Formula SAE at VIR 2008 Competition: - Updates, Pictures, Stories, and More.

[James Waltman]

Time to open the thread for all things Formula SAE at VIR 2008.

Good luck to everyone.

[Tim Gornik]

Day 1 of Dynamics, any updates???

[HenningO]

Isn't first dynamic day tomorrow? Judging today?

[BamaJeff]

Today is more tech and all of the static events.

Overall, it's been impressive. A little disorganized yesterday for registration, but they pulled it together and everything went well. The track is pretty nice, but we'll see how nice it is once we get cars out there.

Some really nice cars here.

[2BWise]

Got to walk the autocross/endurance track today. The course is going to be unlike any others. It has all the gates and slaloms as expected from using an existing course, but has some serious elevation changes and a lot of off camber sections.

It is fun being around the pro event as we can watch all the practice sessions and check out the machinery, but its a bit of a tease for the dynamic events.

[exFSAE]

Who won tilt test?

[Wes Johnson]

Any indication on how many brought last year's car and how many are in new equipment?

[HenningO]

I heard SAE banned cameras on the site... is that why we don't get any photos here?



http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

[Derf]

The first day of dynamic events went off well. Skidpad was really the only normal event by the rules. Best times in the low fives. It is a nice long hike to get there as well. Accel event was replaced by the mini accel uphill event due to space constraints. Best time was a 2.9?? I believe. Auto-x on the other hand was long. Best corrected times were in the low 90 second range. The elevation changes and off camber sections definitely made things more interesting as well.

I can't quote the finishing places, but the competition has been real good. Most cars are new. Many teams are struggling with the earlier date of the competition due to lack of preparation time.

Design finals took place Friday night with:
Wisconsin
VA Tech
Missouri S&T (UMR)
Cincinnati

VIR definitely has a great atmosphere with the co-location of the event. With the track right by the paddocks, the exhaust notes of passing cars is great. Luckily the weather has been great so far as well.

The SAE staff have really been working hard to put on a smooth event. The VIR personnel have been great as well in their support. With the proximity of the event to several racing teams and automotive centers in the south we had an excellent mix of volunteers. For such a long course the SCCA and track volunteers did a great job as well. Big thanks to all those involved for the competition so far. Judging from the enthusiasm of those involved, and uniqueness of the venue FSAE VIR should become more popular I hope.

[Neil S]

Design Finals:
1st Wisconsin Madison
2nd VA Tech
3rd Missouri S&T
4th Cincinnati

Endurance:
1st Wisconsin Madison
2nd Missouri S&T

Overall (not official)
Wisconsin Madison ~940 Points
Missouri S&T ~870 Points
Cincinnati ~765 Points

I don't think anyone could have tallied more than Wisconsin or us, pretty sure no one else was near enough to Cincinnati to have overtaken them through endurance points.

Congrats to Madison on the highest points total at a US event, at least since '96.

[RiNaZ]

so is it true that cameras are banned at the VIR? usually it doesnt take this long to see pictures from fellow FSAE'ers.

[Neil S]

No, but I know our team didn't have a good internet connection at their hotel. I'll post them on our team website when they get back, maybe I'll convince them to send them tonight when they are back at the hotel.

[mtg]

So I guess the new chancellor was right- a name change would be a change for the better. j/k

Congrats MST! And of course to Wisconsin-Madison.

Bring on the pics.

[Mike Cook]

Hi all, just got home from VIR. Out of the four competitions I have been to, I think this one was the best. A ton of fun, pretty laid back environment. The course was long! Autox times were in the 90 sec range. The endurance was basically the same as the autox track plus a small section that looped around back to the begininng. Acceleration for some reason had some confusion when measuring it out, was only about 50meters or so. Grip was really good, the course was quite smooth. Organization was great considering it was the first event of its kind. The camping site was right next to the paddock which made it really easy to work on the cars and such. The only downside to the whole thing is that there were not too many cars there, maybe only 30 competing. After the positive response to this event I think it will grow tremendously in the years to come.

Top skid pad time was about a 5.25, we ran second with a 5.35ish. Top accel time was a 2.9, second place ran a 3.1. I think most the teams that attempted endurance made it through. Most of the cars there were new cars as far as I could tell.

Anyways, sorry for the jumbled unload, still winding down.

[jeff-NIUMS]

Congrats to Wisconsin Madison on another win. Unfortunately we did not compete in any of the dynamic events due to having a bad ring in one of our motors and slipping the timing chain in the second motor after swapping it overnight. Good news is we should be all set for California, so look out http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

I did take a lot of pictures, but many of them didn't turn out too well. Here's a few-

http://www.niumotorsports.com/pictures/2008%20Car/virbackground.jpg

http://www.niumotorsports.com/pictures/2008%20Car/swap.jpg

http://www.niumotorsports.com/pictures/2008%20Car/autox.jpg

http://www.niumotorsports.com/pictures/2008%20Car/wisconsin.jpg

http://www.niumotorsports.com/pictures/2008%20Car/umr.jpg

http://www.niumotorsports.com/pictures/2008%20Car/bama.jpg

http://www.niumotorsports.com/pictures/2008%20Car/uiuc.jpg

Overall it was a very good competition minus not driving the car. It would have been nice to have some more teams, but it was a very friendly and open competition compared to the last two years at FPG. Good work to all the teams there and we hope to see most of you at West!

