Formula SAE West 2009 Competition: - Updates, Pictures, Stories, and More

[Sam Zimmerman]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by rkellz007:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Matt N:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

Sorry, that post was not directed at OSU - more an inside joke at UW.

ryan </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

It is okay if you don't like seeing the car that I helped design go perform well enough to earn top ten placing.

I really liked seeing the 09 UW car at the unveiling. I wanted to see you prove to all the NW teams that wings are not a fad. Hopefully next year will be the year.

Matt </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Matt,

You miss the point - I am nothing but excited that WWU, UW, and OSU have been putting out great cars the last couple of years. It is always exciting to see fellow NW teams doing well. Additionally, I have really enjoyed the comraderie that has been shared between NW teams recently.

The issue is one of intellectual integrity. What does the code of conduct at any University have to say about turning in someone else's homework as your own? Why should it be viewed differently when an individual student transfers schools and takes proprietary design tools, part designs, testing info, etc with them?

Should we take a poll of who thinks that's okay? In the professional world you can't help taking a little knowledge with you IN YOUR HEAD when you change employers - but if you took drawings and proprietary software it could spell a big fat lawsuit for your employer - see Stepneygate or Google "trade secret law suit".

ryan </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

This is supposed to be a learning effort first and foremost. If a student transfers schools and takes his knowledge to spread to other students then more people benefit.

Too many people want to treat the competitions like a business, with everything super secret. It goes against what the competition is designed to do, which is to teach students about engineering.

[Bcohen5055]

This was my first year with FSAE, I had a lot of fun and am looking foward to next year. I shot a lot of photos at comp, pretty much all of Colorado State. The link is posted below if you want to check them out.
http://gallery.me.com/bcohen5055#100041

[James Waltman]

Continuing the tradition, here are the Endurance notes that Kirk and I took during the event.

8:48am
R.I.T is out on Course
Followed by Kansas, Missouri S&T, and Maryland

RIT is smoother than the others through the chicane
Yellow?
RIT is catching Maryland fast
U of Washington on course
Oregon State on Course
Blue flag for Maryland – RIT passes
Maryland passes RIT
Maryland checking out on RIT
Kansas catching Washington
RIT passes Maryland
Both RIT and Maryland catch Missouri S&T
Kansas smokes past Washington
RIT in for driver change
Maryland hot on Missouri S&T’s heels
Maryland passes MS&T
Washington passes Kansas
Kansas passes Washington
Kansas in for driver change
RIT queued up for second driver

Oregon State is holding its own with the single – not catching but not being caught
RIT out with second driver
MS&T in for driver change (we later learn that they’ve broken the steering column and will DNF here)

Maryland in for driver change
Oregon State is very quick out of the kink after the chicane
Kansas back out with the second driver
Washington in for driver change
Kansas driver sounds jerky - really having issues keeping the engine singing
UTA on course
Maryland pushing cones with its cone catchers (aka wings)
Kansas just clips a cone with rear tire
RIT’s rear tires are going off (wearing) but is still under control
Washington can’t get into gear
UTA passes Washington
Kansas murders 3 cones at once with its cone catcher
The Grice Reaper is circling around Washington
The glue kart has arrived – Washington is a goner
RIT’s driver is slower – passed by Maryland and Kansas
RIT completes the endurance
Western Washington on course
Maryland blowin’ away from Kansas
WWU robbed by corner workers – passed by UTA
Oklahoma on course
WWU flagged again – Maryland checks out
Maryland completes endurance
Cal Poly Pomona out and banging the rev limiter!
WWU engine shakin’ and bakin’
OU passes Pomona
Kookmin on course
Oregon State completes endurance
OU checkin’ out on Pomona
WWU nails apex cone
UTA in for driver change
Grice Reaper reports that it may have been Washington’s clutch may have caused the DNF (we later learn that sheared off the CV cup at the splines)

Kookmin spins – eats cones
OU hot on their heels
Auburn on course
WWU climbing on Auburn with cold tires
WWU passes Auburn
Pomona passes Kookmin

Pomona muffler sounds like an F1 car – something has changed – clearly much louder
(We can see on the next lap that their muffler has blown open. Turns out, that little cap that was added to pass sound check might create a lot of back pressure)

WWU in for driver change
Auburn driver needs a kick in the pants – very cautious
Kookmin driver choppin’ through the chicane like a lumberjack
WWU back out with second driver
Kookmin in for driver change
Pomona back out after driver change!?!? (Even with the blown muffler)
WWU passes Pomona and doesn’t even hit them!
OU also passes Pomona in same stop
RPI on the course
RPI hacking up the chicane like Freddy Krueger
Kookmin driver #2 way faster through the kink
WWU eaten up by Oklahoma
Kookmin passed RPI
WWU passes Oklahoma then blows it by the next station
RPI gets crossed up coming out of the chicane and comes around – kills 4 or 5 cones
WWU passes Oklahoma
WWU and Oklahoma are breathing down RPI’s neck
WWU and Oklahoma smoke past RPI
Oklahoma passes WWU
Akron on course
Auburn Driver change
RPI passes WWU
WWU passes RPI
WWU completes endurance – Go Vikings!
Auburn driver desperately needs to go down a gear, but it sounds like the motor is breaking up at high RPM

Calgary on course
CSUN on course
CSUN is dragging a cone around – just like Calgary is
Clemson on Course
Kookmin passes CSUN
CSUN driver is very cautious through the tight kink
Colorado State on course
Clemson must have paid off the tech officials - there’s no way the helmet is kosher under the rules for clearance

