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May 22, 2012

1,261.5 Miles Per Gallon

South team outperforms competition in Super Mileage Challenge

Sue Loughlin The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE — A Terre Haute South Vigo High School team earned first place in the “unlimited class” category during the 17th Super Mileage Challenge April 30 in Indianapolis.

South defeated 21 teams, with its high-mileage car achieving 1,261.5 miles per gallon. The race took place at Lucas Oil Raceway Park.

“It was exciting,” said team faculty sponsor Gregg Dillion. “A whole year’s worth of hard work comes down to one day, and to have that day a success is pretty neat.”

There were many factors that led to the car’s fuel efficiency, he said. The car was extremely lightweight, and minimal frontal area reduced drag.

Engine modifications allowed the car to burn less fuel, while its ceramic bearings reduced friction.

By 8:30 a.m. on the day of the Super Mileage Challenge, “We got our car on the track for the first of seven complete runs. It was a first in South Vigo’s super mileage history to complete that many runs in one day,” Dillion said. “That was a win for me.”

It was his first year as team faculty sponsor.

Student Tyler Little, who has experience as a quarter-midget driver, drove about 50 miles throughout his seven, 10-lap runs. “He was good on the track,” said junior Brett Van Gilder.

In the event, students build their own cars under the supervision of a faculty member. They are responsible for the design and construction of the car and for raising all funds needed for the project.

An unlimited class allows engine modifications.

Students were happy with their first-place finish.

“Building this car was an awesome experience,” Van Gilder said. “We built it completely from the ground up. It was just a design on a sheet of paper and we went from there.”

Student Nick Philbert said that being on the team “taught me many things about working as a team to finish a goal.” The goal was to win, and “we accomplished our goal by using hard work and dedication to make every part of the car as well-made as possible.”

Student Trish Waggoner said the whole experience was “really cool. I seriously can’t wait to do it next year.”

The Vigo County Education Foundation provided a mini grant that helped fund the project, and other businesses donated materials, helped with fundraisers and made monetary donations.  

The event is sponsored by the Indiana Mathematics, Science and Technology Education Alliance.

The goal of the event is to engage students in the research, design, fundraising, problem solving, fabrication and testing of a car to see how many miles per gallon their car is able to achieve.

The South Vigo super mileage team consisted of students in Eric Dyer’s CAD II class, Dillion’s welding technology class and Pat Mackey’s precision machine class. Throughout the process, other teachers and students also contributed.  

Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.

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