[J. Vinella]

Seeing the crazy front wings on M S&T and much smaller rear wing compared with last years car, I would have bet that there would be a under tray, but none at all is interesting.

That looks like design so I doubt it was taken off.

What's the deal?

[andyman61]

No tunnels this year for Missouri S&T. That's not to say that it wasn't looked at, but the package you saw at VIR was the best configuration for the car this year. As for specific reasons why, I'll leave that up to speculation on here...

Overall, the event was great. Like some other people mentioned, the atmosphere of having the DP and Speed Challenge cars going by while working in the paddock was amazing. Hats off to the crew from Wisconsin, a class act and a really quick car once again. Can't wait to head up to Michigan in a couple weeks!

[MRacing_girl]

Congrats to everyone that competed at the first ever VIR event! I was a presentation judge, the assistant skid pad captain and helped with the autox and endurance staging and I've got to say - I had a blast! As Steve mentioned, please email him if you have any questioins / suggestions / comments about the event - we want to make this an awesome addition to the FSAE series. That said, good luck with the rest of the season and if you happen to see and recognize me at MIS (I won't be a volunteer there...) feel free to stop me and say hey!

[RiNaZ]

anybody got more pictures than what we have now?

[ctulen]

Henning, you silly Swede. Where did you hear they banned cameras at the event? I took ALOT and will be posting them as soon as I get a chance.

I also wanted to thrown in my thanks for all the students and the generous understanding they gave us volunteers. You definitely made it very easy on us. Thank you.

Colin
Skidpad Captain, VIR '08
Asst. Endurance Captain, VIR '08
Technical Inspection and Autocross Volunteer, VIR '08

[RBbugBITme]

Not the best but you can sort through here. Another teammate took most of the pics...

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v364/iwantawd/FSAE%20at%20VIR%2008/

Where's the points data!?!?!?!

[BamaJeff]

Here are the official results from SAE.org.

http://www.sae.org/images/cds/209525809_FSAE_2008_VIR_result.pdf

[Michael Palaszynski]

FYI Drexel: Roll hoop clearance is not just for Design Points.

[FryGuy]

Here are some photos from one of the VIR track photographers:

http://www.fandsenterprises.com/galleries2008/formsae/index.html

[HenningO]

Originally posted by ctulen:
Henning, you silly Swede. Where did you hear they banned cameras at the event? I took ALOT and will be posting them as soon as I get a chance.

Haha, Colin you know in Sweden we have something called "smileys" http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

Are you coming to FSUK this year?

Sorry to see in the results that so many teams forfeited... Anyone care to comment?

[B Hise]

I figure those teams weren't ready because the comp is a little earlier than MIS. If you don't have an 08 done it probably wouldn't be worth the trip just to run your 07.

[Mike Macie]

Here's a few of mine

http://s295.photobucket.com/albums/mm142/UBFormulaSAE/

Had a great time

[Neil S]

Just got our pictures into the media gallery on our team website.

[Mac B]

Photo of corner 6 near the end of the endurance event (http://www.flickr.com/photos/amb_iv/2455319605/)

[GSXR05K]

Anyone know what troubles Lehigh was battling?

[HenningO]

http://fsae.mst.edu/media/index.php?album=2008%2FVIR+Co...n&image=100_3327.JPG (http://fsae.mst.edu/media/index.php?album=2008%2FVIR+Competition&image=100_3327.JPG)

Is this what happens when the force line from your pushrod doesn't go through your lower balljoint? http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Besides the single shear I digg the simplicity of the uprights! (previous picture)

[RiNaZ]

http://fsae.mst.edu/media/cache/2008/VIR%20Competition/100_3302.JPG_595.jpg

http://srv.fotopages.com/4/18053013.jpg (http://shw.fotopages.com/18053013.html)

Embry-Riddle had almost similar setup for our 2006 FSAE. The picture above was during our F-Hybrid 2007.

also, check out our video ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSfpaTGCnjE

p/s: picture of University Buffalo car taken from HenningO website (link posted on the comment above)

[rjwoods77]

Rinaz,

I was originally thinking of doing something like that but the rear axle is so close to the main roll hoop plane (19 inches from axle centerline to plane) and the engine that packaging a monoshock wouldnt have been "neat". I love how the setup packages though and it seems to work good so far but they have almost no testing time as of yet and the real potential hasnt been discovered yet. The guys on the team say it just like driving a go kart though and is real easy to drive. We will see what happens once we have a decent(non-engine destroying) tune on it and the cvt. I know the accel course was short and our car was ragged(aka no power and tuning) but still managed to pull a 3.55 in the accel. I cant wait to see where it will end up when all is said and done.

