Formula SAE West 2008 Competition: - Updates, Pictures, Stories, and More.

[Pete Fodor]

Just got an email this morning and congrats to the boys in California is in order on the 1st place in Presentation!

[mtg]

I took notes during the first endurance run (the fast group before lunch), but didn't take notes for the rest- had to go catch a flight home.

Missouri S&T kicks off the endurance event by scaring small children with those large wings
Cincinnati on track
South Dakota Mines & Tech on track
U Washington on track
Cal Poly Pomona on track, moved way up in the run order from autox results
Maryland on track
Pomona going for broke, trying to catch Missouri S&T
Cincinnati passes Maryland
SDMT stalls on track, back alive, UW closes gap
Maryland passed Cincinnati, Maryland does D1 drift around corner
UW passes SDMT
Pomona & Missouri S&T keeping same pace
SDMT stalls again, back alive
Cincinnati gets a little sloppy trying to catch Maryland
Missouri S&T has header wrap flapping in the breeze
Cincinnati locks inside rear as they bounce into braking zone
Missouri S&T & Pomona gap still the same, both cars fast
SDMT stalls again, call the wrecker, yellow flag
Missouri S&T punts cone, soccer style, after driver change
Maryland changes drivers
Maryland & Missouri S&T are the only cars on track, rest are changing drivers
For some reason, Missouri wasn't flagged in for a driver change until after 12 laps, only leaving 8 laps for the second driver
Kansas State enters track, promptly spins and kills cone
UW back out w/ 2nd driver
K State not as quick as first group
CPP back out w/ 2nd driver
Cincinnati has lots of chatter under braking
UW passes K State
MST "extra"� header wrap is now gone
Cincinnati catches K State, passes them
UW stalls, Maryland does evasive maneuver to overtake
Yellow flag, UW car dead next to track
CPP catches K State, passes
K State hits cone
Oklahoma gives you a car on track
CPP finishes enduro, as does Missouri University of Scientology
Michigan State on track
Vultures circling, UW carcass pulled off track by The Grice Reaper
Oklahoma gives you a vibrating front wing
Clemson on track
Mich State makes a wish to pass Clemson, wish granted
K State 2nd driver on track
Western Washington U on track
Clemson passes Mich State
Oregon State on track, providing music to the ears via crisp downshifts
It is rumored that Oregon State has driver downshift training program
K State owns cone, 2 second penalty p3ns K State
Vehicle Research Institue at the Western Washington University gains on Clemson
Mich State backfires
Oklahoma gives you a driver change
Western Wash powerslides a corner
Mich State off pace a little
WWU in for driver change
CSUN on track with ringer
Oregon State stalled on track
Mich State appears to be stuck in one gear
Call the coroner, Oregon state is deceased
Mich State way off pace
WWU back out with 2nd driver
UT San Antonio on track
Clemson not shifting
CSUN's ringers pay for their rides
Oklahoma gives you an overtaking of Mich State (who is still stuck in one gear)
Oklahoma gives you an overtaking of UTSA
Oklahoma gives you a punted cone, and is caught by Mich State
Mich hits cone
Mich passes Oklahoma, with no shifter, showing that single speeds really are better
Oklahoma gives you a completed enduro
Toledo on track
Western Wash slows for yellow flag
Chalmers on track
WWU gaining on Toledo, catches, hits Toledo, passes. OWNED!
Rubbin' is Racin', don't stop in front of the passing zone
WWU catches UTSA, don't piss off these pacific northwest people
WWU finishes, after a time penalty/black flag for hitting Toledo
Cal Berkley on track
Chalmers lets Clemson by, without being flagged proving that rubbin' isn't racin' in Sweden
Toledo carries inside front around most corners
2nd CSUN ringer doesn't pay as much for his rides
Chalmers passes FEI
Cal stalls, restarts
Cal flies through kink sideways, clips grass & cone
Chalmers passes Cal
FEI engine sounds off
UTSA picks up the pace
Cal impressively fast through kink, may be the fastest car through that section
CSUN hits cone
Toledo carries inside front again
Chalmers off pace
U Delaware on track, sets mood by hitting a cone
Toledo getting sloppy
Cal goes in for driver change, DOA; later to find out a seat belt malfunction caused their DNF
Chalmers engine is missing (misfiring, not that they can't find it)
UTSA stopped on track
Toledo abusing their tires
UD hits cone
Montreal on track
UD spins, hits cone, into the fairway, almost gets stuck
U New Mexico on track
Aprilia engine lasts for two laps so far
Finish rate very high so far
Toledo passes UNM
Chalmers stopped for a second
UNM stalls
RPI on track
Dartmouth on track
Aprilia engine lasts for 6 laps so far
Chalmers passes UD
RPI driver not being smooth
Idaho on track
UT Austin on track
RPI has been meat balled, which is supposed to be as bad as tea bagged
RPI back out
Idaho hits cone
UD stalls, restarted
RPI passes Dartmouth
UD stalls again, makes happy dolphin noises
Manitoba on track
Aprilia not sounding so great anymore
The Grice Reaper shows up, scares UD back to life exuberantly, springs back to life screaming "Not my time!!"� with engine shaking furiously
UD's time may have come
Quote from The Grice Reaper: "I've been chasing that guy all over the course"�
The Grice Reaper calls in reinforcements
UD time of death: 11:05am PDT
RPI's intake is still punishing eardrums
Manitoba passes by Idaho
Idaho pulls a gap bigger than a truck of russet potatoes
RPI finishes
Idaho throwing the car 'round like a sack 'o taters
Idaho dragging cone
Manitoba quicker, lets off a little steam (literally)
Idaho passes UTSA
Manitoba lifts inside front, eh?
I think Montreal finished- the only team able to show up with an Aprilia engine finishes enduro
Manitoba fastest car on course, also only car on course
Manitoba finishes enduro cleanly, end of first endurance session

