Ashwaubenon High School Modifies Vehicle to Meet Weight Limit

Ashwaubenon High School on the track at Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2012 on Saturday, March 31, in downtown Houston.

With this being their first year as participants, the team did not factor in the vehicle weight requirements of Shell Eco-marathon into the equation. During technical inspection, the team discovered that their vehicle was nearly 40 pounds overweight.

The team worked together to find pieces from the vehicle they could afford to lose – including the top of the car and some unnecessary brackets – in order to make the weight requirements. After shedding the extra pounds, the team went through technical inspections again – and this time they passed.

While in practice runs on Friday, the school’s second vehicle, Terminator, encountered issues with its chain. The students came up with a solution to keep the chain on and were able to get back out on the track for the remainder of the competition for qualifying runs.