Houghton Michigan
March 19th 2007
The University of Maine team is participating for the fourth time in the SAE Clean
Snowmobile Challenge. The UMaine Team is sponsored by Applied Thermal Sciences
of Sanford Maine. The goal of the competition is to reengineer a production snowmobile
to reduce noise and emissions. In Maine where more than 3000 full time equivalent jobs
are created by snowmobiling, this is a project worthy of the considerable talents of
UMaine Mechanical Engineering students.
UMaine is one of 15 teams registered for this year’s competition; Maine is coming off of
a 5th place finish in 2006 which was marred by engine cooling problems. In the 2006
competition the team was unable to complete the endurance run and thus lost all of the
points on fuel economy as well as the points for durability, but still managed a the fifth
place finish behind the winning snowmobile from University of Wisconsin. The 2007
team has been focusing on reliability with a well prepared and professional looking
snowmobile. In addition, the development of the emissions control system has continued
and promises to be the best system to ever compete from UMaine. The 2006 sled
reduced unburned hydrocarbons by as much as 99.6% when compared to a five year old
production snowmobile.
The 2007 competition started, as always, with a 24 hours drive from Maine to Michigan’s
Upper Peninsula. This year the team included 12 team members and three vehicles. One
dramatic improvement this year was the loan of a special built snowmobile trailer which
made for much safer travel both for the snowmobiles and the drivers. In the past UHaul
trailers had been used which lack the necessary tie downs and are not shaped properly for
transporting snowmobiles. A safe arrival was marred only by the snow and mixed
precipitation in Maine and New York and the relative lack of snow in Houghton.
The UMaine team arrival was probably most notable for the fit and finish of the sled as
we moved it into the garage area. The other team members and judges were consistently
commenting on the finish in the engine area where in addition to the noise control
solutions, neat wiring and rubberized truck bed lining make the 2007 race vehicle look
like a showroom snowmobile. The 2007 team is using a fiberglass cowling made by the
2006 team. However, Mechanical Engineering Senior, Nick Beers from Dixmont Maine,
repainted the cowling black, with multiple coats of paint and an attention to detail that
has set a new standard for the competition. Attention to all of the other details this year
has been by the team captain, Ashton Potter, a senior in Mechanical Engineering from
Vienna Maine. Ashton’s experience attending the 2006 competition taught Ashton that
only an perfectly prepared snowmobile would allow the team to succeed. It has certainly
showed up as a key factor in is leadership of the 2007 team.
The most interesting competitor this year is the team from SUNY Buffalo. The SUNY
team has won the competition two out of the seven years it has been held. However, this
year the SUNY team arrived with a bio-diesel conversion sled. This sled, along with the
winning hybrid snowmobile from University of Wisconsin, is one of the most interesting
technical efforts made in this competition. The test remains to see how these complex
snowmobiles hold up to the hard packed thin snow that exists at the 2007 competition.