Product category:
Lubricants
News Release from: Brammer UK
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 29 August 2000
2662 miles per gallon from Team Green
This year BSL-sponsored Team Green won the 24th Shell Eco-Marathon competition in a car that achieved an amazing figure of 2662 miles per gallon over a five mile long outdoor track.
This year 'Team Green' won the 24th Shell Eco-Marathon competition in a car that achieved an amazing figure of 2662 miles per gallon over a five mile long outdoor track Through a sponsorship deal with BSL the team were provided with wheel bearings that helped cut the rolling resistance of the car to just 1.5 Newtons, a critical factor in achieving the win
The event was organised by Shell Global Solutions to promote greener more efficient transport technology, it was held at the NEC in July.
The rules specify that each team should construct a vehicle capable of covering a 5 or 10 mile course at a minimum average speed of 15 miles per hour.
Forty teams from around the world were invited to compete including privateers company teams and research institutes.
Team Green was entered by team manager Andy Green, a Manufacturing Engineer working in the Mechanical Engineering Department at University of Bath.
Andy commented on BSL's involvement, "Sourcing a set of high quality radial bearings with exacting dimensions was crucial to completing the project.
We approached BSL as the natural choice to supply bearings locally, they have a high profile and have supplied our department with components and advice for several years".
His request for assistance arrived with Jackie Greenwood, Branch Manager at BSL Bath "Bearings are obviously part of our every day business and we had exactly the right ones in stock, we are always pleased to support local people and events that have a positive goal, hence we agreed to provide the bearings free of charge and become an official sponsor of the team".
The bearings supplied by BSL are fitted to 12mm stub axles and carry 20 inch modified BMX style bicycle wheels with special low rolling resistance tyres developed by Michelin.
Andy Green "keeping the mechanical friction within the vehicle to a minimum was crucial, the vehicle's body has a very low drag coefficient of just 0.12, hence the majority of the force the motor is working against once the vehicle is moving is rolling resistance.
This meant that the wheel bearings played a central role in reducing rolling resistance and adding to the efficiency of the vehicle".
"Our requirement for good quality bearings was imperative, because we removed the dust seals on the inside of each bearing and flushed the grease out, replacing it with drops of light oil.
This ensured there was as little viscous resistance as possible from the lubricant, but it did mean that contamination was inevitable.
Thanks to a quality product the bearings functioned perfectly over twenty laps in wet conditions" The overall winning figure of 2662 miles per gallon fuel efficiency was achieved on the penultimate run of the day, the hand built 40 cc single cylinder engine consumed just 8.55cc of fuel while covering a distance of 5 miles.
Future plans for the car include carbon fibre wheels and hence, more bearings from BSL.
The BSL service is available from over a hundred local Customer Service Centres, offering nation wide sales and technical support 24hrs, to contact a local Customer Service Centres simply call 0870 240 2100.
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