The event, an engineering design competition for college and university SAE student members, is organized and sponsored by SAE and the Keweenaw Research Center of MTU. Engineering students are challenged to re-engineer an existing snowmobile for improved emissions and noise without sacrificing the performance of the original snowmobile.

Gage, a leading supplier of test fuels, paint solvents and paint-system recycling products for the automotive industry, will provide alternative fuels to participating college and university teams. The student teams entered in this year's competition will compete in a variety of events which rate emissions, noise, fuel economy, endurance, acceleration, handling, static display, cold start and design factors.

More than 150 students are expected to take part in this year's event. The competition will include snowmobiles that are electric-powered, as well as vehicles that are equipped with internal combustion engines that run using either E10 fuel (a fuel blend of 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent premium gasoline), or E85 fuel (a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline).

"Gage is proud to support student efforts to promote awareness for the environment," said Robert Jamrog, president of Gage Products Company. "This SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge is just another way we can all continue to work toward a cleaner environment."

To earn points in the emissions competition, teams will have to meet the federal government's 2012 environmental standards. Due to environmental, economic and energy concerns, the availability and use of E85 fuel is increasing. E85 fuel is designed for use in flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs).

Ethanol is a clean-burning, high-octane fuel derived from renewable sources produced in the United States. Ethanol decreases harmful emissions found in petroleum and increases a fuel's octane rating. Higher octane ratings result in "cleaner" fuel.

"E85 fuel offers considerable environmental benefits compared to traditional petroleum fuels," Jamrog said. "Fuel economy, greenhouse gases and air pollution all can be reduced simply by using E85 fuel."

Schools participating in the 2008 SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge include Clarkston University (Postdam, N.Y.), �cole De Technologie Superieure (Montreal, Quebec), Kettering University (Flint, Mich.), McGill University (Montreal, Quebec), Michigan Technological University (Houghton, Mich.), Minnesota State University (Mankato, Minn.), Northern Illinois University (DeKalb, Ill.), State University of New York at Buffalo (Buffalo, N.Y.), South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (Rapid City, S.D.), University of Idaho (Moscow, Idaho), University of Maine (Orono, Maine), University of Minnesota-Duluth (Duluth, Minn.), University of Waterloo (Waterloo, Ontario), University of Wisconsin-Madison (Madison, Wis.), University of Wisconsin-Platteville (Platteville, Wis.) and Utah State University (Logan, Utah).

The team with the most fuel-efficient snowmobile at the 2008 event will receive the Gage Best Fuel Economy award at a banquet in Houghton, Mich., on Saturday, March 15.

Gage's Test Fuel Division maintains an inventory of more than 250 custom-blended gasoline fuels for use in automotive test programs, including SAE fuels, ASTM fuels, and OE-specific fuels. Gage Products offers more than 25 different calibration fluids needed to meet testing requirements for a variety of automotive products, including oil and fuel pumps, fuel injectors and transmissions.

Gage has provided its customers with more than 1,000 different blends of gasoline for automotive-test uses over the last five years. These fuels not only represent regional fuel configurations from North America, Europe, South America and the Asia/Pacific region, they also include gasoline alternatives such as ethanol and gasoline with additives like MTBE.

Related Links
2008 SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge
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