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Competition Insight


The University at Buffalo's Clean Snowmobile Team has been working under the hood of this snowmobile for 4 years now, fine tuning the implementation of a Briggs and Stratton, 3 cylinder,  turbo-diesel engine into a stock 2005 Polaris Fusion chassis.  This will be our fourth year entering the competition with our innovative turbo-diesel snowmobile.  Due to a generous donation from Hudon's Sled Salvage (located in Barneveld, NY), we will continue to run this engine in a 2005 Polaris Fusion chassis for the 2010 SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge.

The teams consists of undergraduate students working towards the same goal, creating a cleaner and quieter snowmobile without sacrificing performance for all around enjoyment.  The competition incorporates events such as endurance (a 100 mile run without refueling), emissions, sound, handling, rider comfort, acceleration, braking, static display, and a cold start event.  This is a international competition put on by SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers), in which many schools travel from all over North America to prove there designs on the testing grounds of the Keweenaw Research Center.

This diesel snowmobile has been proven in our 2007 entry as breaking the myths commonly placed on diesel engines, such as cold start issues and emissions.  Not only has our snowmobile passed these categories but we took 1st place in the emissions competition.  On top of that the snowmobile yields an impressive 30mpg, and is extremely quiet. 

Our team is motivated by the innovation of past University at Buffalo teams. The first year of this competition a team from our school put together a ground-breaking 4-stroke snowmobile. Just a year after taking first place in that competition, Polaris introduced the very first consumer available 4-stroke snowmobile.  Presently, 4-stroke snowmobiles are gaining a large share of the market.  We hope to do the same with a diesel engine.  We didn't hesitate when we plunged into that project and we are not hesitating now, our team is working smart, quick and hard to improve the power output of the snowmobile for this upcoming years competition. We plan on modifiying the engine's intake and exhaust as well as fuel delivery systems to meet this years competition rules.

If you are interested in helping our team out in any way please don't hesitate to contact us! Thanks for looking!

Sled to Date:

Check us out in Diesel Power Magazine!

I almost forgot to mention that we were featured in Diesel Power Magazine last month! Here's the article. Big thanks to Jason at Diesel Power for showing us off!

CSC 2010 Registered!

We are officially registered in the 2010 CSC! Now we just need to get the motor back together...hopefully soon! Waiting on some oversize pistons and bearings so we can get some machining and balancing done and then everything goes back together. Check back soon for some new pictures as well.

Thank you Briggs and Stratton!

We'd like to thank Michelle at Briggs and Stratton for her help in sending us all of our engine repair parts! Now we can put everything back together and start some design work with a fresh motor. Keep checking back for more updates!

NEW SPONSOR!

A HUGE thanks go to our supporters at Honeywell/Garrett for supplying our new turbocharger and intercooler setup for this years sled. Here is a link to their site: Honeywell Check their site out, they have some very cool technologies and implementations and even a turbo knowledge quiz!
  

 

   

2010 CSC update

Hello all, we are back at work here in the shop for this years upcoming Clean Snowmobile Challenge. The sled has been stripped down once again for a complete engine overhaul before we continue with design modifications. The electrical system will be redone and rewired for a cleaner, safer, and more reliable design. The focus of this years competition will be on fuel mileage and emissions, and a new smoke-limit during the emissions test has us thinking! We have many cool ideas for this year in order to take the stock Briggs and Stratton turbo-diesel engine to cleaner emissions and better performance. Keep checking back for more updates!

Thank you CSS

Thanks to Chris from www.communicationsafetysystem.com  These safety lights are great, and best of all make riding safer.  It's all contained in a little box that mounts to your handlebar or cowl and shine bright led's that stay green or yellow.  Yellow meaning someone is following behind you in your pack of riders and green meaning you're the last in the group.  These safety systems also offer a hazard flashing light and best off all they are backed up by a 9v battery so that if your snowmobile doesn't use a battery the hazard will still work.  This is great for night riding when you take a quiet stop on the trail, no more pulling over your sled just to let riders know you're up ahead, they'll see the light and know.  See the pics of the light mounted on the handlebar in "the sled" page of our website.

