Cornell in cost - 4th
A&M in cost 73rd

I dont see how they get so low!?
This may hurt us in the end.

And yes, it all comes down to endurance.

aggie04,

A large part of Cornell's good cost score comes from the fact that only 30% of the score comes from the actual cost of the vehicle. The remaining 70% comes from quality of the cost report, the manufacturing inspection at the competition, and the manufacturing process discussion. (Of course, that's not to say that Cornell doesn't work to reduce cost, too.)

And don't feel like you have to defend your team's design process to the rest of us on the forum (especially the Cornell a-holes). Your car, it is clear, is damn fast and damn solid. There's no way it would perform as well as it does if you guys hadn't engineered the hell out of it. Maybe you guys got shafted in design, maybe your presenters didn't come across well to the judges, who knows. But I'm sure you've got the Cornell guys scared... it's up for grabs tomorrow morning.

I updated my list of unofficial results.
Now the scores are in for Autocross and Presentation. The endurance run order has been announced.

First Set of Pictures
Second Set of Pictures
Third Set of Pictures

quote:

Originally posted by aggie04:
I actually did the crush zone testing for the Texas A&M team last year. Yes, it is a crush zone as far as SAE is concerned. No other teams have anything better...

Meeting the rules doesn't mean it is a good impact attenuator. There are teams that do better. Are you willing to share any of your info about what your testing revealed? I have already shown my hand here. I just have a hard time believing that structures like that provide any kind of reasonable ride down. I will admit that the rule is pretty silly and that the impact attenuator will probably never help anyone.

Here's me typing numbers from James' photos into excel. I only got a few teams, I may have missed a team or two that has done very well. Also, design scores for finalists are still up in the air, but based on the attention they received in the tent, UWA probably has it wrapped up.

XLS

Another group of pictures is up now.

First Set of Pictures
Second Set of Pictures
Third Set of Pictures

Some things I saw during the AM run group of the endurance:
(These are VERY unofficial)
Drexel was pretty fast and finished
UC San Diego – looks like they got pulled off of the course too early. After a while they went back out and ran three more laps.
Helsinki – DNF with 1 lap to go
Iowa State first team to complete the endurance
Duke – Finished
USB Venezuela – DNF – Durning driver change
UM-Dearborn Finished but may have been pretty far off the pace
UC Berkely – DNF – Cooling problems
Maryland was fast but DNF
U Texas Austin – Finished Fastest Time of the AM run group (unofficial 66.192 seconds)
16 teams finished the AM run group out of 36.

The first run group this afternoon starts at 1pm (about half an hour from now). The perennial favorites and fast teams.

quote:

Originally posted by B.K.:
aggie04,

A large part of Cornell's good cost score comes from the fact that only 30% of the score comes from the actual cost of the vehicle. The remaining 70% comes from quality of the cost report, the manufacturing inspection at the competition, and the manufacturing process discussion. (Of course, that's not to say that Cornell doesn't work to reduce cost, too.)

And don't feel like you have to defend your team's design process to the rest of us on the forum (especially the Cornell a-holes). Your car, it is clear, is damn fast and damn solid. There's no way it would perform as well as it does if you guys hadn't engineered the hell out of it. Maybe you guys got shafted in design, maybe your presenters didn't come across well to the judges, who knows. But I'm sure you've got the Cornell guys scared... it's up for grabs tomorrow morning.

We know all about the proper way to put together a cost report. Last year, we lost maybe 3 points for formatting and during the manufacturing questions. We lost major points on the actual cost, which still perplexes me.

We've had 6 years to figure out the proper way to make a cost report, and we know how to make a good one. You think we can build a car that gets top in Accel, Autox, and Skidpad but dont know to put together a good report???

We know how; we aparently just haven't figured out the right way to "cheat" within the rules. Like I said before, it's all about loopholes. We are honest, and end up 73rd in this cost report, with our shox being our most exotic part.

Yet you have teams w/ turbos, air shifters, carbon fiber wings, etc that somehow come out cheaper??? WTF! I still dont see how a judge can look at that and not question the whole process.

Something like cost should be a little more cut & dry. You shouldn't have to know how to "tweak the numbers" to win that event.

Word on the street is that UTA just got DQ'd from endurance. No word on other teams but I'm happy to say that UW finished clean and fast.

Congrats to UW, hey James do you know why USB didn't pass driver change??

Texas A&M just DNFed on lab 15 right before lapping cornell.
Toe rod bolt broke.

About the crush zone--
Our results showed the energy disipation is constant vs. speed, and is pretty consitant at about 5% of the energy of the car at 30 mph. (I don't remeber other specific details).
I dont think anyone really thinks it is actually a "good" crush zone, just meets the required rules.

Heard that Cornell finished endurance, but that there were maybe a few other cars that were faster.

Top 5 results:

A&M- OUT
Cornell- Finished
RMIT- OUT
UTA- OUT, oil leak again.
UW- Fast time of the day by Denny, then Mike T topped it. SVSU did better than that later.

Bummer... UTA deserves a good finish in Detroit.

-Mark
Cal Poly Pomona

Does anyone have any pictures of the autocross or endurance track map?

texas A&M broke the inboard hiem on thier right rear pull-rod, it looked like. i heard someone on the team say that, after analyzing the failure, it was fatigue, not anything sudden. i think it was a 1/4 hiem.

UTA was leaking oil out of the rubber plug around the engine's wheel speed sensor wires. aperently, they rubber just got loose and crapped out.

