The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Supermileage competition is a collegiate design competition consisting of undergraduate and graduate students. The goal of the competition is to provide students with the opportunity to take on the challenge of researching, designing, constructing and testing the most fuel efficient, single person vehicle. The 2018 Supermileage competition will take place on June 7th and 8th in Marshall, Michigan at the Eaton Testing Grounds.

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Winter Break:

The team began construction on the frame and the fairing mold. The frame members were cut and spot welded in place. The fairing mold, constructed of 2″ foam pieces, were cut to corresponding cross-sectional sizes. The gluing of the foam cross-sections began.

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Weeks of Jan. 22 & 29:

The team completed the majority of sanding necessary on the fairing mold in preparation for the gel coat. The process of getting engine modifications, steering and drive train parts manufactured began by finalizing designs.

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Weeks of Feb. 5 & 12:

The team applied a layer of spackle on the foam fairing mold to protect it from the gel coat. A layer of gel coat was applied to the mold. The designs for the engine modifications and steering were finalized and the bolt pattern for the donor head was determined.

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Weeks of Feb. 19 & 26:

The team finished the prep work for the fairing carbon fiber layup. The exhaust, camshaft modification and drive train designs were completed. The wheels were fully spoked by Knapps Cyclery.

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Weeks of Mar. 5 & 12:

The team laid the carbon fiber on the top side of the fairing. The connecting rod manufacturing began. The steering designs were finalized. The throttle body adapter flanges and injector were manufactured.

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Weeks of Mar. 19 & 26:

The team laid the carbon fiber on the bottom side of the fairing. The camshaft modifications were completed and the connecting rod manufacturing continued. The steering manufacturing began. The nozzle for the throttle body adapter was completed and the entire throttle body adapter was welded together.

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Weeks of Apr. 2 & 9:

The team began testing on the the stock Briggs & Stratton engine. The drivetrain was modified to a two-stage design. The steering wheel was welded together. The bolt pattern for the donor head was transferred onto the stock engine and the sleeve was completed and inserted into the engine. The steering blocks were completed and welded to the frame. The fairing was stiffened up to add sturdiness.

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Weeks of Apr. 16 & 23:

The team completed the engine modifications and are in the final assembly process as well as conducting tests on the stock Briggs & Stratton with iso-octane fuel and the wide-band oxygen sensor. The chains were sized for both the two-stage and CVT configurations and the drivetrain was completely assembled. The windows for the fairing were added and the frame had additional supports welded into place. The steering was also assembled.

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Weeks of Apr. 30 & May 7:

Coming Soon!

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