2010 Shell Eco Marathon

[fannum]

As a long time owner and user of more sub-one liter cars than any sane person should be involved with, I've followed these events, and suspect there is a place for a tweaked smart to show it's potential. As a long time journalist and engineer, I've asked for details. Will keep this thread posted. - Cheers, Bob

2010 shell eco-marathon americas™ takes to the streets

Registration Now Open for Fuel Efficiency Challenge to Take Place around the Streets of Houston, TX

Houston – A stroll around the park will have a whole new meaning in spring 2010 when the Shell Eco-marathon Americas heads to Houston, Texas. Walkers, runners and cyclists at Discovery Green will be replaced by cars of the future, as high school, university, and college students test vehicles they have designed and built to see which can go the farthest distance using the least amount of fuel. The 2010 Shell Eco-marathon Americas, taking place March 26-28, 2010, will once again showcase exciting student innovations and futuristic vehicles, but this time on an all-new street course.

“Bringing the Shell Eco-marathon to our home town of Houston provides the student teams with an all-new setting to stretch the boundaries of fuel efficiency,” said Marvin Odum, President, Shell Oil Company. “The Shell Eco-marathon offers young people interested in technology, energy, and transportation a unique, hands-on opportunity to showcase their innovations. We look forward to seeing these vehicles on the Houston street course. This is a spectator event this year; I encourage student teams to register and many to come watch and get a glimpse of the future.”

Similar to the 2009 event, student teams are encouraged to participate in the “Prototype” or “Urban Concept” categories – or both! The “Prototype” category invites student teams to enter futuristic prototypes – streamlined vehicles focused on maximizing fuel efficiency through innovative design elements, such as drag reduction. The “Urban Concept” category, introduced at the 2009 event, focuses on more “roadworthy” fuel-efficient vehicles. Aimed at meeting the real-life needs of drivers, these vehicles are closer in appearance to the higher-mileage cars seen on roads today. For both categories, teams can use any conventionally available energy source – including fuels such as diesel, gasoline and liquid petroleum gas, as well as alternative fuels such as hydrogen, biomass and solar.

Registration for the 2010 Shell Eco-marathon Americas is now open. Interested teams are invited to sign-up NOW for a chance to stake their claim in next year’s challenge! For more information on all the 2010 events across the globe, including official rules, instructions for registration and details on prizes, please visit the Shell Eco-marathon Web site at www.shell.com/ecomarathon.

The Shell Eco-marathon began in 1939 at a Shell research laboratory in the U.S. as a friendly wager between scientists to see who could get the most miles per gallon from their vehicle. The winner of that contest barely achieved 50 mpg (21 km/l), and from these humble origins, a more organized competition evolved. In 1985 in France, the Shell Eco-marathon as we know it today was born. In April 2007, the Shell Eco-marathon Americas event was re-launched in the United States, and in 2010, the inaugural Shell Eco-marathon Asia will be held.

The full line-up of 2010 Shell Eco-marathon events includes:

• 4th Shell Eco-marathon Americas: March 26-28, 2010, on a street track around the Discovery Green in Houston, Texas
• 26th Shell Eco-marathon Europe: May 6-7, 2010, at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz track in Germany
• 1st Shell Eco-marathon Asia: July 8-10, 2010, at the Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Shell Oil Company, including its consolidated companies and its share in equity companies, is one of America's leading oil and natural gas producers, natural gas marketers, gasoline marketers and petrochemical manufacturers. Shell, a leading oil and gas producer in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, is a recognized pioneer in oil and gas exploration and production technology. Shell Oil Company is an affiliate of the Shell Group, a global group of energy and petrochemical companies, employing approximately 112,000 people and operating in more than 130 countries and territories.


INQUIRIES:
Shell Media Line +1 (713) 241-4544
Notes to Editors
Media are invited to join a teleconference announcing the 2010 Shell Eco-marathon Americas with Shell President Marvin Odum and Houston City Council Member James Rodriguez, District I, on October 21 at 1:00 p.m. CDT. Dial-in information is as follows: 1-800-895-1085 (US) or 1-785-424-1055 (International), Conference ID: Marathon.

Shell Eco-marathon Americas broadcast-quality b-roll and sound are available for download here: www.BaderTV.com/Eco-marathon (user: Houston, password: news). High-resolution images are available at www.shell.com/ecomarathon.

Stats from the 2009 Shell Eco-marathon Americas event:
-More than 500 students from 44 participating teams from across North and South America took part in the 2009 event.
-The Laval University team of Canada achieved an astonishing 2,757.1 miles per gallon, equivalent to 1,172.2 kilometres per liter, to win the grand prize in the "Prototype" category.
-In the "UrbanConcept" category, a team from Mater Dei High School took the grand prize by achieving 433.3 mpg, equivalent to 184.2 km/l.
-Teams from Texas who participated in 2009 event: University of Houston, Lamar University and University of Texas, El Paso

The Shell Eco-marathon is an educational project that challenges student teams to design and build the most energy-efficient vehicle to compete against each other. The winner is the vehicle that travels the farthest distance using the least amount of energy.

[cfreidma]

A tweaked smart is exactly what I trying do. I just bought have a 2005 first gen smart with low mileage. One of the reasons I got this car was I had researched that the 1st gen gets better gas mileage than the american version. While not disappointed in the first tests (because the car is still awesome), the mpg tests so far are not as high as I had hoped.
I've done the following

inflated the tires
changed the oil
changed the tranny oil
changed the air filter to high performance filter
did the delip of the intake
still experimenting with shifting
do some hypermiling when possible

Anything else I can do? I'd like to do whatever I can for MPG.