wheels, brakes, tires, and axles will weigh less than 5 lbs.... most of it is in the drum brakes.  I'm thinking everything else is going to be carbon fiber, including the steering brackets and the axle  :)  Cross drilled drum brakes anyone?  The tie rod may stay as a piece of aluminum since it was pretty much as perfect as a piece of metal could be... unless they make magnesium tube the size of a drinking straw. We should be able to cut a good 1-2 lbs out of the front this way.  Then loose another 10 lbs in the body, fairly major when it started at 22 lbs (no filler this time 8)).  Lighter windows, cross drilled everything else and more aluminum bolts.  Goal: 70 lbs... and I bet it's possible.

This year's engine efficiency after working the numbers backwards:  8%   ???    Looks like our flywheel dyno results weren't lying!  Oh, well, I guess running the engine in it's most efficient power band was much more important.  And who would think that a car that gets 1485 mpg has too much engine   ;D  The good think is that we get another chance next year... a 20% engine wouldn't be out of the question, since we were at 17.2% at one point this year.