A New Track

The VK under ice

Once more, spring is seemingly late in arrival and time spent testing and prepping the VK for the next event leaves one with a chill. So, what have we been doing, you might ask. We have been prepping the VK for an Eco Rally, the Green Grand Prix at Watkins Glen International road course. A Road Course!!!! We love these type of courses. It is literally like driving through the hills of Southern Indiana. The VK will be participating in the Doris Bovee Memorial Road Rally, which is an SCCA event. Watkins Glen is a great track with loads of history! This rally will be on the 2.45 mile road course, which is the same used by the NASCAR Sprint Cup series. It will be lots of fun.

The team has picked up some new sponsors. We look forward to unveiling the latest sponsors logos just before the race. Who are they??? Well, a hint would be one is an Indiana based business that is well known for sponsoring large things. The other is a relative unknown that we hope will be known after the Rally! We still have our first sponsor on board, XS Power. We are using their latest technology in the VK. The BITW Technologies team really appreciates the staff at XS Power! Diesel USA Group is also giving us great tech support. Thank you Roger Lighter and Staff. We are still wearing shirts from Blue Cotton, Thanks Mike.

We will post more data about the event up to when the rally starts!

Diesel Power magazine will be covering the event, watch their blog after April 15.

2010 What a year!

Well, the end of the year is upon us and it is time to ponder the outcome of the last 364 days.

BLAH BLAH BLAH!!!

I'm not very reflective, as I like to look to the future and NOT cry about where things did not go as planned. It is obvious that we did not win the 24th letter competition that we spent the past 2 1/2 years working on.

Coloring sheet compliments of the Saint Louis Science Center

We did learn a lot and have found that there are many smart people in the world that think like we do. Diesel powered vehicles are the most energy efficient vehicle one could drive. We found that the Mid Ohio Road Course is a fun place to drive. We plan to be at Watkins Glen in April for the Green Grand Prix, an SCCA sanctioned event. (greengrandprix.com) The Vincitore' 1000(VK) should be ready for the event. It will be a lot of fun to be on a track again.





The VK is currently being driven on a daily basis in ALL weather conditions. Kind of like the Mailman, neither snow, sleet or driving rain can keep the VK down.

Hope you all have a Great New Year!!!

The BITW Technologies Team!!

Diesel Power Magazine

George Voll makes some final adjustments before the economy run begins.

BITW Technologies Vincitore' 1000 was featured in Diesel Power magazine, again! They wrote a story on the Progressive Insurance Automotive X-Prize competition and how the VK was the best fit to achieve the goals of the competition. The powertrain is approaching 30 K miles and keeps running strong in all types of terrains and temperatures! Diesel starts easier than E-85 below 60 degrees, which was very evident during the Shakedown part of the competition.

Prepping for Shakedown Economy run, April 2010.

The team was at Chelsea Proving Grounds in October to do coast down testing and then to Auburn Hills to get an emissions test. Testing went very well and we were amazed at how low the CO was. The car went over a mile in the coastdown, and did very well for a production chassis. We will have more about that one later!

Return to St. Louis Science Center

The BITW Technologies Team pushes the Vincitore' 1000 into the Center.

This past weekend the BITW Technologies Team got to display the Vincitore' 1000 at the St. Louis Science Center for a second time. It was a great day to be at the Center! The president of the X-Prize Foundation, Robert Weiss was visiting the Center to speak about the progress of the various X-Prize activities and competitions. He later came over to visit the BITW Technologies Team to see the car and ask a few questions. We pushed the VK through the front door with a few inches to spare. "Under the Hood" is a interactive hands on display of fuel technologies in that shows the Progressive Insurance Automotive X-Prize entries. It was a very informative display.

Under the Hood Display, see the middle column!

Team members fielded many questions about the VK and Bio Diesel fuel from visitors. Some of the kids asked questions like, "is it real?", "How did you get in in here?" It was an enjoyable experience to explain to the younger visitors how it works and what it can do.

George answering questions about the VK.

Once again, the VK was driven, under it's own power, from Southern Indiana to St. Louis. After the event, George drove it to Michigan, fully loaded, to perform emissions testing at Chrysler's Chelsea Proving Grounds and at the Auburn Hills Test Facility.

We were very honored to be asked to come back to the Saint Louis Science Center and more so to be considered their "Home Team". BITW Technologies Team and their families, thank all of the staff and volunteers at the Saint Louis Science Center. You guys are great!!

Dan, Ethan and George with the VK.

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

School of Hard Knocks

George drives with the windows down during the city run.

Now that we have had a chance to sleep a little more than in the past 6 months, a reassessment of strategy has come about for BITW Technologies. What next, park the VK (Vincitore' 1000) for 20 years and wait for the next contest, or attack the market with some proven solutions. Being a student of General GS Patton, waiting is not the answer. If you want to get noticed, you need to be seen. We will be working on a visual marketing strategy for the next couple of months that will unleash the full fury of the internet and other media outlets. A plan will be developed and the value of the small displacement diesel will be exploited.






We have also analyzed some things that were done to the VK during the run up to the Knockout event. We found that out testing methodology has been consistent and in accordance with standards used in various industries and institutions, so we will continue to use those methods. Our competition prep has shown some weaknesses, including the event procedure. We will make better checklists and increase inspection frequency. Simple things like an inspection could have made the difference in the Knockout event, as was noted in our previous blog. Perimeter security is also something that will need to improve. It's good to show the car, but some areas should be guarded and discipline in our area maintained.








Vehicle performance is another thing that has been analyzed. The strengths of the VK are as follows:




The car is solid. It breezed through the Durability run in the shakedown. Wish there was more video of that event( There was a camera crew at the hairpin curve). No breakdown. No overheating. The VK responded to harsh driving with spirit. Ask any trackworker that saw it.








Handling is good. No problem with the accident avoidance maneuvers. The car has a full independent suspension with Kumho Solus tires on Volk Racing wheels.



Braking was good. The VK passed the braking test, although one of the videos showed the VK locking up in a stop. That was more of a human error problem.



Acceleration gave us a little trouble in the Shakedown event, but our fix answered that problem.


Range is well over 200 miles, as shown during the drive home.


Space and accessibility are excellent. Four adults can get in and out quickly, via there four doors. Plenty of trunk space.


MPGe is higher than what was obtained during the efficiency run. 99% reliability still means 1 % failure. The lack of boost cost us the run. We know what the vehicle would do in portions of the test and were disappointed with the problem. We will demonstrate the MPGe capabilities and post them.




That is a start, we are still compiling data and will continue to improve the VK and the BITW Technologies team. The data will also be used to build the next generation VK.




The events also gave us a good perspective of the variety of methods employed to improve efficiency in automobiles. Lots of neat ideas at the competition. The X-Tracer vehicles were very impressive. Ethan got to ride in the E-Tracer on Saturday. He was impressed. A few vehicles may even score spots in hollywood productions. We met a lot of very interesting people, some of whom had a lot of influence on various vehicles that we respect and admire. Very educational.