Clean Snowmobiles in Michigan 2008 Clean Snowmobile Competition
By Christopher Benamati > March 28

From March tenth to fifteenth, the Society of Automotive Engineers held its annual Clean Snowmobile Competition at Michigan Tech University in Houghton, Michigan. The competition, which was first held in 2000, is an event where students from engineering colleges demonstrate snowmobiles they have modified to produce fewer toxic emissions. These environmentally-friendly snowmobiles have also been designed to be quieter than stock models, thus appealing to national parks such as Yellowstone, where snowmobile emissions and noise have been sparking controversy. Last week, thirteen teams competed in the internal combustion category and four in the zero emissions (electric sled) category. The competition, which took place at Michigan Tech's Keweenaw Research Center, included a variety of events that tested the students' designs. The emissions, noise output, handling, acceleration, and cold-start ability of the snowmobiles were scrutinized by industry professionals. Between events, a panel of judges roamed the shop floor where the snowmobiles were housed, inspecting the machines and questioning students on the finer points of their design. In addition, the students were required to present a formal design paper, an MSRP, and a presentation on their snowmobiles. Examples of Clean Snowmobiles   My team, the University of Maine, was present with a modified 2007 Yamaha Phazer. Like all of the teams with an internal combustion snowmobile, we had added a catalytic converter to the Phazer's exhaust to clean up emissions. This addition, which costs only about $500 to do, is the single most effective modification in the realm of emissions. It would be almost no trouble at all for snowmobile manufacturers to incorporate catalytic converters into their products, and, as the drastic drop in exhaust emissions shows, it is well worth it. 2008 UMaine Clean Snowmobile Team - Check out the Team Website! Our snowmobile's fuel system was also modified to run E85, a biofuel blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. One of the specific rules of the 2008 competition was that all internal combustion sleds run off of either E85 of B10 biodiesel. Since we were feeling ambitious, the UMaine Phazer was also equipped with an aftermarket engine control system that allows for the use of any mixture of gasoline and ethanol, up to 85% ethanol. Thus, we essentially created a flex-fuel vehicle that automatically adjusts engine parameters for whatever fuel mixture the rider throws at it. Other teams had very different but equally ambitious design approaches. For example, Prius owners might have been pleased to notice McGill University's Diesel-Electric hybrid snowmobile, or any of the four electric machines. Some teams, such as the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and the University of Idaho, had snowmobiles weighing 600 pounds or less (Idaho had even replaced their suspension control arms with carbon fiber ones, and their stock suspension with light-weight air shocks). The Winner     The winner of the competition, Clarkson University, succeeded with a bare-bones design approach (catalytic converter and boosted fuel pressure). Even though their snowmobile was only slightly modified from stock, it succeeded in producing the lowest emissions out of all the internal combustion sleds. The simplicity of their design proves that it doesn't take much to make snowmobiles clean and efficient. Hopefully, their win will help the manufacturers realize that engineering their sleds to be clean won't break the bank. Future of Clean Snowmobiles   Thanks to the growing environmental concern and events like the CSC, more and more people are looking into the ways to make snowmobiles and other off-road vehicles cleaner. Parks such as Yellowstone have started admitting only the snowmobiles equipped with BAT (best-available-technology). This means sleds that do not meet certain noise and emissions standards will be barred from the park. This alone is a huge incentive for manufacturers to improve their designs. To help demonstrate how this can be done, the CSC will be at it again next year, and the new Flex-Fuel requirement for all sleds will raise the bar even higher. Published March 28, 2008 http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/667893/clean_snowmobiles_in_michigan.htm