Thank you to our new sponsors!

Thank you Sound Choice Audio and Performance for painting our hood

Thank you Pioneer Motorsports for the donation of a ski-doo xp kill switch

Thank you Burns Stainless for the discount on stainless steel exhaust pipe

We would like to deeply thank all of our sponsors this season as well as past sponsors.  Without our sponsors this project would not be achievable on a year to year basis

Thank you Momentive Performance Materials

Thank you to Momentive Performance Materials for supplying us with GE Silicone II to seal our body panels and air gaps in the sled

Thank you RedBull

I would just like to add a quick thank you to RedBull for helping us pull off 12+ hour days in the shop.  Its great having an energy drink around to keep the progress rolling on the snowmobile, especially at late hours.  Thank you RedBull!

Thanks to our sponsors!

Thanks to our sponsors who have helped us out in the past few weeks

-CP Performance has given us a discount on a autometer gps speedo
-RSI has donated carbon fiber wrapped handlebars along with a 3" riser and hand guards. 
-Rescue Tape has donated silicone tape for all our coolant hoses and electrical wiring.  I urge you to check our their website, this is an amazing product that virtually repairs anything with a leak as well as adds a very sleek look.  The best part is that when the tape is removed it leaves no sticks residue since it only bonds to itself when stretched
-Skinz has donated a custom seat cover for our fusion seat and should be in this coming week
-RedBull has also become a sponsor of the UB csc team
-Custom Laser has also donated materials and cut up some custom parts for the motor mounts.  As always they are a huge help in our success
-Holz Racing Products has also sponsored us with a pair of easy steer spindles for the front suspension

Starting off the semester right

I'll start off by saying that a lot has been done the past two weeks of school and I'm really feeling good about the upcoming competition and all the work we have done in just a short time.
-The oil pan has been cut down 3/4" to get a lower c.g. and allow for steering clearance issues, along with this the oil pickup has also been relocated and welding back together. 
-The starter plate has also been cut down to lose a little weight and along for a little more clearance when mounting the engine.
-Front motor mounts have been fabricated.
-The brake has also been relocated to the left side of the jack shaft to allow for other clearance issues.  The jack shaft has been cut for a key way, and the sidewall has been reinforced with 3/16" aluminum to support the brake caliper to the other side.  The stock caliper will be used, the 7" brake disc and hub were purchased and machined to fit the jack shaft.
-The gas tank has been ripped apart and will be made to use an external fuel pump instead of the internal fuel pump currently used on the fusion tanks.
-Powder coat was sent out on Thursday and to everyone's surprise it is already done!  We will be re-assembling the skid tomorrow
-We have ditched the adjustable steering common to the fusion handlebars and made a stationary plate for mounting them.
-Wiring has been started but is held up until the motor is in place
-The oil filter has also been relocated via a mount fabricated
-Speedo and coolant temp gauges have also come in

Ready for Motor Mounts

-This morning we had a nice group into the shop and did some disassembled on the new sled we received from Hudons Sled and Salvage.  All body panels have been removed as well as all the stock motor mounts.  Additionally the chain case was also removed and the hood has been disassembled.  The motor also returned to the shop this morning, and we will be fabricating the motor mounts this week and getting in our vibration dampeners. 
-In other good news, Rescue Tape has joined us as a sponsor.  We will be wrapping all coolant hoses and electrical wiring with this tape to provide a sleek look and superior protection. 
-PIAA lights should be in this week thanks to PIAA
-Amsoil will also be in this week thanks to Super Oil Central

going strong

-We will be picking up our new sled this coming Monday form Hudon's Sled and Salvage.  The engine should also be coming back on Monday and we will be stripping the sled to make the motor mounts needed for the diesel engine.
-To date we also have a lot of sponsorship letters in to a few companies for various performance and lightweight parts for this chassis, hopefully some good news will come through on them.

