fsae or shell eco marathon...

[rajiv]

We the students of madras institute of technology are in a very big confusion http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_frown.gif http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_frown.gif in our college both shell eco marathon teams and supra( sae competetion similair to fsae ,which is held in a national level within our country india) teams are being selected... i am into the supra team ... but now the problem is with the certainty of supra happening this year.... so we are planning for formula sae..... is it really possible for us in a year to make our car to the standards of a formula sae ???? all our team members are ready to work how much ever hard possible !!! pls help us in making a decision... or is it wise to leave the supra team and go into shell eco marathon ..... pls sir let us know !!!

[onemaniac]

For the first time around, even for a North American school with all the (relatively) easily accessible resources (not necessarily the money) it's quite difficult to compete successfully in a year.

I learned this the hard way. Previously being part of a pre-established team made me under estimate the 'people part' of the project, when I (and a friend of mine) started the brand new team at the new school.

The first season we attempted the project, no one in the team except two of us had a clue what FSAE is really about. The team did not share a common goal and it caused a lot of problems along the way.
Don't get me wrong. Everyone there had the will to do the work. The problem was that we all ran in different directions and never met again, no car was built.

After the guys and the faculty adviser went to Formula North to observe the competition and other teams (and their cars), they finally grasped the concept of the competition and this year things are much better. Although FN is not an official FSAE competition yet, it follows the same rules of FSAE so it still helped.
It's surprising. No matter how many pictures and videos and presentations you give to the people, they never know until they actually experience it.

I strongly suggest that the core members of your team (at least 3 people) and your faculty adviser to make a trip to an official FSAE or FS competition and observe how it's run, talk to other teams, talk to the judges and look at the cars.

When you form a new team, especially if you're going to be the leader, you really need to know your team members and each one's personality. FSAE is volunteer driven. It's so easy for a team member to dismiss his/her interest in the project only due to personal troubles within the team.

What I mentioned is only a couple, out of a long-list of things I learned in past year while trying to form a team. There's so much more.

[rajiv]

so u mean to say that it would be better if i am off to the shell eco marathon team eh?? ( last year my college had been placed in a decent position in malaysia).. and one more confusion is that i intend to do a masters in vehicle dynamics or race car engineering... and i have no interest towards electric cars http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_frown.gif the oly reason i would be forced to choose shell would be for the certificate value which would boost up my resume http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_frown.gif http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_frown.gif

[onemaniac]

The decision is always yours and I should never say what someone can or can't do.
I only gave my personal opinion that it would be very difficult, especially for an Indian team with limited resources to compete successfully in 1 year. What I meant by successfully is finishing all the dynamic events.
If you aim to compete in 2014 FSG you got almost 20 months. It's probably possible then.

[JulianH]

I'm not an expert when it comes to the Shell EcoMarathon but I think it doesn't really matter.

Both competitions are challenging and you need ressources to compete well.

When the ETH Zurich started in the EcoMarathon (I think they still have one of the best scores ever..), they used the same fancy materials and so on and this was 2005, so I don't know how much crazier this all got:

http://www.paccar.ethz.ch/technics/pac_I_vs_II

I believe that FSAE is the better competition to compete well without a large budget.

The Eco marathon is just about saving fuel, in my opinion FSAE is more than just speed, therefore I'd choose FSAE and like onemaniac said, go for 2014. If you start know, the 2013 is WAY to early for you, especially when it's your first real FSAE car.


Cheers

[Owen Thomas]

Sounds like you're having a hard time choosing between short term satisfaction and real long term gain; figure out what you want to do with yourself (that's the hard part). You mentioned that your team did well in the Eco challenge, and that you're looking for a resume builder. If you are only concerned with looking good on a resume, I would say go for the Eco challenge. If you want to actually be able to back up your resume and can put in the hard work, do Formula.

If you plan to do a masters in vehicle dynamics, then why would the extra fluff on your resume even matter? As far as gaining knowledge in vehicle dynamics and "race car engineering", FSAE/FS is a no brainer choice. I am admittedly biased, however.

+1 for 2014, it's too late to start a car now for competition this summer. Period.

[Bemo]

I can only second the other reponses. If you want to do FSAE, it is only realistic to go for 2014. But without knowing anything about your resources (manpower, money, manufacturing facilities etc.) it is impossible to tell you what to do.
I don't know too much about the Shell Eco Marathon, but if you want to do anything about vehicle dynamics FSAE is much more interesting for you. If you want to set up a new FSAE team at your uni the first step you should do is talk to other FSAE teams in your region. Contact and visit them. Ask them how their team is organised, what problems they are facing etc. This will give you a pretty good idea of what it means to do FSAE.
For us guys from Europe and the US it is very hard to estimate what it is like to build an FSEA car in India or how ressources at Indian unis are. So it is very difficult to tell what you should do. Ask yourself what is more important to you. Do you only want to boost your resumee? Than it is the easier way to join an existing team which already is doing quite well than starting a new team in an extremely challenging competition like FSAE.
Only you can make that decision. You have to live with the result of that decision not us, so we can't decide for you.
By the way, FSAE is quite a lot about deciding about stuff. If your decision making processes take too long, you'll never finish your car in time http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

Read the thread "Reasoning your way through the FSAE design process". This will give you an idea what it means to do FSAE.