Lexington Herald-Leader
No gas, no problem
Submitted by nicksuch on Sun, 05/24/2009 - 23:00
The University of Kentucky Solar Car Team ran some tests of Gato Del Sol III, its third solar panel-powered car, on Sunday in preparation for competition May 31 through June 5 at Motorsport Ranch in Cresson, Texas. The UK Team, comprised of students from several departments in the UK College of Engineering, will compete against teams from about 10 other colleges. The new model is powered by a combination of 480 solar panels and 168 lithium polymer batteries. Last summer, Kentucky successfully completed the North American Solar Car Challenge, a 2,400-mile race from Plano, Texas, to Calgary, Alberta.
(Photos by Matt Goins)
Matt Goins
The Gato Del Sol III can reach speeds of 55 mph. The combined weight of car and driver is about 660 pounds.
Matt Goins
The spartan cockpit of the solar-powered car includes a simple control panel.
Hypermilers squeeze the most out of a gallon of gas
Submitted by nicksuch on Sat, 05/23/2009 - 01:53
Robert Wyler was tooling along the interstate near Lexington on Thursday afternoon in his '86 Honda Civic with manual transmission, his speedometer pointing to 60, doing his part to lessen the nation's dependence on foreign oil.
The windows were rolled up for aerodynamics. The air conditioner didn't work, but Wyler wouldn't have been running it if it did.
Approaching Newtown Pike, he turned the ignition switch off (which you shouldn't try with an automatic). Without touching the brakes, he hit the exit at a speed that caused his passenger to hold on, and coasted most of the way to the traffic signal.
Anthony Robertson was called hypermiler. He did small changes to his already hybrid car to make it more gas efficient.
UK solar car builders celebrate
Submitted by Webmaster on Wed, 07/30/2008 - 08:00
The University of Kentucky Solar Car Team drove Gato del Sol III into the courtyard of the UK Engineering building in celebration of the solar car’s completion of the 2,400-mile North American Solar Car Challenge last week. The car traveled from Plano, Texas, to Calgary, Alberta, using only power generated by solar panels for fuel.
The UK solar car team is a student-led organization, with most of the design and construction of the car done by the students. Only a few of the car’s components were bought and or manufactured off-campus.
The car’s motor generates 2 horsepower at about 2 kilowatts, and it also acts as a generator when braking so that little energy is wasted. Top speed is estimated at 70 mph, although it has never been measured for sure because the faster you go, the more energy you waste.
The shell of the car is made of foam and fiberglass composite, making it light and strong. The vehicle has 474 solar cells and 364 batteries. The car runs on three wheels which gives it less aerodynamic drag and rolling resistance.
According to the team’s Web site, this was Kentucky’s first solar car to qualify and finish in the competition. The UK entry came in 11th at about 100 hours. The winning time, for the University of Michigan’s vehicle, was less than 52 hours. Oregon State University had the final finisher, at about 145 hours.
