Purdue Solar Racing

As noted in the previous post, we won the solar division and had the most efficient car overall, but we were not eligible to win the grand prize. We knew going into the competition that we were ineligible because the grand prize only includes combustion engines, not solar powered electric motors. Nevertheless, we are still thrilled with our performance here at the Shell Eco-Marathon. It was an amazing experience and we plan to return next year.

We'll post all of our pictures in our photo gallery when we get back to Purdue. We have lots of photos of PULSAR and the other cars. The shell website also has many pictures of PULSAR, so check it out if you haven't already.

Thanks again to all of our sponsors! We couldn't have done it without you! As we like to say: The sun powers the car, but sponsors power the team.

PULSAR, the most efficient car at the 2008 Shell Eco-Marathon Americas!!

It's official: We've won the solar class at the 2008 Shell EcoMarathon!

We just finished five straight runs, for a total of six runs today.

Our first run was invalid because we used more power than we consumed, but our second, third, and fourth runs were all valid. We'll report those numbers shortly. Our fifth run ended in disappointment when we finished 3 seconds late. Our final attempt ended when we popped a tire on our last lap.

At the moment we're still waiting for the final results. They aren't posted yet, but at the moment PULSAR is the most efficient car in the field, averaging a calculated 2861.8 mpg, only 19mpg higher than the next car.

Overall we are very proud of the job everyone's done this week and throughout the semester. The car exceeded even our best expectations and we're thrilled at the performance we've and efficiency we've gotten.

Thanks again to everyone who helped support us this year.

The two Mater Dei cars, which finished first and third in the combustion engine division. The car on the floor placed first in the combustion division, with 2843.1 mpg.

We just finished our second official run with only 357 Joules to spare! After the changes we made to the car yesterday, the car ran about 15% more efficient and we should be over 2600mpg. We'll let you know when we find out the official score. We're preparing for our next run now and should be back on the track in a few minutes.

BOILER UP!

PULSAR and some of the team waiting for the group photo on the second day of racing.

We just completed our fourth and final run of the day. Although it did not count since we're getting less sunlight, we've managed to lower our power requirement by over 20% since the first run. Now that the drivers have had more practice and we've tweaked the car's setup, we should be ready to set even higher mpg's tomorrow under the full noon sun.

PULSAR waiting for inspection right before our last run of the day. Yes, it looks rather strange without the fairings.

2380.1mpg!!!!

Our second run posted a gas equivalent rating of 2380.1mpg, good enough for 2nd place and only 3mpg below the current leader! We just completed our third run and posted a 2497.1 but did not count because we used more energy than we produced from the solar array. We're heading out for another run now. We'll keep you posted on the results.

Our friends from Cal Poly, the current leaders.

Cole the fairing man keeps us entertained as we prep PULSAR for the next run.