Hi

I would like to discuss how you drivers prepare yourself before driving, particularly the endurance event. I'm talking more specifically about preparation the day of the event. What kind of foods you eat for breakfast? Do you get to sleep in a bit more then other team members? How much water do you drink before you hop into the car? etc.

I'm predicting very hot conditions on endurance day in this years FSAE-A competition and if this holds true, driver fitness (and skill!) will be paramount to success. How hard do you guys (and girls) train to achieve a desirable physique for driving these types of cars? Do some teams out there set a minimum standard of fitness before they can be nominated as drivers? Or do you dedicate your engineering designs to accomodate the "regular folk"? (for example, add KPI to make steering lighter but sacrifice on positive camber gain in cornering)

Sorry about the long post about a not-so-engineering topic, but I look forward to seeing your replies on this topic.

Francis (now ex FSAE competitor)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ninja14,

I don't think physical conditioning is very important in such a short race. Our car is definitely designed for the 'masses' and not for one particular driver. It needs to be fairly easy to drive.

I drove in Autocross and Endurance in 2002. We finished Autocross in 7th with a lap of 79.4. It also happened to be the only full lap I got, on cold tires. I prepared by not eating anything, not thinking too much, trying to focus on what was next and not getting nervous. I'd never driven the auto-x before. It was hard not to get rattled as we had some mainor (and major) problems just before the auto-x, but it all worked out great.

For Endurance, it was a little different. it was so very cold and so early for the fastest group. I think we had to be on the grid by 6:30 AM. I drove second and watched our first driver run about a lap before I started feeling sick. He had some problems with the car on the first corner, likely because of cold tires. I couldn't watch anymore, I just sat down next to the RVs and set out my helmet and gloves to get ready for the driver's change. I was calm and collected and ran some very good laps in Endurance (78s). We brought the car home in one piece. and at a great pace.

IMO, The biggest driver issues are

1)Familiarity with the car

and

2)Ability to cope with the unexpected (weather, temp, car issues, etc)

-Charlie Ping
Auburn University FSAE 1999-present

Usually we don't let our drivers worry or touch the car before driving events. We just have them sit down and relax and get focused on the driving ahead of them. Being one of the Auto-x and Endurance drivers this past year, I would like to listen to my favorite DJ (electronic) on headphones and just get in the zone. I have driven these cars for so many years that they are just natural to me. I can jump in any of our cars and be completely comfortable with them. It just comes with seat time. I was the second driver in Endo in Detriot and England and wasn't really too nervous in either case. I guess its because I'm so comfortable in the car.

We also try to have a driver fitness program during the year to help get the drivers in better shape. It may not make a big difference but its the little things that can add up. We usually just do some cardio and some basic weight training.

Shamus Yandle
Georgia Tech Motorsports 1998-Present
2001/2002 Formula Student Champions
2002 Formula SAE - 3rd place

I think the biggest challenge our drivers faced was the pressure of the event and the cars youre racing against. At Competition you have one shot to prove that the thousands of man-hours spent on design, manufacturing, testing, presenting, etc were all done well. That's a big deal.

My teammate and I drove to 3rd in the endurance in Detroit this year (despite a pretty big 5th-gear 'off' that resulted in the eating of 4 cones), and both of us feel that seat-time is one of the single biggest factors in getting faster.



This year, lets put the engine back up front where it belongs!!

The key is simple, physical fitness (gym everyday) and Skip Barber Racing School.

That's a pretty ridiculous statement. I am a Barber school graduate, but it doesn't exactly prepare you for an FSAE-type course. In fact, it is vastly different.

Time in the car, and practice on the FSAE-style courses, overwhelm both those "KEYS" to driver prep by a very wide margin.

-Charlie Ping
Auburn University FSAE 1999-present

I agree with Charlie,
At Cornell, we have very small parking lots that we do our testing in as the university will not give us space in larger ones. We test and train on very tight autocross courses. The average corner radius that we test and train on is much smaller than the average corner in the endurance and autocross track.

Although a driving school helps, it isn’t the main factor in successful competition driving. Prepping drivers by placing them in high-pressure situations: A good driver training regimen, mock competitions, and drive offs between all team members that are interested in driving at the competition with a one shot mentality is the most helpful.

