Eco Illini Supermileage is a RSO that designs and builds a prototype gasoline vehicle. This teams focus is to make a vehicle as fuel efficient as possible and to compete in the Shell Eco Marathon Competition. The competition has been growing every year, with last year over 100 teams from 9 countries and 1200 students competing. The prototype category has few design restrictions to allow teams to experiment to try to get the highest efficiency possible. The winning mileage is around 3000 mpg each year with the American record being 4100 mpg.

For this project, this team is designing and building a new car in partnership with a Mechanical Engineering senior design team. This team is designing the car so that it has less aerodynamic drag and better rolling resistance. A smaller engine is being used and taking other steps to take off unnecessary weight from the vehicle. This team is creating a fixed windshield to make the front of the car more rigid and aerodynamic. This team is looking to purchase an Eddy Current Dynamometer and use it in a chassis dyno. This would give the engine a more realistic loading and allow for better tuning. This team is also making the car more accessible and modular, so parts can easily be repaired or replaced, and future modifications can easily be made. This teams first-year goal is 1500 mpg and our hope is that in subsequent years this car will be able to break the 2000 mpg mark and be competitive with the top teams in the category