April 12, 2013
UPDATE ON AN ISSPRO SPONSORED RACE TRUCK
BOISE STATE'S GREENSPEED
The Good News:
After another hard fought summer of all-nighters, cheap tacos, and some major supply chain issues, we made it to the salt on time this year! Well, at least the "Away Team" did. They headed down and got camp prepared for the arrival of the truck while the rest of the team stayed in Boise to get the engine in the truck, get on the dyno (to make sure it was going to run and not become an anchor). The away team even got to host some of you in camp for a few days!
The Engine:
With your generous support, we built an incredibly stout engine that dyno'd at 1000hp right off the bat!! More than enough power to accomplish our goals. Some major changes to the chassis left us with some apprehensions about how the truck would perform. On paper, the chassis was ready for anything the salt could throw at it, but until the "ultimate test" was behind us, paper was all we had. We also had an entirely new common rail engine (BIG, clean, tunable power) this year, with huge thanks to Big Twin Diesel, Northwest Motor, Carrillo, Mahle/Clevite/VictorReinz, ATS Diesel, Vibrant Performance, C-Tech Performance, Dynomite Diesel Performance, A1 Technologies, Ferrea Valve, Hamilton Cams, Harland Sharp, BeCool, Alligator Performance, and Fluidampr. With your generous support, we built an incredibly stout engine that dyno'd at 1000hp right off the bat!! More than enough power to accomplish our goals. All this power was put into our billet parts equipped Ultimate Transmission 48rh from last year that hasn't even blinked at what we've thrown it's way.
All this was attached to the brand new front clip that we designed at Boise State last spring. It is modeled after a trophy truck front end, but with geometry specifically tuned for going in a very straight line. The new suspension made it a little hard to maneuver in the parking lot, but that's ok by us. If any of you would like to read our report on the design process, a .pdf of it can be viewed here (note: this was written before RideTech came to our rescue). If you do read the document, please give us some feedback!! Specifically, is this the kind of thing you would like fresh engineering graduates starting at your companies to have experience with? If so or if not, why? We would love to hear about it.
After the design was finished, it was submitted to Ballistic Fabrication to be laser cut and bent so we could assemble the system as quickly and painlessly as possible. Just like in our custom four link rear suspension, FK Rodends were used for all the connections in the front suspension and steering system. As usual, they worked quite well.
Representing You:
Many of you were asked to submit digital logos last summer, as we were putting together an overall design that displayed a little more cohesiveness than the pile of stickers slapped on the vehicle at 4am the night before heading to the salt flats the previous year. This design was integrated into a vehicle wrap that shows off the design quite nicely. We even got a paint job this year!!! Inside and out!! Many of you have seen the new design in the media or on our Facebook page, but below are some more shots for you. As always, if you require a higher resolution of any/all of the photos, please let us know.
A New Cooling System:
Cooling system improvements this year were made possible with help from BeCool Radiators. We actually had a sealed, non-air-trapping coolant system this year. Which was quite nice! Also, due to the higher power levels achievable with the new engine, a new turbo system was needed. This included new turbos and an air to liquid intercooling system. This proved to be very challenging. Due to events outside of our control (and we believe the suppliers control as well), we found ourselves with no turbos and no intercooler cores with three weeks to go....but once again, some generous private donations and quick thinking brought it all together in time for the event.
All Together:
All this added up to a verryyyy cool looking and running rig. Arriving at the salt flats midday Tuesday, we had just enough time to go through tech inspection of all the new systems and finally sit down for a few minutes of rest. With that, and up first thing Wednesday morning, we got our things in order and headed to the start line. A few last minute adjustments and numerous safety checks later, we found ourselves up next. THE BIG MOMENT. AGAIN. How were we going to do? So many new variables and systems this year, it was almost like an entirely new truck! How were our well thought out designs going to work? Was another year of knowledge gained in the classroom going to translate into better results? So many questions....
On The Salt:
Dave, driver #1, was licensed to go between 175 and 200 mph, and the truck had to exit the 2-1/4 mile mark above 175 mph in order to graduate from the "short" course (three miles) to the "long" course (five miles). As last minute things go, the vehicle speed ended up being fed to the driver with a dash-mount GPS unit. A new ISSPRO speedometer was in the overnight express on it's way, but we weren't about to let something like that stop us from making a test run or two....
It was decided that for the first run, Dave would get up to speed slowly and hold just over 175 for one of the timing sections to get the license to go above 200 and be allowed on the long course. Not too long after the starters hand dropped, so did the GPS. No biggy Dave figured, he'd had a few miles in the truck and decided he was unlikely to go over the current speed limit with the gears currently in the rear end. So he just went for it. Slowly picking up speed and paying very close attention to how the truck was tracking, he found out the suspension worked quite well. Even with the race-truck to chase-truck communication system that we had in place this year (which ended up not being loud enough, or maybe it's that the inside of the cab is too loud??), Dave was judging speed on how fast the mile markers were going by. Apparently, Einstein was right: the faster you go, the slower things seem....
After passing the three mile flag and letting off the go pedal, Dave figured he'd only hit about 165-170, not quite enough to graduate to the long course. Oh well, at least it was a successful, uneventful run. Once the chase-truck got there, Dave saw team members scrambling to get out of the rig, running over to him. "What's all the fuss?" Turns out the timing shack had announced over the radio that a speed of 186 was reached. Then, Adrian dug the GPS out from under the dash. It was reading the max speed had been 203...??? What gives, we all thought. Must be some kind of glitch. Anyway, back to the pit. Mike stopped at the timing shack on the way back and grabbed a timing slip. Turns out the second mile speed was 186 mph. The third mile was 193!!!! And there was another whole gear to go!!!! And the truck ran so smooth it almost drove itself. All our research, hard work, and thought put into the suspension had paid off, it accomplished the design goals beautifully.
