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

[Zac]

I know Duke did some back to back testing before Detroit. You might want to try to get in touch with those guys to get their take on it.

From everything I've been told, compared to either R25A or R25B, the D2692 was easier to drive consistently but more sensitive to car setup. Since the D2696 is only a tread compound change it shouldn't behave that differently (it's just faster).

[duckei]

First off I'd like to say congrats to all the teams! Especially RIT (New York RePreSENT!) Also I was really impressed with the A-Game San Jose State brought. Great job and great finish.

Now that most of the important talk is done, I feel like talking. So I will.

Being my sixth and final competition, I can say that this was the most memorable (Dave and Buster's anyone?.) Awesome cars. Awesome teams. The worst comp I've been in was probably Michigan this year. We had a lot of engine and tuning problems to complement the rain.

This was also my fourth endurance race (RPI's second driver) by myself. I swear, every time I go out on track cars disappear and its all eyes on me haha. Unfortunately when I got the pointed black I knew people were REALLY watching. California this year the throttle was making the car buck like a freakin bronco - couple that with catastrophic oversteer and you have yourself a good show. I'm typically a smooth driver (California last year was nice) and I was doing all I could this year to keep that car on track. Aside from that, the course was awesome as per usual, big props to west coast SCCA.

These competitions have been a great test of my driving ability, this one especially. I'm sure everyone has had late nights with Gran Turismo (well back in the day, not while you're trying to finish a race car), spent weekends at parking lots, abandoned airfields, and played F1 challenge excessively. I wish I could have karted when I was younger, but a single parent family in Vermont who has a money gobbling hobby farm doesn't really allow for that...

On a side note, driving 6500 miles total in one week is a fantastic way to get out of working.

I'm out. Have fun everyone.

-Ian

[Trevor]

As a side note, the pictures in DiscoRover's post (showing the monocoque failure and subsequent repair) can be viewed by right clicking on the image icon and selecting "view image"

[Thrainer]

Oregon State, how did you bond in the hard points? I'd say they shouldn't rip out without BOTH face sheets coming off. If you use a decent epoxy, you can get about of 40 MPa of shear adhesion.

These aluminium plates must now be... roughly 10% of your chassis weight?

Thanks for the explanation and congratulations on the podium finish. Looking forward to competing with you in a week.

Thomas

[97'scort]

Hey! I'm looking for any pictures of the UVic team, whether with our car, helping other teams out or just hanging around. You can send them to kgilmar@uvic.ca or point me towards a link Thanks!

[RANeff]

Hey Everyone,

Im looking to get in contact with the Yamaha Rep that was at the California Competition. I talked to him there, but do not have his contact info, anyone think they might have it?

Thanks
Ryan