Here are 14 tips and hints for anyone interested in getting an energy vehicle team together in a school environment.

1. Demand an effective budget, say $4000

The Energy Breakthrough has a proven track record of achieving excellent outcomes for students. It is common to hear comments like “It’s the best learning experience I’ve ever seen at school!” This is ‘amongst the finest student participation events in the world’. School leaderships should be supportive of it and if they are unaware of it they should contact schools who have been involved for some time. Get them to put the money forward to support you and the effort you’re going to put in. They will be getting a bargain

2. Seek Sponsorship

Many businesses are willing to help school communities with a project like this.

Choose your potential sponsor carefully; use college or personal contacts; don’t just send out a circular request letter.

Make personal approaches with clear documentation.

Be specific of what you want and what you will give them.

Try for big cash up front.  Accept small offerings as a last resort.

Ask them to provide their own stickers and signs if possible. Sign writing is expensive

Give them feedback of your progress and recognition after the event, eg framed certificate.

Involve students where appropriate.

If you plan to use fund-raising get another staff member or parent to do it. You’ll have enough to do with building vehicles.

3. Ask lots of questions of those who’ve done it before

Don’t be too stuck on following one school; many schools have had great success with quite different vehicles and strategies. Select the ideas that have a good record and suit your situation and plans best.

Teachers should be willing to share their knowledge and experience, don’t be afraid to ask.

The Energy Breakthrough website has a link to a forum for asking questions and sharing ideas.

4. Buy plans, a kit or a good used vehicle

Recumbent trikes have been highly developed over many years. Don’t expect to be able to come up with a winning vehicle design if you’ve had little experience with recumbent trikes before.  There are recumbent trike manufacturers who have spent many hours developing, testing and refining their designs. It is unreasonable to expect a beginner to match this with a few hours work.

Some commercial suppliers sell kits or complete trikes at reduced rates to schools. Greenspeed also sells plans.

Some schools sell unwanted trikes and or parts. There is a For Sale section on the RACV Energy Breakthrough web site.

5. Be prepared for a large time commitment

It’s impossible to undertake this project if you want it to work within a normal teaching allotment or class -time.

Even teachers who run vehicle building classes within the school curriculum still spend many hours of their own time preparing vehicles and teams.

But the rewards easily repay the effort put in.

6. Involve parents

Parents can be invaluable with vehicle construction and assisting on the weekend of the event. This relieves demands on school staff, promotes a healthy college community and corresponds with current school ideals.

However, parental involvement must fit in with school expectations and follow DET regulations.

7. Its not about rocket science

To come up with a winning vehicle is more about applying basic engineering principles than using the latest hi-tech materials and components.

Good aerodynamics and low mass are the highest design priorities for best performance.

Use cycle components where possible. This includes hybrids.

Trikes are different to bikes and go-karts. Trikes experience sideways forces during cornering not experienced on bikes. This can create issues for chains and wheels. Chains are forced sideways and can come off chain wheels. Some form of chain guide will be required. Smaller wheels, 20’’ or less, are stronger and handle the side forces better.

Go-karts offer much greater cornering G’s but their tyres have greater rolling resistance. Their basic design is not recommended for a vehicle which must be energy efficient.

8. Its not just about the vehicle

To come up with a winning team requires much more than a high performance vehicle.

You need good drivers who can handle a race vehicle on a race track.

You need good athletes for pedal vehicles.

As all competitions are team events, you will only be as strong as the depth of your team.

Drivers will need to spend time in physical training as 24 hour events are very demanding.

Most competitions include other assessments for their overall awards, ie they may require team members to demonstrate their knowledge of the vehicle and the team’s efforts in some way. Check the competition regulations carefully.

9. Electric hybrids

 A pedal/electric hybrid is the easiest hybrid to build.

Base vehicle on a HPV and add electric power using electric bike components. Kits can be bought over-the-counter that virtually bolt on.

Battery charging for 24 hours is a greater problem than vehicle construction.

Solar panels work well but are expensive and don’t work in cloud or at night.

Pedal powered alternators are very hard work, they’re like a torture machine from the dark ages!

Permanent magnet DC electric motors can make more efficient pedal generators than alternators.