Also, at the competition, the pavement is much different from your average NY parking lot and thus the handling of the car will change. With a small wet, sloped, risky practice lot at the competition it pays decent dividends to have your suspension guys set the car up to perform a number of ways for your drivers to train with. Instead of the perfect balance that you strive for, challenge the drivers by adding roll stiffness to one end or the other without telling them before they go out. When they come in, ask them what they felt they had to do to get the car to do what they wanted it to. That way when you get the competition and you are out on the skidpad and your car understeers a little due to the different pavement conditions, you can still lay down a respectable skidpad time and be happy that you did all this preparation.

Before endurance this year, the other endurance driver and myself sat down and discussed strategy. That helped the two of us remain calm and know what sort of job we had to do out there to get the job done. One more thing: Don't drive the car to the limits in the endurance. Drive at 9/10th's. This will ensure that you don’t hit any cones or get any OC's. Will keep the car in one piece, won't fatigue the driver, and will conserve fuel.

Regards,
Erich Leonard
Cornell FSAE 2000-2002

for the competition, we let the drivers go to sleep earlier than everyone, and the day of, we let them do their own thing pretty much. that's assuming the car is all in good working order. if we are having problems, then its a whole different story, because our drivers are also our most experienced team members and engineers.

as far as training goes, we don't set any physical standards, though everyone is encouraged to do some physical training, and most of our drivers work out on a fairly regular basis. the biggest factor is familarity with the car. we try and get everyone as much seat time as possible, driving on campus in our commuter lot, and doing SCCA events as well. We've found those to be particularly helpful.

last year, 15 members went to a one day school at skip barber. the skills learned there were helpful, although they weren't directly applicable to autox driving.

the better physical shape your drivers are in, the better they will be able to drive, no doubt about that. having as much seat time as possible is also critical. come race day, just let the drivers relax and do whatever they need to be comfortable and in the zone.

www.formularpi.com

I refer you all to Caroll Smith's Drive to Win page 1-22 2nd heading.

We also send the drivers to bed early, and leave them basically to do their own thing the day of driving. The night before, we discuss driver order and strategy as a team. All primary and backup drivers have been tried out and selected by no later than 2 weeks before competition. Other than that, just a big warm water enema before the event to keep weight down, and relieve stress.

Regards,

Ken Hassler
UTA

Ken-

What ever you guys did for driver prep it seemed to be the right thing. You guys were my pick at comp last year. What did end up happening to you guys in the endurance? I was sad not to see you finish.

I was not an active team member for 02, just a spectator. The team had a catastrophic failure in the enduro........ran out of fuel with about 1/2 lap to go. Pretty embarassing.

Ken Hassler
UTA

I would have to agree with Shifter and his reference to Carrol Smith. Also, we usually releive stress, especially when we have problems, by drinking large quantities of alcohol the night before and even larger quantities of coffee before the event. Seriously, by the time you get to competition, your drivers should know the car. They should be comfortable with it and have a good idea how it will react to different situations. This only comes with driving the car. Also, thoughout the year, we set up the competition, or a variation of it, where we test. After-all, the rules state exactly what the course set-up will be. Now I know it's impossible to know the exact course but with the FSAE rules in mind, there are only so many different ways to apply the several basic obsticles. Just look at the past several track layouts...

HB
U. of Akron

Last year I prepared for the endurance by spending an hour in the car underneath a tarp being hailed on. Oh, wait, that was one lap into the endurance. Nevermind

The best non-car related thing to do is go to bed early, and eat a little bit for breakfast. Repeat to yourself over and over that "Cornell will go down this year" j/k

Having some seat time before competition will boost your confidence some and you'll know where the car's 90-95% limit is. No need to push the car to get every little bit out of it.

Beware the assumption that 95% will be enough! I thought that when preparing for my first endurance race, only to find it is not necessarily true! If you think you are in a position to win endurance, or even finish in the top 10, you are going to have to push very hard. Watch the fast cars in the endurance and autocross... they are sliding all over the place as the drivers get all they can from them. I've been to 3 US competitions, and our team went from the 30's to the teens to the top 5 in those three years, and the competition difference is huge as you climb, not only in the design, but in the driving as well!

