What is the status of your vehicle?

[Hammock]

This is straight out of the 2007 Rules...

"The Formula SAE ® Series competitions challenge teams of university undergraduate and graduate students to conceive, design, fabricate and compete with small, formula style, autocross racing cars....The intended sales market is the nonprofessional weekend autocross racer. Therefore, the car must have very high performance in terms of its acceleration, braking, and handling qualities."

How is it that cars with wings dominate Topeka, but not Formula SAE, yet the rules want us to build a car that can win at Topeka? It comes down to a team's decision on if they want to satisfy the rules and build a car capable of winning SCCA events, or play their odds and hope for slow and tight autocross and endurance events. Sorry for posting this under this topic, just had to share.

[Aaron Bailey]

Cal Poly SLO is going to Topeka this year and no SAE competition. We are developing an aero package which should be on the car by next weekend. That, fuel injection, testing, and designing for '08 is our status at the moment.

[skillet]

originally posted by Hammock

This is straight out of the 2007 Rules...

"The Formula SAE ® Series competitions challenge teams of university undergraduate and graduate students to conceive, design, fabricate and compete with small, formula style, autocross racing cars....The intended sales market is the nonprofessional weekend autocross racer. Therefore, the car must have very high performance in terms of its acceleration, braking, and handling qualities."

Bitter?
No where in the rules does it say consult your local SCCA event for typical course dimensions. If you look in the rules theres a table of contents and sure enough there are sections (5.6.3 and 5.7.4) which list a range of track dimensions for the FSAE event. Im sure its in the interest of safety to keep speeds down in our series. If you still want to whine make your wheelbase and track adjustable

[VFR750R]

Originally posted by Hammock:

How is it that cars with wings dominate Topeka, but not Formula SAE, yet the rules want us to build a car that can win at Topeka? It comes down to a team's decision on if they want to satisfy the rules and build a car capable of winning SCCA events, or play their odds and hope for slow and tight autocross and endurance events. Sorry for posting this under this topic, just had to share.

Havn't we all heard this before. Seriously, everybody gets the same rule book, and course dimensions havn't changed for 15 years. Everybody has a different opinion on what a competitive car for FSAE looks like, but noone here thinks a SCCA fastest lap of the day car will do well at a FSAE event.

For some reason, everybody focuses on the only two sentences in the whole rule book that are non descript. "Intended sales market is the nonprofessional weekend autocross racer" Guess what, where does it say the class, or if it has to set fastest time of the day at Topeka? It is an engineering design project with an imaginary consumer market, it's not real life.

Anyone who cries about their FSAE car not being competitive at SCCA events, and wants FSAE rules changed is a wiener. Don't build a SCCA hot rod without planning on losing the FSAE event to a team that builds an f'in FSAE car!

[Kyle Walther]

honestly i think you can do both. and kudos to a team that does.

[VFR750R]

I agree, build an FSAE car and take it autocrossing. No doubt you'll have a blast regardless of who you run against or if your in a class by yourself. Better yet, call other FSAE teams that are close to the event and challenge them to come out.

UTA is a perfect example of double-duty cars and bringing out other FSAE teams.

In my previous post I in no way meant to discourage autocrossing these cars.

[Aaron Bailey]

Here is the first challenge for every FSAE team to qualify and show up to Topeka. And any CA schools, lets start showing up to Cal Speedway, the Cal Poly's need some competition. I would love to see a huge FSAE field at Topeka. Any schools up for the challenge?

[Kenny T Cornett]

Our car is coming along nicely. We've moved from drunken rants about stuff to actually scribbling on napkins.

The fire has messed us up something bad...

[Hammock]

Thanks for your blunt replies. I find it disconcerting to dedicate so many resources to an imaginary class. Perhaps the reality is that FSAE must be imaginary to fulfill its purpose safely.

Though I won't accept this, I will recognize that it is the current mindset of the FSAE community, and would like to propose a challenge of my own. An unofficial cup to go to the team that places highest in FSAE and SCCA Nationals combined. How about add the scores together. For Nationals, first place is 1000 pts, second place 900 pts, 800 pts, and so on.

On a similar note, I feel that a reasonable goal for those of us that do attend Topeka, is to dethrone the A-Mods as the fastest cars there. Perhaps a couple years off yet, I do see this as a great challenge, but not totally unreasonable.

Again, thanks for opening my eyes to the fact that this is all imaginary, very motivating. Perhaps if I didn't eat, sleep, and breathe race cars this would drive me away.

Also, I would like to say that a much better discussion of this matter has been carried out at:

http://fsae.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/8...2410757731/p/6

I would request that further discussion of this topic be carried out there, I apologize for the interruption. On with the better subject of car updates!!

[Rellis]

midwest teams how about Iowa auto cross march 18th

bring sticky tires

http://www.dmvrscca.org/soloschd.htm