The Fruit of Knowledge
Posts tagged weight class
BYU Electric Blue sets land speed record at 155.8 mph
Oct 5th
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Racing, Videos
Students from the Brigham Young University (BYU) in Utah have successfully concluded a seven-year project by setting a land speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Dubbed the Electric Blue, the streamlined vehicle – designed and engineered by students at BYU – set a world record for its E1 weight class (below 1,100 pounds), by averaging 155.8 miles per hour over two qualifying runs, one of which tripped the lights at a staggering 175 mph.
The record marks the successful conclusion of seven years of development and the contributions of more than 130 students, in a project lead by now-retired associate professor Perry Carter, who said:
This is a wonderful closure to 31 years of teaching at BYU and many projects. But this is the one that takes the cake. I’m done.
Electric Blue features a carbon fiber body, lithium-ion batteries and was designed to be extremely aerodynamic. With less than an inch of ground clearance, the vehicle teeters on the edge of disaster every time it hits the Flats. Although the BYU team achieved a unofficial speed of 139 mph back in 2010, the vehicle rolled during its required second run, damaging it and nixing any chance of it setting an official record. Thankfully, this year’s attempt went off without a hitch, sending Electric Blue into the record books. Hit the jump to catch video of the record-setting Salt Flats action.
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BYU Electric Blue sets land speed record at 155.8 mph originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 05 Oct 2011 07:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Ford Mustang Boss 302 fails Motor Trend brake test. Here’s why
Apr 25th
Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Safety, Ford
2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 – Click above for high-res image gallery
Ford’s new M3-fightin’ Mustang, the 2012 Boss 302, is a 444-horsepower, rear-wheel-drive two-door designed to fight well above its weight class. Motor Trend decided to spend quality time with the coupe, and something scary happened. Not scary as in ‘whoa, this thing is scary fast’ but more along the lines of ‘call my tailor, I ruined my pants’ terrifying.
Part of M/T’s testing gauntlet includes a look at braking distance. Road Test Editor Scott Mortara ran the Ford up to 70 miles per hour. Now it was time to see how quickly he could bring it to zero. Typically, this is just a matter of mashing the brakes and holding on. The sound of straining tires is a sound that’s welcome, but a metallic snapping noise is not. Either way, the 2012 Boss 302 was a runaway pony.
Mortara used the six-speed manual transmission to reduce the coupe’s speed before exiting the track through a gap at its end. What went wrong? A pin that connects the brake pedal to the rod that actuates the master cylinder had failed and snapped off. Normally, the brake pedal connects to the rod in a manner that distributes the pressure evenly over a large surface area and would still actuate the brakes when one presses the pedal. The setup on this particular Mustang was faulty, and allowed for far more pressure on the individual piece that failed.
Ford has examined this car, as well as the brake installation process at its assembly plants. It seems this car is unique in its defect. Motor Trend contends that it’s possible the brake assembly was removed then reinstalled after the vehicle left the factory, which could explain why the part failed in such an abnormal manner. Check out the full story over at Motor Trend.
Photos copyright (C)2011 Drew Phillips / AOL
[Source: Motor Trend]
Ford Mustang Boss 302 fails Motor Trend brake test. Here’s why originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 25 Apr 2011 19:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Iowa wrestler defaults rather than face girl (AP)
Feb 17th
AP – An Iowa high school wrestler who was one of the favorites to win his weight class defaulted on his first-round state tournament match rather than face one of the first girls to ever qualify for the event.