This year, lets put the engine back up front where it belongs!!

Yes, but 95% of the cars capabilities involve LOTS of sliding. Controlled sliding, predictable sliding. Just because they look a little out of control does not mean they are driving at 100%. 95% is no walk in the park. You can't go at 100%, because 101% will nab you a cone and 2 seconds is a huge penalty.

-Charlie Ping
Auburn University FSAE 1999-present

Here are some of my opinions on driver training. I drive vehicles all the time at work and do limit handling. I was once over-aggressive and slower than "smoother" drivers. That is chaning as I looked at the following:

1. Car Control Skills - if the car begins to yaw, when do you correct and how much to correct. You must be in control at all times.

2. Vehicle Dynamics Understanding - you have to use all the tire, but you cannot over use the tire. Drive the car to its limits all the time, many people cannot do this.

3. Ergonomics - you cannot get tired when driving. When you become fatigue, you loose time.

4. Instruction - There are many "racing schools" out there. Although these schools are fun, you really do not learn much. Some good training is Bridgestone Winter Driving School in Steamboat, Co and TRC has some good training courses.

When training with your team, set up certian events, in autocross style courses, make sure that you have slaloms, brake boxes, etc. I have also always trained all my drivers on courses much tighter than at competition. If they get really fast on a tight technical course, they should perform much better at competition. Over the years, I have worked with some very good drivers at LTU.

Barry
LTU FSAE

ericwort: The best non-car related thing to do is go to bed early

What?!?! we have been doing the opposite! No sleep over period of 3 days, we take away their water and then use a cattle prong on them if they say no.

quote:

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Originally posted by Barry:

3. Ergonomics - you cannot get tired when driving. When you become fatigue, you loose time.

4. Instruction - There are many "racing schools" out there. Although these schools are fun, you really do not learn much. Some good training is Bridgestone Winter Driving School in Steamboat, Co and TRC has some good training courses.

When training with your team, set up certian events, in autocross style courses, make sure that you have slaloms, brake boxes, etc. I have also always trained all my drivers on courses much tighter than at competition. If they get really fast on a tight technical course, they should perform much better at competition. Over the years, I have worked with some very good drivers at LTU.

Barry
LTU FSAE

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Very good points made. I am running the Drivers Training program here at RPI. One of the points I emphasized at my initial lecture was the importance of concentration and fatigue.

Also concerning driving school. What most driving schools do is teach basics. These include all the 3-day type programs, snow conditions, etc. They teach car control, and some driving/racing basics. You can move upto a racing level school course which is usually either open wheel related or towards a club racer where you learn on track skills. However there are only a few beneficial AutoX style schools, and some of the best schools for Formula SAE in my mind are Karting schools. I feel karting is one of if not the best way to get the skills needed to drive a formula sae car at its limits. Since most Formula fords/dodges are not quite in the same class, Karting is much closer to the conditions seen with Formula SAE cars. The skills learned in karting, Shifter karting in particular, are extremely good skills to know in any scenario, obviously including and especially for autoX style Formula SAE events. If you can drive a kart well you have a very very good chance of being able to be one of the fastest formula sae drivers if the car can be reliable; its peak performance levels dont even have to be the best at competition as the best drivers should be able to pilot even a half decent car to a podium finish.

We should get a Drivers Forum on here

I'm a little confused as to what exactly you are saying.

quote:

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You can move upto a racing level school course which is usually either open wheel related or towards a club racer where you learn on track skills. However there are only a few beneficial AutoX style schools, and some of the best schools for Formula SAE in my mind are Karting schools

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so are there kart classes that teach autoX? Karting is good to learn the basic driving skills, but is that really the best way to learn to drive an fsae car? I tend to disagree with you when you say that karting is the closest thing to open wheel autocrossing.

I'm assuming that you have driven both karts and an fsae car and can understand and appreciate the vast difference betweent the two. In terms of sheer vechicle dynamics, the fsae car is entirely different, but this is a another topic all together.

I feel the best preperation is year long involvement on the driver's part, so they have intimate knowledge of the car. After that, its a matter of seat time on a simiar course (to competition) as someone brought up above. practice practice practice.