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Engineering is not only about books or theories or formulae, it is rather about how you use them practically. And if you are an engineer who loves automobiles, you don’t feel at home unless there is some grease beneath your fingernails and some oil on your jeans. An enthusiastic bunch of students from the KJ Somaiya College of Engineering in Mumbai have undertaken the challenge of building one of the most fuel efficient cars to participate in the Shell Eco-Marathon Asia and are amongst 17 other colleges chosen from India to participate in the event in Manila, Philippines.
Their machine, the ‘Eta’, will not certainly win a quarter mile, but, will still be running mile after mile consuming the same amount of fuel. The car derives its power from a 35cc lawn mower motor which has a maximum rotational speed of 8,000rpm producing 1.7Nm of torque at 5,500rpm. This motor is mated to a single-speed transmission that powers a single wheel at the rear. The car can attain a maximum speed of 40 kmph. The fact that would surprise you is the 2,500mm long car has a puny 250ml fuel tank.
The team took a period of two months to design the car based on their concepts and another three months to fabricate the designs. They have used aluminum pipes to make the space-frame chassis as light as possible. Even the engine mount sub-frame, suspension links et al is made out of aluminum. The body shell as well as the frame and components were designed using Solidworks software. The body shell is split into two halves and moulded from fibreglass to keep the weight of the car in check.
The car features no suspension as the test run and the competition race is going to be held on well-prepared racetracks. The car has specially hand built Continental Grand-prix pencil thin 20 x 1-1/8” wheels and tyres to minimise the rolling resistance and maximise grip. The front wheels are preset at a negative camber of 5° to improve the cornering performance in the absence of suspension.
The project hasn’t been a fairy tale - with the event getting cancelled last year - the car was put in cold storage. However, the students have built another car complying with the new rules and regulations for this year’s competition. While we could not meet the entire 25 member strong team working on the project, we did meet the key players who have put all their efforts behind this noble idea. We are glad to have met the team behind the project ETA and wish them success at Shell Eco-Marathon Asia.
