Preparation for the 2021 Competition
Update: 2/1/2021
We got the engine started! We are currently working on the virtual award submissions for the 2021 Shell Eco-marathon competition. The team was fortunate to participate in a mini virtual quiz competition, it was an amazing experience to learn more about the history of the competition and also to review the rules and regulations.
Update: 1/15/2020
The team has been officially accepted into the 2020 competition after making it through two phases of applications. We are extremely excited and are making great progress on the vehicle. As of now, the car's chassis is rolling and the engine is being mounted. The electrical system is being assembled and the steering system is complete.
Update: 5/11/2020
The 2020 competition was unfortunately cancelled due to COVID-19. While the team was deeply saddened by this news, we are fortunate enough to have a strong future of engineering students to take over our hard work. Futhermore, the Shell held virtual awards for the 2020 teams and JMU Supermileage won the Vehicle Safety Award! The winners were chosen based on applications submitted to a panel of judges outlining aspects of our car and our team. We won the Safety Award because of our impressive safety procedures in the workplace and the extensive safety measures done to the design of our vehicle. This will award the JMU Supermileage enterprise with $3000 and this is the second time JMU has won the Safety Award in the past three years.
Update: 8/2/2020
The 2021 competition will definitely take a non-traditional approach. Due to the uncertainty that is being experienced, much modularity will have to be put into place to best adjust to changes. The team is excited to take on the challenge and promote safety guidelines as the vehicle is worked upon. Furthermore, what this means for the team is maintaining and sanitizing the workspace appropriately, social distancing, and using face coverings properly. The goal of this year is to finish the chassis of the vehicle according to our own guidelines and the competition's and to process the best tune to the engine where we reach optimal engine and drivetrain performance.
2019 Competition
The 2019 Shell Eco-Marathon competition was an incredible learning experience. The team passed all nine technical inspections and was able to compete during the prototype races. Although we were not able to complete a qualifying run, we were able to get out on the racetrack three times. Unfortunately, the car experienced difficulties on the track and would die making it up one of the inclines. The team worked together to find the problem and was able to make some progress, getting the car back on the track multiple times, however the car still did not have enough power.
Overall, the team learned a lot and had some incredible experiences together. The junior Data Acquisition team were lucky enough to tag along and can bring back the data and information gathered to make significant improvements for next year's competition.
Preparing for the 2019 Competition
As the 2019 Competition rapidly approaches, the current senior team is crossing their T's and dotting their i's as they prepare to compete at Sonoma. The vehicle has been loaded and shipped to Sonoma and both teams are excited to see the vehicle perform.
The 2020 Data Acquisition team is particularly excited as they will be able to put their data acquisition system they have designed and implemented on the vehicle to the test. This system will log data not only to inform the 2019 team as they tweak and modify the engine's tune, but to get data about the conditions and performance of the vehicle such as power, strain on the chassis, incline, and engine diagnostic information that previously could not be recorded. This information will be instrumental as the 2020 competition team designs their drivetrain and chassis in preperation for next years competition.