[2BWise]

Got to love the added ground clearance of the "Mudders" They give the perfect opportunity to start rallycrossing a formula car. http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

http://fsae.mst.edu/media/cache/2008/VIR%20Competition/Picture%20083.jpg_595.jpg

[RiNaZ]

Rob,
I took the car out for a lap or two, but only on a straight line, so i too, couldnt say how the car feels like. Im just too big for the cockpit.

You probably couldnt see the CVT in the picture, but the video has some neat footage of it running. And i know how much you love CVT, if you could make it to the Formula Hybrid this year, stop by our tent to see the new CVT setup. I think it looks cool but im not the guy who can explained any part of the powertrain system.

[1975BMW2002]

Originally posted by HenningO:
http://fsae.mst.edu/media/index.php?album=2008%2FVIR+Co...n&image=100_3327.JPG (http://fsae.mst.edu/media/index.php?album=2008%2FVIR+Competition&image=100_3327.JPG)

Is this what happens when the force line from your pushrod doesn't go through your lower balljoint? http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Besides the single shear I digg the simplicity of the uprights! (previous picture)

That is what happens when you ignore what Carroll Smith said about bending. Listen to Carroll.

[rjwoods77]

Rinaz,

I will look into their stuff. My guess is they are using a polaris. I saw some British thing with a go-kart vs a formula hybrid car and that car had twin cvt's (i.e DAF drivetrain) and hey used polaris cvts. I cant speak enough of our sponsor Gagedengineering.com and their product. It is such a nice peice of work they are putting out and will work for stuff under 80 quite well. Super small and super light. I think a southern florida mini baja team used one and finished 5th with it. Pass the word to anybody who is looking for one to use. Contact Bill at Gaged and tell him I sent you. Our CVT was engaging perfectly at 1500rpm but it is so easy to set whereever you want it to. Our car was critized for being too big in the passenger area but I designed it that way so big folks could drive it too. I figured we are designing for the customer and it will fit people all the way yup to 6'3" and 280lbs.

[RiNaZ]

are you talking about this?

http://srv.fotopages.com/4/18055292.jpg (http://shw.fotopages.com/18055292.html)

that's the canadian team, McGill University. What british program were you watching? do you have a link for it?

[rjwoods77]

Oops. You are correct. I am wrong a second time because those are IBC/CVT Tech cvts. Most of the Canada Mini Baja uses those which less efficient and as good than the gagaed setup.

[Wes Johnson]

I think the Missouri S&T photo gallery will keep Pat Clarke's design errors of the month in business for a while.

[Matthew Bell]

Originally posted by Wes Johnson:
I think the Missouri S&T photo gallery will keep Pat Clarke's design errors of the month in business for a while.

Yeah, we found that column after we had built the control arms... Unfortunately, it was not the rod ends that caused the wheel to separate from our car, it was the spindle breaking in half. This was a great event though, and given time, will be a lot better.

[PatClarke]

Quote Wes.. "I think the Missouri S&T photo gallery will keep Pat Clarke's design errors of the month in business for a while".

Hi Wes, there is never any shortage of inspiration for the DEotM part of the FSG website, but I di have to admit I chuckled a bit asi I scrolled through and saved several pix. Their turn will come =] =] =]

Pat

[-]

Originally posted by GSXR05K:
Anyone know what troubles Lehigh was battling?

From what I saw Lehigh did decently up until endurance. They came in the the driver change and their left rear wheel nut was rather loose and the weren't allowed to go back out again.

[Wes Johnson]

Originally posted by Matthew Bell:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Wes Johnson:
I think the Missouri S&T photo gallery will keep Pat Clarke's design errors of the month in business for a while.

Yeah, we found that column after we had built the control arms... Unfortunately, it was not the rod ends that caused the wheel to separate from our car, it was the spindle breaking in half. This was a great event though, and given time, will be a lot better. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah, no worries. FSAE is such a great place to learn about racecars with minimal arse on the line (except maybe your driver...).

[Matthew Bell]

It was kind of nice to just skid to a halt once the wheel fell off... but the brake rotor shattering and flying every which way was kind of un-nerving.

[BStoney]

Originally posted by 2BWise:
Got to love the added ground clearance of the "Mudders" They give the perfect opportunity to start rallycrossing a formula car. http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

http://fsae.mst.edu/media/cache/2008/VIR%20Competition/Picture%20083.jpg_595.jpg

Bill...that looks absolutely rediculous...

[2BWise]

But the added ground clearance was amazing. No problems bottoming out in the grass paddock, or in the gravel, or the edge of the street. They were perfect.

[2BWise]

We had a bunch of team members taking pics and they finally all got posted to flickr. You can find them here: UC pics (http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Bearcat%20Motorsports&w=all&s=int)