RMIT had a cotter pin fall out of their rear spindle. the bolt didn't comeoff, but the wheel was loose.

if anyone has better details, feel free to correct me...

umm, James...

why are there pictures of dudes in that last picture set?

Matthew

I've done the best I could today taking notes, I could be wrong about a lot of this, the times are not official, some of this may change but here we go....

This is mostly in Chronological order.

The first part of the endurance racing was by far the most exciting racing I have ever seen. So much action and passing. The teams were a few laps in when I started watching.

RMIT passes Cornell and blows them away

Denny sets fastest with a 64.4

UTA gains on Cornell
UTA hits 64.0

4 cars in the driver change at the same time. Texas A&M in first followed by RMIT. RMIT out first.

Denny hits 64.2

Texas A&M blows by RMIT

UTA is in the driver change for a LONG time.
UTA DNF

Denny hits 63.4

Cornell passes RMIT and Texas A&M at the same time. In the passing lane RMIT nearly rear end Texas A&M because something happened to the Aggie car. I asked the RMIT driver if they ran into them and he said "NEARLY!"

RMIT passes Texas A&M

Texas A&M is held when they get around to the timing booths.
Texas A&M DNF

RMIT is held at the timing booth a lap or two later. Judges poor over the car.
RMIT DNF
I guess they had a bad wheel bearing (Left rear). The cotter pin may have backed out and the wheel nut came loose. Not entirely sure.

Penn State is on cold tires first lap and is passed by Michigan

UW second driver (Mike T) passes UMR and hits 61.86 second lap the fastest so far (probably by a lot)

Cornell completes endurance
UW completes endurance

U Western Australia is passed by a very fast SVSU car

UWA and SVSU both pass Oxford Brooks

U Michigan completes Endurance

SVSU end up behind UWA and behind Oxford Brooks

U Missouri Rolla is passed by Penn State

SVSU (first driver?) gets 61.264 lap VERY FAST - fastest time of the day

Penn State pulls away from UMR

UMR completes Enduro

U of Kansas in running in the 65 – 67 second range
Spin off the course – no big deal – back on

Penn State Completes Enduro

Michigan State is running in the 67 – 68 range

SVSU driver is running in the 66 range

Oxford Brooks is in the 63 second range

Kansas Catches Oxford Brooks

UWA completes Enduro

SVSU passes Waterloo
Next passing zone Waterloo Passes SVSU
I think the course workers saw that they were close together and figured SVSU was slow

Waterloo is running 67 seconds

Rutgers passes Lavel

SVSU last lap 67 seconds completes enduro

Oxford Brooks completes endurance

Announcement that Fastest Times of the day
SVSU
U Washington
RMIT
Cornell

North Carolina State passes Rutgers
NC State gets 64 seconds

Ryerson gets 64.064

U Kansas Done

Virginia Tech is running 70 seconds

Laval off course and passed by NC State

Rutgers Done

Oregon State is slower than Waterloo
Waterloo completes endurance before they get a chance to pass

Ryerson Passes Virginia Tech

Ryerson second driver is around 67 seconds

Florida gets 69 seconds

Ryerson gets 66.983 seconds

NC State passes Oregon State

Ryerson completes endurance

Oregon State has problems DNF

New Mexico gets 69.599 and 68.509 on first laps

Florida passes Toronto

NC State completes endurance

Lots of passing

Florida passes Toronto (again I guess)

Virginia Tech gets 69.811

U New Mexico second driver gets 67.088

Toledo in the low 70 seconds

U British Columbia is low 70 seconds

Toronto passes New Mexico

Toronto is running low 67

New Mexico is getting 71

Florida passes Toledo

Toronto is in the 66 – 67 range pretty consistently

Virginia Tech Completes Endurance

Toledo is making some sweet flames from the muffler on off throttle

Florida Spins out - long wait – DNF

Toronto passes U Brit Columbia

Oklahoma State is towed away with a mangled front right suspension - DNF

Toronto is 68 seconds

New Mexico Completes Enduro

Auburn gets 65.835 fastest time that anyone has hit for a while

U Brit Columbia passes Toledo

UIUC passes Toledo

CU Boulder is DNF?

UIUC passes U Brit Columbia

UIUC running low 69

U West Ontario is low 69

U Brit Columbia Completes Enduro – First time in 10 years – Congratulations Chris and Jovan

Auburn DNF


This is obviously not a complete recap. Please fill it out if you have more info or correct me if I'm wrong.
----------

Matt,
That was supposed to be a picture of Billy's wicked sunburn. I didn't mean for it to go on – kind of weird isn't it.

Thanks for the updates, James. You kick ass. Wish I could be there!

My last batch of photos are up...

http://evilallianceracing.com/ipw-web/gallery/FSAE05?page=6





...they're all max res (1600x1200) and start at image number 1742.

Things worked out pretty good for my team, we finished enduro and won cost, both keeping with the KISS philosophy and reliability we were after. Its not like our B&S vtwin was going to start spitting coolant halfway through the enduro.

Land and Sea tells us we made 16 rwhp! Our accel time/weight calculation tells us its closer to 23. Either number is obviously not all that impressive, nor what the motor is supposed to be making from our builder. We're working on a MS'nS system to swap on in the next month for the rest of the summer.

Thanks to everybody keeping us on the other side of the world up to date.

Off topic:

IMO:

A lower cost car comes from clever thinking. Carbon fibre is expensive to buy, but cheap in the cost report (moulds don't cost, man hours less)

Ask yourself questions: Can this be cast? is it better to CNC with less time or hand make it which is cheaper but takes longer?