Getting off to a great start!

-The sled from previous years has been completely disassembled, and we are all very excited to be receiving the new IQ Chassis from Hudon's Sled Salvage in just 10 short days.  We have began researching performance parts for the new snowmobile and hope to lose some weight everywhere we can.  Additionally we are in the process of researching dampeners for the motor mounts.
-The engine resides at Nichols-Hepp Racing Engines and is currently being worked on and rebuilt and we should have it back about the time the new chassis arrives.
-3 Engineering teams have been in the process of working on new designs for the rpm multiplier, cooling system, and intake
-We are proud to say we finally have a website to display our snowmobile and give a little bit of insight on the team

Members

Brian M
eklaben
eklaben
Jacob E
ubsaecsc@...

Calendar

Past Honors

2007- Best Emissions, First Diesel Entry

2006- Most Sportsmanlike

2005- 1st Place Overall, Best Performance, Best Fuel Economy, Quietest Snowmobile, Most Practical

2004- 4th Place Overall, Best Emissions

2003- 5th Place Overall

2002- 4th Place Overall

2001- 3rd Place Overall, Best Emissions

2000- 1st Place Overall, Best Emissions, Best Performance, Quietest Snowmobile, First 4-Stroke Entry

Weather

Buffalo, NY

Houghton, MI

Sponsors Links

Honeywell.com
Hudon's Sled Salvage

Used sled parts

Atlantic Power Inc
Custom Laser Inc.
 Laser cutting, Dynamic waterjet
USI Racing
PIAA
Camoplast
Mountain Machines Performance
Speedway 1 Racing Bodies
Saves Autobody Supply
Winkleman Sales Plastic Welding
KJ Motorsports
Snowmobile Accessories
Woody's Snowmobile Studs
Boss Seats
Batcap Batteries
American Acoustical Products
Burns Stainless
Exhaust Gas Technologies
Emitec
Kicker
Precision Mobile Audio
Society of Automotive Engineers
Skinz
Fox Racing Shox
Super Oil Central
Rescue Tape
CP Performance
Pioneer Motorsports
SCAP
Lamin-X
Communication Safety Systems

Team Members

2009-2010 Team:

Eric Klaben - Captain

Joe Vargo - Co-Captain

Brian Mitrowitz

Jason Barrett

Chris Adams

Daniel Cocciardi

Aaron Nichols

A.J. Gugino

James Richards

George Barbari








Sponsors


A Special Thanks to all of our Sponsors

 
Honeywell
Hudon's Sled Salvage
Super Oil Central
Pioneer Motorsports
SCAP
RedBull
Lamin-x
PIAA
Altantic Power Inc.
Rescue Tape
USI Racing
Communication Safety Systems
Custom Laser Inc.
Mountain Machines Performance
Camoplast
Saves Autobody Supply
Winkleman Sales
KJ Motorsports
Woody's Studs
Nichols-Hepp Racing Engines - (716) 433-5966
X-Static / Batcap
American Acoustical Products
Burns Stainless
Exhaust Gas Technologies
Fox Racing Shox
Skinz Protective Gear
RSI Racing
Emitec
Precision Mobile Audio
CP Performance
DMS Powdercoating - (716) 417-0938
Eric Peckham Motorsports
Kicker
UB Undergraduate Student Association
UB Engineering Machine Shop
UB Sign Shop

Interested in our team? Contact us!

Team Captain:
 Eric Klaben
 eklaben@buffalo.edu

Team Co-Captain:
 Joe Vargo
 jrvargo@buffalo.edu

General Team email:
ubsaecsc@gmail.com

Our shop is located on UB North Campus at:
104 Jarvis Hall
Buffalo, NY 14260

Single picture frame


11/22/2009 11:09:44 PM