The Vehicle has Landed!

Just a quickie.

We got word this afternoon that our vehicle safely arrived in Hiroshima! *Phewf* A big sigh of relief on our side as we were worried that we would have troubles getting our shipment through customs. Things went quite smoothly. Shown above is a photo that was sent to us by Mr. Nakane of team Fancy Carol. Depicted is a man curiously examining the small box as it was twice as heavy as the larger box.

We leave in two days from the Land of the Rising Gas prices to the Land of the Rising Sun.

Sayonara!

Vehicle Shipped! Destination: Hiroshima, Japan

Hiroshima 2005 (source: www.monodukuri.org)

As you may or may not have heard by now, the UBC Supermileage Team will be entering the Supermileage Car Challenge Hiroshima 2006. On August 26-27th, thirty teams from across Japan come to Hiroshima in to compete to create the most fuel-efficient car possible.

Site link: www.monodukuri.org

After talks earlier in the year, UBC has been granted permission to participate in their competition.

The rules of Supermileage Hiroshima are similar to Shell Eco-marathon rules and thus differ from those at the SAE Supermileage Competition. The main differences are:

1. The Fuel System - Vehicles are allowed to use pressurized air systems for fuel delivery.
2. Fuel Measurement - Is determined by weighing of the entire fuel system before an after each run attempt.
3. Starter Motor Light - Instead of a brake light in as in the SAE Competition, vehicles must have a light that is connected in parallel to the starter motor to visually indicate when the starter motor is being powered. This prevents teams from essentially having an electric car.
4. Engine Design - Engines designs are unrestricted and teams and have complete control over the powerplant features. This is in contrast to the SAE rules, which require teams to base their designs off a stock 3.5hp 148cc Briggs and Stratton engine.
5. The track is longer, but much flatter compared to the track in Michigan. This should provide for an interesting contrast in terms of driving strategy, gear ratios, etc.
   

Obviously, we are very excited about going to Japan. To my knowledge, this will be the first time a North American team will be entering their competition. Here are some photos of one of their top competitors, Fancy Carol.









Fancy Carol (source: www.monodukuri.org)

We hope to at least meet, if not beat our mileage numbers in Michigan due to the more favourable track and a more accurate fuel measurement method.

We will be bringing a video camera generously provided by Global TV to record our experiences in Japan. Hopefully, we can share some of the media with everyone after Global TV has used it for airing on TV. Thanks also to Air Canada Cargo and SDV for providing the funding and support necessary in order to ship our vehicle and tools to Japan.

I am guessing the next post from us will be from Japan. To all the Japanese teams: ganbatte! (goodluck!)