Body count from first session:
SDMT
UW
Oregon State
UTSA
Cal
UD

[Michael Palaszynski]

Hell in a Shell Baby!!!

[Downtownred]

Great commentary!!

[James Waltman]

Final Overall Results (Unofficial)

10. Kansas State
9. Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst
8. Cincinnati
7. Toledo
6. Western Washington
5. Cal Poly Pomona
4. Michigan State
3. Oklahoma
2. Missouri S&T
1. Maryland

[Steve O]

In the notes above you missed the most exciting part... people running away covering their ears when half of our muffler mount broke and the muffler blew out and was hanging from the back of the car by the other mount.

Worst part is we finally got out motor running this morning. We have had nothing but troubles with the california air all week. It was our time to show everyone that we weren't a joke and we blew it! Worst part is the courses this year were meant for our car, lots of slaloms and chicanes.

Thanks to all that helped out and good luck in your next years designs. See you out there!

Steve Osuch

Hartford Motorsports

[mtg]

I don't think you guys were in the first run group, I would have remembered that one for sure!

WWU hitting Toledo was pretty exciting, that's the first contact I've seen on track. It never posed any safety threat, but showed that the WWU team was hungry for high placing.

[Biggy72]

Well we sucked it up today.... First we had a turbo return line melt after the last autocross run. We didn't realize it until we were on grid and ready to go out. They let us fix it, but we were sent to the back. Dartmouth lent us a return hose which worked perfect. So we went to the back and we thought everything was fine. Two laps into the run while running a pretty conservative pace the car decided to quit running. After the car got back we found that one of the coils was off the plug, the coil then sort of exploded.

The rest of what happened is speculation, but I think this is what happened. The fuel kept getting kicked into the exhaust and after some pooled up it caught fire and spooled pretty hard. The wastegate didn't react fast enough and the intake was blown off. That's sort of speculation on why the intake got nocked off, but it was off.

I was pretty disappointed because we finally got the thing to quit smoking so bad and it should have ran pretty well. It wasn't doing too bad for a car that had been driven once and been on the dyno for only a couple hours before comp.

[Jerry Lee]

Matt, first off very good work on your team at FSAE west. We at SDSU are pretty happy about our results as well; someday we will be a contender too Part of us can't believe we finished Enduro.. I think we were the only university without even their own enclosed trailer!

I'm hotlinking your picture to a local SCCA forums for appreciation purposes. Is that okay?

[Jerry Lee]

Also, thanks for letting us use your plasma cutter!