Vetter Challenge

Last Friday, July 20, we took the VK to the Mid-Ohio racetrack for the Vetter Challenge, which was during the AMA Vintage Days. It was a great event held during a great AMA gathering at a great venue.

 I am always excited to go to Mid-Ohio and get on the track, even if it is only one lap. We met Friday morning and prepared to take an 80 mile run. It was unique for u.s, as most of the vehicles were streamlined motorcycles. Last years event had our friend Jack McCormack with his Diesel sportscar,Max, as the lone 4 wheeled entrant. This year we were privileged to be invited. The criteria for the challenge is that the vehicle must be capable of going 70 miles per hour, into a 30 MPH headwind while efficiently and safely carrying 4 bags of groceries. Carol Vetter insured that the groceries fit within the competitors vehicles. We were nervous, but passed with room to spare. We had a lot of stuff in the trunk, such as extra toolboxes, chairs, fuel containers, wax and other items needed for a cross country trip. We made room in the back seat for the bags. After topping off the fuel tank and rigging the video cameras, we were ready to hit the track

We took the lap around Mid-Ohio and proceeded out to the open roads. About a third of the way into the run, one of the electric bikes was layed over in a curve.  Looked like he hit a wet spot and the rear tire broke loose. The rider was OK, bruised with a bit of road rash, it shows the value of using proper protective gear. When all was clear, we continued on the route, but had lost the main group.  We missed a turn and ended up 5 miles over after the end of the run. Keeping up with motorcycles burns fuel. They accelerate quicker and take hills better.

In the end, the top bike was the Hayes Diesel Airtech, at over 143.6 MPG @1.93 cents per mile. We got 57.6 MPG in this run. Looks like we have some work to do to get the numbers up again. Noticed a few mechanical problems that were repaired when we got home. Later found a leaky fuel return line.  That doesn't help with mileage either. For full results, see link below.

http://www.craigvetter.com/pages/2012-Fuel-contests/2012-Vintage-Days-Challenge.html

We talked to some of the competitors. There were a lot of interesting people in the group. One common bond was a desire to get the most fuel efficiency possible from the vehicle.

We were very impressed with the bikes that shared our combustion cycle, the HDT motorcycles. Fred Hayes has been developing a Diesel motorcycle engine that is a purpose built motorcycle engine. It is not a modified automotive or industrial engine like the ones you may find in Europe or even in some bikes here. It is a very special engine that could revolutionize the motorcycle world. He designed them to be used in military motorcycles, per U.S. Navy specs. One fuel improves logistics and is a tactical advantage.

Fred Hayes is a very interesting man with a lot of great ideas.

Makes me want to get a motorcycle and start streamlining it!

Sunday with Senator Lugar

This past Sunday afternoon, the members of the BITW Technologies team had a special opportunity. We had a meeting with U.S. Senator Richard Lugar. He wanted to talk to us about what we have done with the vehicle since the Progressive Automotive X-Prize. We were excited about the fact that a U.S. Senator wanted to meet with us. During the previous week we planned our meeting by putting together data from our past for a power point presentation and putting some ideas about how the Diesel Engine Technology can be a valuable component in a practical energy policy.

As of today, there is no domestic automobile manufacturer that is building Diesel cars. There are plenty Diesel trucks on the market, just no American made Diesel cars. Why is that? Government regulations make it too difficult for producers. That needs to change. VW Diesels are imported. They get 40 to 50 MPG. Diesel Engines are much cleaner than they were in the 70's. Why not adjust the EPA requirements to allow the US auto manufacturers into the Diesel game?

I will refrain from going on about the efficiency and power that Diesel engines are capable of. This is about our visit with Senator Lugar. He came after lunch and shook hands with the team members and talked with us about what we had done. We then sat down and Dan gave the power point presentation, briefing the Senator on our project and what we had done in the X-Prize and Green Grand Prix. Afterward, we talked about energy policy and why Diesel power is in danger of being removed from the American consumer. The current EPA regulations are causing engine manufacturers to drop small Diesel engines between 30 and 50 HP. That outcome will be disastrous for the power equipment and agriculture industries without reform.

Senator Lugar had a lot of good things to say about the project and that he was glad that he named BITW Technologies as a Lugar Energy Patriot back in Feb 2010.

The meeting was held at the Mister Hardware in Edwardsville that George manages. We want to thank Phil Gettlefinger for allowing us to meet there and for all of the help and support he has provided on the project.

100 plus MPG!!!

BITW TECHNOLOGIES Vincitore' 1000

The Green Grand Prix was a great event! We got to run the VK on the Watkins Glen International road course. We won our class( Diesel) and exceeded our MPG numbers to date,.. by a large margin. The number was 6.667 MPG above 100. That would be 106.667 MPGa. 100 MPG was the benchmark that we had been working to achieve, and we exceeded it! This was done on a racetrack with hills and hairpin turns with traffic! There were 45 entries that competed during the rally. There were also teams that had competed in the X Prize that were in the GGP. West Philly High School, Cornell University, and Enginer. The Dirigo car was also there. Many Diesel entries competed.

Diesel Competitors at Watkins Glen International

We found that the TSD format was challenging. It required a navigator to keep track of lap times and overall time to stay at the correct average speed for the rally. The navigator has a tough job keeping time and holding back a driver that wants to speed up. We will definitely do this at the next opportunity!