Avoid wet cell batteries.  SLA batteries are safer but care must be taken with recharging to avoid damaging battery. They require different charging conditions to standard lead acid car batteries.

10. Petrol hybrids

Pedal/petrol powered hybrids are more difficult to build than an electric hybrid but simpler to run in a 24 hour event.

Motorcycle engine and transmission systems are larger and stronger than necessary for this event.

Honda 22 to 31cc 4 stroke brush-cutter engines work well within fuel capacity rules.

Engine cooling is a major issue for these engines in canopies. The newer designed Honda GX 25 has better cooling.

There is insufficient fuel for engine to be used continuously for 24 hours. A suitable strategy for engine usage will be required.

A suitable transmission system is a major issue in petrol engined vehicle design.

Depending on engine size, an overall ratio of about 12 to 18:1 in top gear is required for a 20” wheel. Such a large ratio will normally require two stages of gear reduction.

A small gear box is recommended for primary gear reduction. Chains loose lubrication quickly at high rpm.

Friction drive works well when dry, and gives a useful clutch action for roll starting. However, it’s useless when road is wet and it can be hard on tyres.

Take special care with fuel lines and tanks to avoid leakage.

Don’t rely on brush-cutter engine bearings to take lateral load of output drive; chain, belt or roller. A support bearing will be required.

11. Canopies

An aerodynamic canopy makes a vehicle much faster and is essential to be competitive. However they can require as much time and effort to build as the rest of the vehicle does.

Seek as much advice as you can about the design of the canopy to address the issues of aerodynamics, strength, durability, access (rider and for servicing) and ventilation. The later issue is most important and is in fact why some builders use 3/4 or 'head out' canopy designs instead of fully enclosed canopies.

A mould for composite construction (fibre reinforced resin) requires a huge amount of work and you will be stuck with its design.  You must get the mould design right to meet rule and performance requirements, as major changes to a mould are very difficult. They also require more money and have OH&S issues. Despite these disadvantages, well shaped, fully enclosed, composite canopies seem to offer the best performance. Seek advice from those well experienced with this material.

A ¾ open top fabricated canopy is probably a good way to start. Though not quite as efficient as a fully enclosed canopy, they are easier to build and do not have the ventilation problems of fully enclosed designs. They perform well and have had success in competition. They are usually constructed of Corflute, polycarbonate, etc. attached to a light metal frame.

12. Reliabilty and Durability

Winning vehicles these days cannot afford to have any lengthy pit stops for repairs and maintenance.

Most vehicles will be involved in some form of track incident during a 24 hour race. Vehicles need to be able to survive rain, rollovers and crashes with minimal damage.

The additional mass of strengthening members and materials may incur a performance loss but this will be more than offset by the time gained in not having major repairs after an accident.

Consider building vehicle to last more than just one event. For a bit extra effort a vehicle can be made to last several events with minimal maintenance between events.

Use standard and proven parts and systems wherever possible.

Designing and building your own parts and systems is sometimes necessary, particularly for hybrids, but a lot of time and effort will be required to thoroughly test, redesign and modify them to make them sufficiently durable for a 24 hr event.

Electrical systems are a major cause of problems, ie horn or light failure.

I suggest a wiring loom with plug and socket connections for all components to facilitate easy replacement.

Be wary of cheap electrical components.

Take as many spares as you can.

13. Prepare for all weather conditions

Windscreen fogging is frequently a problem in the small hours of the morning and in rain.

Rain can also cause problems on the inside of canopied vehicles – spray over windscreens, water retention and electrical problems.

November can be very hot in Maryborough. Full canopied vehicles require effective ventilation for riders.

14. Attend carefully to physical needs of riders

24 hours is a very long time for students to maintain a high level of physical activity. Consult with your phys ed staff for details of preparing riders for the event and providing their needs during it.

 The workload will need to be shared equally over the 24 hour period. Don’t overuse your better riders early in the race.

Ensure riders hydrate well before they ride and at all times throughout the event.

Enforce sleep regimen.

Massage is very useful, especially for team managers!

John Taylor

Weeroona College Bendigo

Oct 2006