Update

Well, I’m really excited about being able to compete in the Shell Eco-marathon it’s first year back in the states and I am really excited that we were number five of the first five teams to register and therefore be eligible for the $10K reimbursement.

We had some good conversations last Thursday and I think we will be well on our way to making some tangible progress in the weeks to come.

As promised, I am working on our “team specs” that include both requirements for SAU Supermileage and Shell Eco-marathon and will be clearing up some technical questions that we have come across already.

I have also re-worked the numbers that Mike and Lauren provided for the driver dimensions and have put up a few new drawings to reflect these changes….

http://dana.ucc.nau.edu/pr62/Files/SAE/

Overall the dimensions are approximately 95” long, 32” at the driver’s head, and 25” wide at the front wheels. I was able to find a source for 16” front wheels with a low rolling resistance thanks to Mark James and his folding bike so , a 16” diameter was used for the front while a 20” is still in place for the rear for now. For these smaller diameter tires you can check out Dahon http://www.dahon.com/components/performance.htm

I also moved the engine a little farther back for a better center of gravity (witch may or may not be necessary) with the front tires now placed closer to the Driver’s hips rather than at the knees.

I still left 6” for each wheel well for not only the tires themselves but steering gear, brakes, and sprockets. This should allow us more than enough space to allow for turning in the front. With a track of 19” and a wheelbase of 57.75” and a desired turning radius of 600”. The angle that the wheels will have to turn would be approximately 1°. So, the tire would have to move only a little more than ¼” so, we might be able to trim down this width a bit but, we do have to take into consideration the steering gear….

At any rate, if anyone has any questions or my thought process seems flawed, please don’t hesitate to let me know.