RPI blows past CSU
Auburn back out with second driver
CSUN driver is herky jerky through kink
CSU engine is super quiet – engine breaking up, up top
CSU eats Toledo
Clemson and CSUN pass Calgary after chicane
Now on course Toledo, Clemson, CSU, Calgary
CSUN in for driver change
Clemson passes Toledo and Toledo checks out
CSU passes Toledo
CSU driver is not on it
RPI stompin’ the throttle at every turn in the chicane
RPI overcooks corner and plows straight through two cones
CSU driver breaking his arms to get through tight corners
UCSD on course, promptly spins out, kills the engine, restarts, then gingerly tiptoes around the course, then nails a cone before start finish and gets passed by Clemson while he waits for the corner worker to collect the cone

SJSU on course and FLIES past Toledo
Toledo retakes the position , checks out
UCSD car pulled off for a talk with Mrs. Royce
CSU smoked by quick corners, SJSU and Toledo
SJSU passed by CSU but stays right on their tail
SJSU blows past CSU at the far end of the course
UCSD back on course and better behaved
Alberta on course
SJSU smooth and quick through the chicane
Toledo dropping CSU like a bad habit
UCSD eats more cones and waits for corner workers to fish them out of the suspension – SJSU passed while they’re waiting

The Grice Reaper tells us that the UCSD car needs to stop tempting the Reaper crew

Idaho on course
UCSD in for driver change
SDSU on course – super cautious
SJSU on with second driver
Idaho reeling in SDSU – passes easily
SDSU driver needs to use his right foot more
Alberta is quick around the sweeper
Brazil is on course – blasts us with the smell of E85 (one of us thinks it smells like corn subsidies and one of us thinks it smells like tequila)

Dave reports that the Pomona car was meatballed for muffler halfway though second driver and MS&T DNF’d at driver change

Cal Berkeley on course, promptly eats cone and carries it around – Go Bears!
Cal dies after one lap – the Reapers are circling
Reapers claim Cal car and deliver it to Hades
Idaho on course with second driver
SJSU, blowing steam
Kettering is playing Tokyo drift – FSAE style
China is putt-putting around

[pucksaver]

Anyone have a picture of endurance results or a copy of the results?

[James Waltman]

My Autocross pictures are up.
The gallery:
http://www.wwufsae.com/Waltman...t/Autocross_Gallery/
The zip file with everything from the gallery is here:
http://www.wwufsae.com/Waltman...SS_JAMES_WALTMAN.zip

I’m happy to share with anyone – email me if you’d like to use them for anything other than personal use (like for a team website). I may have some of your school even if it’s not in the gallery – just ask.

I’ll work on my endurance pictures over the next few days.
Here’s a few from the autocross (this is going to take up some screen space).

WWU

UTA

Oregon State

Colorado State

Washington

Illinois

Kansas

Pomona

Maryland

RIT

Clemson

Cal

[Gabe]

@ James

Great pictures man! Thanks for posting!

And I love your guys comments on endurance. Too bad we had major overheating issues otherwise those comments might have been a little more of CSU passing others lol. But either way thank you!

[Wesley]

First thing I'd like to say is thanks again to SAE, volunteers, and sponsors for another great event.

Second, I'd also like to thank U Vic for generous use of their welder during the competition, and without whose help we would have not passed tech. A thanks also goes to Kansas, who gave us a working injector. More power, but it means we lost economy. :P

Third, I want to encourage the team from KAIST, next door paddock neighbors and fellow Ape-runners. Your car was most definitely the best first-year car I have ever seen, and with a very intimidating first engine. Don't give up, and make sure your administrators know that you guys have made leaps and bounds in the right direction, and you will be in a great place for next year.

Fourth, I want to challenge the supposed "Aprilia sucko" as well. Kansas's issues with Endurance were not entirely Aprilia-resultant. Their performance, our performance, Auburn's performance all indicate that these engines are worthwhile. OU's car weighed 396 - what I would call an accomplishment with an aero package. On our first year engine iteration, we were making 55 hp with no dyno time. Also, any failure by the mentioned teams to finish top 3 (except for Kansas, obviously) is not the cause of the motor. Next year, with more time into the engines, the packages will be better refined, better designed, and even more reliable. After all, how many F4i's failed to pass endurance? How many Aprilia's?

[ACasson]

I'm thoroughly enjoying the forum conversations now. The public car analysis is great.

Once again, congratulations to everyone. Hopefully we all met/surpassed some or all of our goals for this year.

[Pennyman]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by ACasson:
Hopefully we all met/surpassed some or all of our goals for this year. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Haha, awesome.

Here's my first impression of the design judging:

Firstly:
It seems as though all the judges had a list of questions they HAD to ask the teams. Talking with other teams kinda clued me into the fact that there's a sort of list that design judges had to ask to evaluate how much general knowledge a team had about a certain subject be it chassis material, suspension geometry, brake balance, etc...

Secondly:
Even though the judges had a list, they seemed to respond better to a bombardment of technical information, IE: "percent reduction in x, with a percent increase in y validated through testing etc" and basically never letting them get a word in due to the limited time.

Finally:
The judges seems to respond very quickly to visual cues. If your components look optimized, they will be more willing to ask you about them. If your parts look simple and in a "stage 1" sort of state, they will write it off right away.

Overall, I'd like to mention that it seems like the design event (at least the preliminaries) is more about your ability to cram as much information into the judges heads as possible in the allotted time. Maybe the semi's are different. I look forward to experiencing that next year.

[RacingManiac]

Thats my Formula SAE design experience in a nutshell I think, at least for the first round. Of course, it also helps if you have the appropreate judge to cram the proper information to. The lack of suspension chassis judge doesn't help, which was the case in 2007 and apparently in 2009 as well for the Toronto team in Michigan.

It helps if you have a prepared presentation beforehand and rehearse it well.