SAE hosts a supermileage competition, where students design and build a single-person, fuel efficient vehicle powered by a Briggs & Stratton engine. The VRI competed in the supermileage competition a few times in the eighties, achieving a little over 1000 mpg (the winning teams were making over 2000 mpg). Unlike with the Baja cars, engine modifications are accepted in SAE Supermileage, so the team experimented extensively. One engine was converted to a radial four–valve configuration; another was sleeved and made into a stroker engine with a new crankshaft and a Honda 50cc piston. They also built an F head and an overhead 2 valve bathtub chamber conversion. The final supermileage car was converted into a prototype solar car in 1989.