We all sat around the pit in mostly stunned silence and let the engine cool down for a while before getting ready for the second run of the day, which would be the first on vegetable oil. Since we were now licensed and fully capable to take on the overall world record for a diesel powered pickup, we had to have the inspectors come by and sealed our tank. So for the first time ever, the SCTA officially sealed a tank with vegetable oil in it. It was the first time a vegetable-oil fuel seal could be done officially, thanks to the rule change last year after Jim Dunn continued our petition to have new veg oil turned into a legal fuel. We were al proud to see vegetable-oil take a place in the rulebook for SCTA.
Now, the Bad News:
With 20 blocks of fresh ice in the intercooler supply tank, all systems go, and high spirits, the second run was waved on. With the hammer down, and a securely fastened speedometer, the hope was to break an average speed of 215.091mph between the two and three mile mark. This way the amount of time under power could be kept to a minimum and back-up record runs could be made as quick as possible.
By the end of the first mile, the speed was over 140 (~146ish) and by the middle of the second, the magic smoke was being let out of the engine compartment. As Dave slowed down, the normal clanging and banging gave way to a much less pleasant tune of metal on metal noise. After getting the truck off course and out of harms way, the team gave the truck a solid once over. Couldn't be sure, but the block looked like it had a hairline fracture. There were some very grim faces on the tow back to the pit.
Once back in the pit and up on jack stands, a closer look was had. Sure enough, there was a crack between the 4th and 5th cylinders on the passenger side. Never a good sign, but we had dealt with that the previous year with a sleeve and went on to set the record later in the fall. The team packed up and headed home. Once back in the shop, disassembly started promptly. Much to our dismay (there were a few actual shouts of agony during disassembly), cylinder 5 was found to have a ~4" hole in the forward side of it. Nobody was very impressed. Many ideas of what could have happened have been tossed around, but there is no way at all to discern from the massive wreckage what exactly failed first.
Now, the Great News:
Get ready, there's LOTS OF IT!!
Two Outta Three Ain't Bad:
On the drive home, after we all calmed down, we realized that despite our engine stretching in the wrong spot, two of our three goals had been accomplished!
1. We broke the 200mph mark
2. We upped our vegetable oil record by 11mph (now at 166), it just wasn't "official".
We also realized we have a completely capable chassis that needs very little attention this coming year. The truck handled amazing at 203mph, and is expected to handle the 215-225 range just as well.
Lots Of Data:
We were also were able to collect some good data about the turbo system with our now "even more" extensive telemetry system made possible with huge support from both National Instruments and Automation Direct. This data has already been used in class projects outside of the club to help other students learn about real life engineering problems. It has also been and will be used to optimize the system for this year.
SEMA!
Shortly after our return, we got the great news that we were offered a spot right next to the main entrance as a featured vehicle at the 2012 SEMA Show!!!! A few of the team went down tried to catch up with as many of you as they could, but none of the students were able to stay for the entire week as they all had classes to attend to. We are terribly sorry if you didn't get a chance to see your truck at the show. There is good word that we will be invited back though, so hopefully you will have a chance this year. On that topic, as a "featured vehicle", we weren't really allowed to interact with the public and engage them the way we could if the truck was in a booth. Now that the truck looks a wee bit more professional than it did the first year, we ask again for the opportunity to show off your products on our truck at the show by having the truck in your booth. It has a very high wow factor and is quite eye catching and the ideas behind it are very engaging. It will bring people to your booth, and get them to stay longer!
Major New Sponsorships (in 2013):
In other great news, Garrett Turbochargers have signed on as our latest parts sponsor!! We are looking forward to working closely with them to redesign the turbocharging system for complete optimization. They are an awesome company and have been very supportive.
Also, the local Clean City Coalition (a program of the US Dept of Energy) has made a very generous donation to the program, allowing us to pay some bills and get some other things in order. More on what those things are to come shortly!
So: While the team never stopped working despite my down-time, I apologize that we are behind schedule with fulfilling some of your hopes and requests this spring. We are working very hard to correct the situation, and you will be hearing more from us very soon. Rest assured that you have been represented well at Speed Week, and at SEMA. You will be represented well at other shows this summer and we will be back at Bonneville this August, stronger than ever, with the same goal of breaking the petroleum record with vegetable oil!!! We hope to see you there.
And now, to the pictures! Thank you for reading all of this, and please rest assured your faith in this team was not misplaced.
Thank you very much for your involvement,
The Greenspeed Team
MICHAEL PLISKA, ISSPRO'S ENGINEERING MANAGER,
WINS RACING TITLE
November 8, 2012
ISSPRO ANNOUNCES NEW GAUGE SERIES TO MATCH VW JETTA
I
November 2, 2012
ISSPRO has released a new gauge series to match the instrumentation of the popular Volkswagon Jetta. ISSPRO is known for OEM instrumentation as well as aftermarket gauges for diesel performance enthusiasts. The company has responded to many customer requests for a "Jetta Match" by creating these gauges with the Jetta color palate and lighting characteristics. Initial units are an air temperature gauge, a pyrometer, an exhaust back pressure gauge, an fuel pressure gauge, and two turbo boost gauges. Contact factory for availability of additional gauge types.
R32222 AIR TEMP 0-240
R32021 PYROMETER 0-1600
R32100 EXH BACK PRESS 0-40
R32066 FUEL PRESS 0-20
R32211 OIL PRESS 0-100
R32133 TURBO BOOST 0-30
R32333 TURBO BOOST 0-40
Contact ISSPRO Customer Service at 1-800-888-8065 for more information.