George meets Mr. Turtle

After the rally, everyone received a treat, literally! Mr. Turtle, from Demet's Candy Company, brought in the original Turtles candy. That made us forget about lunch for a while while the MPG's and scores were determined.

There was also a competition for high school students to build and race electric karts, the Electrathon. Some very nice and competitive karts ran in it.

Two Chevy Metro based cars won their respective classes. The car to the right was entered by Corning Community College. It is a 96 model with a 3 cylinder gasoline engine.

We would like to thank all of our sponsors! Their support helped make our goal possible! 100 MPG is achievable in a production type car. I mentioned in the last blog that there were two new sponsors. Here they are:

Lucas Oil and RenDiesel. Lucas Oil lubrication products were used in the VK to help improve efficiency. RenDiesel is a Synthetic Diesel producer. We are testing their product and used some during the GGP. We would like to also thank our other sponsors, XS Power (light weight battery), Blue Cotton (Team Uniforms), Diesel USA Group (Technical Support and other things) and the National BioDiesel Board for spreading the word!

BITW Technologies supports the research and development of alternative fuels sources for use in Diesel engines. BioDiesel and Synthetic Diesel are both fuels that have many benefits for improving the world we live in and securing a future of energy Independence for our children.

DC Road Trip

Been a while since the last post, "Practical Is", and we have been busy doing the things that average American families do. Football, Cub Scouts, Family Reunions, and School have occupied the time of the BITW Technologies Team.

The Progressive Automotive X-Prize Web Site had some fan voter contests this summer and one was "Most Practical". We are proud to say that the Vincitore' 1000 got 4th place in the rankings and was top of class in the "Most Practical" Fan Vote. In the "Most Wanted" category it received 5th place, and 2nd in class to the Illuminati 7. It is a great daily driver and commuter and is capable of hauling passengers short and long distances. This week it was used to travel to Washington D.C. to attend the Awards Ceremony for the Progressive Insurance Automotive X-Prize. The route covered the hills of Kentucky to the Mountains of West Virginia and Virginia. A route that has some serious hill climbing. The Vincitore' 1000 (VK) was once again up to the task. Hills are no problem. George and his family are very familiar with D.C., having lived there for a number of years, so the traffic is not an issue. Parking may be, however, as parking in D.C. has never been easy.

We are waiting to see who the winners of each class are going to be. George is the only team member attending the event. Logistically speaking, it was very hard to fit it in to every ones schedule. One thing that may not be known about our team is that we don't all live in the same town. The team members with the closest distance would be Bob Boyd and Bob Voll, at about 8 miles. George is about 8 miles from them. Dan is North 100 miles away and Dave is South 130 miles away. Mark approx 110 miles South East and Robert 120 Miles North of the Garage. Brian lives about 15 miles away but works out of town frequently and could not work on the project on a regular basis. We were all able to work on specific projects to apply to the VK at our respective locations. Had we been closer, the outcome would have been much better. We accomplished something that many teams couldn't at a very low cost.

The event represents the end of a chapter in the BITW Technologies story but not the end of an idea. As we have stated before, we are continuing to refine the vehicle powertrain and are looking at some new platforms to apply the technology to. We have been collecting more data on the road time also. We still have some options open that we have been examining. We might write a Do It Yourself manual since we have talked to a lot of people that have been interested. It could be the fastest way to get this technology on the streets and highways of America. Stay tuned, you will see it here first!

Practical Is

One thing that we have not talked about in depth is the practical values of the Vincitore' 1000 (VK). In this blog we will highlight these to give people something to think about regarding selection of a high MPGe automobile.

Four Doors, Four Seats, Four Wheels:

Easy access for adult passengers. (George is 6'4" tall)

Seating for four adult passengers, with comfort.

Stable platform for safe driving and sure handling.

Ample trunk space, over 10 cubic feet.

Great Diesel Performance:

Excellent economy without resorting to hypermiling techniques.

Great torque for climbing hills or pulling a load, such as a jet ski or Parade Float.

Multi Fuel capability. Fuels include Diesel, B-20 Diesel, B-100 Diesel, Veggy-Diesel and Strained Cooking Oils. Other potential fuel includes synthetic Diesel and Algae Diesel, plus many other lipid based fuel stock.

Click on link for Bio Diesel information

http://www.indianasoybean.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12&Itemid=86

Fueling in less than 5 minutes, anywhere Diesel is found. Diesel is an existing part of the national fuel infrastructure.

Click on link to view St Louis Trip

http://www.youtube.com/user/BITWTechnologies#p/u/8/7T2McLnOWSI

Long Range, the VK can travel up to 1000 miles on a tank of fuel. That means non stop until the tank is empty. Drive coast to coast with 3 fill ups.

Click link to view Nashville trip.

http://www.youtube.com/user/BITWTechnologies#p/a/u/2/dB11FHzxhV0

Reliability, Diesel engine is very simple and thus reliable. Starts easy and is ready to go quickly.

Maintenance is easy and mechanics will appreciate the drivetrain access.

Comfort:

The VK has basic accessories such as Air Conditioning, Heat and Defrost, bucket seats, radio and windows that roll down.

The VK was designed as a daily driver and has met and exceeded this role since being assembled. It is not a concept, but a reality at a cost less than $20K. As a commuter car, a fleet car or a family car, the VK can do it all. On or off road when hauling people, luggage and trailers, the VK is nothing, if not Practical!

Tell the world what you think is practical, too! Vote BITW as Most Practical!
http://www.progressiveautoxprize.org/fan-favorites