Research Projects

The objective of this project is to reduce the emissions on the EcoCAR 3 hybrid Camaro 

Currently, in year 2 of the competition, the team is working to create a basic functioning vehicle. Year 3 of EcoCAR 3 is intended for improvement of the vehicle that was constructed during year 2. The competition heavily focuses on reducing emissions and helping to reduce the environmental impact of vehicles. With that in mind our plan is to explore the possibility of pre-heating the engine block using the coolant from the electric motors within our vehicle architecture. Since the vehicle will be able to run approximately 36 miles using only battery power, the gas motor will have time to cool below the optimal running temperature. The goal is to improve the efficiency of the engine by never letting it drop below optimum running temperature while running on the battery. Other options would include pre-heating the fuel or exhaust. The project aims to produce a measureable emissions reduction on the Camaro and research that may be publishable in an academic conference.