Hi there !
My name is Shaun and I'm from Malaysia. My friends and I are interested in joining the formula SAE-A 2008. We were wondering if anyone could help give us information pertaining to Formula SAE-A 2008 ? We would be most grateful.

Hi Shaun,
The FSAE-A event at Werribee near Melbourne will be held on the last weekend in November or the first weekend in December 2008. Date not finalised yet. Entries have not opened yet.
The website for the competition is http://www.sae-a.com.au/fsae/index.htm
Please bookmark this site and check it regularly.
The event will be run to the standard FSAE rules, but there will be some supplementary regulations relating only to the Australian event. You should be familiar with these. To get an idea, look at the Supp. Regs. for the 2007 event, these will be very similar for 2008.
You should email the organisers and express an interest in the event. This will get you on the email mailing list.
Hopefully, we will see you in December
Cheers
Pat

Pat, are you sure about those dates? The last couple of years it's been closer to the middle of December, and I had the impression that this was better for most teams (although I do recall some complaints in 2006 about the timing coinciding with some University's final exams).

Earlier will certainly make our flights cheaper, but late November means the car will need to be on its way over while we're still in exams

Hi Malcolm,
The date isn't set yet, but those are the dates currently being suggested. There have been requests to run the event a little earlier, flight costs being one of the issues.

However, I have no say in this, the FSAE-A consortium will soon establish the actual date and it will be posted on the FSAE-A website.
See you there
Pat

Thank you very much !

Dear Mr. Clarke,

This is the first time that we would be joining this competition. Having said so, we were wondering whether there is sufficient time for us to complete the car as we are still in the design stages ? I'd like your honest opinion about this please. Thank you !

Best regards,

Shaun M

I guess that is dependent on the experience your team has in FSAE.

One of my lecturers Kevin Hayward once said he could get a FSAE car out in under a month if he really wanted to. Then again, he is practically a walking encyclopaedia on race car theory.

It can be done for sure, but you need a tight schedule and a very dedicated team.

I think it depends on what you mean by "still in the design stages". Do you mean you are finishing off a few little details prior to manufacture or is the car still very much just a concept on paper?

Since its your first year, i'll just give the standard warning that manufacture takes a lot more time than you expect it to, and you can never seem to get enough testing time after the car is built.

Shaun,
Sure you can finish a car in time for the Australian competition, however, it will require some discipline!

Firstly, finalise a simple design very quickly. No clever stuff, just a simple car that complies with the rules.

Secondly, I said 'Finalise' !! Freeze your design and build the car. You can do all the clever stuff next year. Have a look at the FSAEA or FSG sites and find the paper I wrote for new teams. Read it and heed it.

Thirdly, and please do not be offended by what I am going to say. Many teams from East and South East Asia have cultural mores that get in the way of good project management. EVERYone has to get their hands dirty.

Malaysia has a viable automotive industry. The small Proton (Savvy?) is probably a good source of brakes, wheels, axles etc. Ask Proton for help. Explain to them what you are doing and why. Proton have to source their engineers from somewhere.

The challenge you are facing is one that thousands of students face every year, some more successfully than others.

Whatever you do, make sure you keep records and notes to pass on to the next team, so they wont have to start from the same place as you. As Chris pointed out, a car can be built in a month (BTW Chris, give my regards to Kevin) but to do that you really have to understand what you are doing. As you will be learning, then 6 months should be plenty =] so you should be finished and testing by September, plenty of time to ship to Australia for November or December.

Finally, don't be afraid to ask for help. The people here are great, but a word of warning....Use the search function first! Most newbie questions have already been asked and answered several times.

I am no longer the Tech Advisor for FSAEA (That may change again!) but I will help if you really need it.

Regards
Pat Clarke

No worries Pat, I'll pass that on!

Shaun, like Pat, i too would like to extend a helping hand in any way i can. Im not in malaysia, but you can email me any questions you have about the car. And i also know your team advisor personally.

just like pat suggest, look into local car manufacturer for help and ideas. I know there are several ex-FSAE from UK universities in the local car industry that could probably help out. You just have to find them. Also, Perodua is also another good car company for parts, and they have even smaller car than Proton SAVVY.

Whatever questions you have, feel free to ask me thru email/IM/phone. Im trying my best to avoid what had happened to the last malaysian team at the OZ competition (long story).

I wish you all the best.

hey shaun this is ankit from dce delhi india
we have faced these problems earlier.
i completely agree with pat
I do not want to discourage your team but i want to tell you that it is very difficult to get resources in south east asia and within our low budgets it is very difficult to even build the car and make it running forget about testing
as far as time is concerned due to exams and intervention of our university it takes way too much time than you think.
what i recommend is build a solid(maybe overdesigned) car take a year to build it and then go to the class 1200 competition next year.that is the best way to approach these competitons.
www.defianzracing.in

I think it's difficult to get the car done when southeast asia teams try to get parts and resources from other parts of the world, mainly, US and UK. But i think you should use this as an opportunity to be innovative in your car design. Every year, you would see somewhat similar cars being produce by most of the teams. So if you can bring in something new and well within your budget, it will surely catches the judges attention and your car would definitely stand out among other competitors.

One part that comes to mind is the engine. If you could somehow incorporate those small K-car engine into your car design,it would definitely save you some time and money i think. It's heavier but it's 3-4 times cheaper than an F4i that you have to get from US/UK/Japan, and it's readily available. The biggest drawback is finding a small gearbox to go with it or you might even have to design a new gearbox for it.

Main thing is, be creative. Something that would work overseas might not work for a team in southeast asia.

Drywater and Shaun,

Be aware that there is only a 'Class 200' at Formula Student in the UK. All other competitions have only one class, and you must bring a new design each year. Shaun is looking at FSAE Australasia, so he doesn't have the Class 200 option

Pat

Dear all,
I truly am grateful for the overwhelming responses that I have received in the form of advice, suggestions and warnings.
I am very sure that we can finish the car in time for the Australian competition. This is because our members are all from the aviation faculty. Thus, enabling us to have a lot of experience as well as equipment at our disposal. However, I remain vigilant over possible problems that we might face during the manufacturing of the prototype. Our main concern right now is whether we can get enough funding to manufacture the car as well as to travel and compete in Australia.

Warm regards,

Shaun M

Dear Mr.Lane,

Thank you very much for your positive response. I believe that my team can make it.

Warm regards,

Shaun M

Dear Mr.Pete M,

What I meant by "still in the design stages" is that it is still a concept on paper as you put it. Still, I think that the car can be ready for manufacture within the next few weeks. This is because the design team is working hard to complete it by the first week of April.

Best regards,

Shaun M

Dear Mr.Clarke,

First of all, I would like to thank you for the enormous amount of encouragement that you have shown for our team.

What you said about finalizing our design is exactly in line with what our team advisor has been telling us to do. He tells us to keep it simple as this is our first time competing. Rest assure, that I will read the newsletter you wrote for new teams. As I have mentioned in a previous post, our main concern right now is in obtaining funding. Thank you for your gesture of kind help, it is most appreciated.

Hoping you are well,

Shaun M

Dear Mr.Rinaz,

Your help is most welcomed and appreciated. Mr.Hendra sends his regards.

Hoping that you are well,

Shaun M

Dear drywater,

What Mr.Clarke said is true. We are aiming for FSAE-A. We believe that we can complete the car in time. Your gesture of concern is appreciated.

Warm regards,

Shaun M