Street Legal FSAE?

[ryanthewalker]

How's it going?

I was wondering if a FSAE car has been made roadworthy before?

My university's FSAE vehicle went unfinished last rear, I'm not sure if they even made it to a rolling chassis or not. They have the monocoque and rear spaceframe finished, and the engine/diff mounted. Well, with the new rules, a new monocoque must be crafted, and will be designing a new spaceframe because last years' required the frame to be taken off to work on the engine.

I am considering a large 'donation' to the program in exchange for last years vehicle in its current state. I want to design the suspension from the ground up... vehicle dynamics is my thing. Essentially I would design a package for road (primarily taller ride height) and a package for the track. I think all said and done, that would include two sets of uprights, rods/arms, dampers, etc. The switchover of course would not be too bad.

I know in my state the hardest part of getting a title is going through the State Patrol inspection and then having them etch the vin on the chassis. Once you have that, you're golden other than the emissions requirements if any.

So, like I said earlier, I was just wondering if a FSAE car has been made streetable. Thanks!

Ryan

[ryanthewalker]

How's it going?

I was wondering if a FSAE car has been made roadworthy before?

My university's FSAE vehicle went unfinished last rear, I'm not sure if they even made it to a rolling chassis or not. They have the monocoque and rear spaceframe finished, and the engine/diff mounted. Well, with the new rules, a new monocoque must be crafted, and will be designing a new spaceframe because last years' required the frame to be taken off to work on the engine.

I am considering a large 'donation' to the program in exchange for last years vehicle in its current state. I want to design the suspension from the ground up... vehicle dynamics is my thing. Essentially I would design a package for road (primarily taller ride height) and a package for the track. I think all said and done, that would include two sets of uprights, rods/arms, dampers, etc. The switchover of course would not be too bad.

I know in my state the hardest part of getting a title is going through the State Patrol inspection and then having them etch the vin on the chassis. Once you have that, you're golden other than the emissions requirements if any.

So, like I said earlier, I was just wondering if a FSAE car has been made streetable. Thanks!

Ryan

[BrendonD]

Ryan,

In my state it would be no problem to get one of these puppies on the road, however that doesn't mean I would do it. It wouldn't be much safer than a motorcycle, but if you can make it work by all means I'd love to see one rocking license plates. That would be quite a sick little ride though.

Brendon

[jdstuff]

Ryan,

I would start by digging into your state laws, especially the DOT and DMV websites. Almost everything is available online. You would probably have the best luck trying to title it under "modified" and/or "specially constructed" vehicles. There are inspection forms available, which are a pretty good starting point in figuring out what you'll need to be street-legal.

It really all depends on how strict your state laws are. I did some work on legalizing an Ariel Atom in the past, which is essentially a grown-up FSAE car. In the state of Oregon, all it needed to obtain a title was an OHP vehicle inspection. In Pennsylvania, however, we had to fabricate front & rear bumpers, larger fenders, and a windshield (with a working windshield wiper!) before the PHP would even look at it. Get on some kit car forums (Super 7's, etc) and see how those guys are registering their cars.

Best of luck...

[A Richards]

I think that for all the money that it would cost, the risk of getting killed and/or shot by the police and the compromises that would have to be made you might as well buy a decent road going sports car. At last it will go for more then 22km without breaking. I don't think that FSAE cars are really the thing for the street. Don't let me stop you though it would be pretty cool all the same!!

[Auerbach]

It's been awhile since I posted but I've been lurking on these forums for the last few years and this post finally got me to re-register.
I've got a project going to build a street legal FSAE-style car. It's basically your typical space frame FSAE car widened for two people and lengthened to a 92" wheelbase. I've got the frame built, engine mounted, custom carbon/glass seat tub installed, all suspension components (except hubs) fabricated, and wiring being done right now. I don't think it will be too difficult to get road legal besides emissions testing and I haven't done any research on windshield requirements (I won't have one, just maybe some motorcycle type windscreen bubbles ala the Atom). Some people say I'd be crazy to drive it on the street...I suppose they're right.

I'll have to post some pics so you guys can begin the (constructive) criticism.

[mech5496]

Sounds interesting...Pics please!

[Rex]

I looked into this a while back pretty extensively, for the same reasons as Auerbach - not to take a FSAE car and put it on the road, but perhaps using similar components and design/construction methods to come up with something that was actually road-worthy. I talked to many folks at my state DMV/DOT (Texas), etc. The big problem with trying to get anything like an FSAE car on the road around here is that you'd have to first title it, the title would show it as a 2008 model year, and any car that recent apparently must have OBDII to pass inspection. The sugestions I was unofficially given by folks at the state included buying a junked old car and transferring the VIN plates and maybe some other components (i.e. calling it a highly modified Lotus 7 or VW Bug, seems sketchy) and/or trying to title it in another state with less stringent laws on homebuilts with respect to year-of-manufacture and emissions requirements (Georgia was mentioned, but I'm not sure why). I basically dropped it at that point and decided to just restore an FSAE car for autocross/track use (which is what I would suggest you consider if you have an FSAE chassis that close to running).

I agree 100% that the inspection forms for your state are step 1. In Texas for example you must have a windshield wiper but no windshield is required (or at least such was the case a few years ago when I checked). Remember all the lighting rules, seatbelt rules, etc are also usually model-year specific (i.e. really old vehicles didn't have to have seatbelts, and the number of required brake lights has changed several times over the decades). So step 2 is probably figuring out what year your car would be classified as so you would know which safety and emissions standards you have to meet.

[D Collins Jr]

I'm not sure about the title process for a home-built, but I know that Oklahoma has no inspection on the vehicle annually. I'd assume that would translate to a looser title process. We also have pretty low standards for street vehicles here. Like, John Deere Gator low.

[Yellow Ranger]

Does anyone remember which team had the street legal FSAE car at the Silverdome in 2005? I want to say it was one of the Michigan Schools, but the guy drove their 02 or 03 car to the competition and I remembered talking to him about it in the parking lot...