The Perodua Eco-Challenge 2010 happened at the Melaka International Motorsports Circuit over the weekend, and we were there to attestant 12 institutions of college acquirements “racing” to clasp out the the best kilometres from one-litre of Petronas Primax 95 fuel.

This copy is the additional year area Perodua is active the Eco-Challenge as allotment of its accumulated albatross program. Malaysia better car maker by aggregate wants to accomplish P2EC an anniversary event, and is gluttonous to braiding in the Ministry of College Education and added corporations such as Petronas as co-organisers of this addition adorning competition. So far, Perodua has spent RM2.2 actor on P2EC (over 2 years), which we anticipate is money able-bodied spent and acceptable amount for the carmaker, because the publicity generated.

Back in February, Perodua donated one assemblage of the Viva additional RM10,000 berry money to anniversary of the engineering departments of the accommodating institutions, which included Politeknik Sultan Azlan Shah (PSAS), Universiti Kuala Lumpur-Malaysia France Institute (UniKL-MFI), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and Politeknik Ungku Omar (PUO). The added institutions are Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP), Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Universiti Industri Selangor (Unisel) and Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia.

I took a airing about the “paddock” afore the chase started and two teams bent my absorption – USM’s heavily adapted agent and UTM’s best of Myvi wheels/tyres, which assorted with the ultra thin/small (or standard) auto of the others (team baton Saiful Anuar said this was because they capital “handling stability” after affecting the brakes in corners). Many teams additionally had a “boat tail” agent for aerodynamics, aggressive and “proven” by a car from aftermost year’s contest.

In the automated chiral category, USM retained the appellation they won aftermost year and took home RM20,000 cash. Their Viva looked almost accepted and did not affection abundant aero mods. In fact, USM’s car was the heaviest on the filigree (680 kg) with the heaviest driver; the uni chose to focus on their ability – agent design. Led by Assistant Horizon Walker Gitano, the Penang based uni adapted the Viva’s 1.0-litre three-pot agent to run on alone one-cylinder and on an Atkinson aeon (like the Toyota Prius).

The American professor, which runs the USM agent lab, said that while the Viva agent produces 45kW, the antagonism appropriate alone 2kW, so their car fabricated 3-4kW from an able 330cc. The compression arrangement is 11:1, with an amplification arrangement of 18:1. They additionally acclimated a cocky developed added angular ECU (5-8% advance over banal ECU), which is commercially marketed in the Philippines for LPG bikes! With 1,500 km of testing done, USM’s 37.2 km/l was absolutely accepted by the team.

In the chiral category, UNITEN managed 42.7 km/l, which is a big 5.2 km/l advanced of additional placed PSAS. Unlike USM, UNITEN specialises in CFD and aerodynamics and is no drifter to solar powered car events. Their car was amid the lightest in the acreage too. UNITEN had assorted sub-competitions amid acceptance and accumulated the best of account for their Viva, which acclimated nano-particle agent oil.

Most of the advisers complex all agreed that their acceptance apprentice so abundant added from a antagonism like this than by alone activity through the syllabus. While some of the cars looked awkward from the outside, there’s were lots of artistic solutions activity on beneath the skin, accomplished with a baby budget. Perodua is on to article acceptable actuality with its different access to CR initiatives and we attending advanced to abutting year’s edition.