Formula SAE West 2007 Competition: - Updates, Pictures, Stories, and More.

[James Waltman]

Time to open the thread for all things Formula SAE West 2007.

Please use this thread rather than starting a bunch of new ones.

I'll be there with camera in hand again this year.

Good luck to everyone.

[James Waltman]

Time to open the thread for all things Formula SAE West 2007.

Please use this thread rather than starting a bunch of new ones.

I'll be there with camera in hand again this year.

Good luck to everyone.

[Pilotin]

Remember us?
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> C:\Documents and Settings\adm\Desktop\sr3.jpg </pre>

unfortunately we didn´t learn about timing and yesterday at 5:15 AM the engine fired for the first time.

We leave tomorrow to fontana, so after a long trip (without tequilas) we will see you at the california motor speedway with our updated model.

[Pilotin]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Pilotin:
Remember us?
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1358/535337434_49891024d9.jpg?v=0

sorry about that </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[HenningO]

At the airport, heading out!

[drivetrainUW-Platt]

Sweet picture, its funny how the cars arent THAT far off in size.

[Wesley]

This is the University of Oklahoma, coming live to you from the Conoco station in Flagstaff, Arizona!

See you on the flipside of 6 hours, California.

[SuperSport2]

Washington State University leaving Sacramento, California.
Fontana here we come!


Brett Lucas
Suspension Team Leader
Washington State University

[Azim]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by SuperSport2:
Washington State University leaving Sacramento, California.
Fontana here we come!


Brett Lucas
Suspension Team Leader
Washington State University </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Our car is in the teeny U-Haul just around the corner from your trailer at the hotel http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif.

[Biggy72]

http://w3.mme.wsu.edu/~sae/?page=competition (http://w3.mme.wsu.edu/%7Esae/?page=competition)


There will be updates here every day.

[GTmule]

nothing after today??!?!?!!!?!?!!?

[James Waltman]

I've been trying to upload pictures since last night.
I have about 200 from yesterday and about 200 from today.
Something with the Hotel's internet is blocking me.

I'll keep trying for a while...

Design Semi Teams
(By memory – I'm pretty sure this is correct)
Texas A&M
Auburn
Oklahoma
Kansas
South Dakota SM&T
BYU
Dartmouth
Washington
RPI
Michigan State


Some really trick suspension bits on Kansas and Dartmouth. I'll try for good pictures tomorrow.
Maybe a better update after some more fighting with pictures/internet.

[Brian S]

I just got 400 something pictures up for the first day. Hopefully I can get pictures from the rest of my team from today soon.

http://w3.mme.wsu.edu/%7Esae/?page=competition

[James Waltman]

Alright,
I got a few pictures up and I'm giving up for now.

http://dot.etec.wwu.edu/fsae/HostedPics/2007_FSAE_West/Misc_Before_Gallery/
They're all pretty random.

[Big Bird]

Aah, happy memories. Thanks for the photos James. Good luck to all, enjoy yourselves in the warm California sun.

Cheers,

[TG]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Brian S:
I just got 400 something pictures up for the first day. Hopefully I can get pictures from the rest of my team from today soon.

http://w3.mme.wsu.edu/%7Esae/?page=competition </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Brian, thanks for the pics. Just to let you know, the links to the larger pics of some of the earlier and all after 240 or so are broken or corrupted.

[drivetrainUW-Platt]

Whos car is that with the CVT, gold paint and the rubber doughtnut cv joints?

[Travis Garrison]

What's with the wave shaped composite ?spring?

[Brian S]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by TG:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Brian S:
I just got 400 something pictures up for the first day. Hopefully I can get pictures from the rest of my team from today soon.

http://w3.mme.wsu.edu/%7Esae/?page=competition </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Brian, thanks for the pics. Just to let you know, the links to the larger pics of some of the earlier and all after 240 or so are broken or corrupted. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yea, I figured there would be some problems, the hotels internet keeps craping out and it takes a while to upload 400 pictures...
Hopefully I'll get it fixed later tonight

[chuckBYU]

Any updated results on the static events? Thanks. Wish I could have been there.

[Fyhr]

Does anyone know if Chalmers got a running engine, i saw one pic of em but did they fix their engine?

[JR @ CFS]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Fyhr:
Does anyone know if Chalmers got a running engine, i saw one pic of em but did they fix their engine? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yup, 66.5 in sales, 12th out of 58 teams. 50 in cost, 70 points in design and their best acceleration so far is 3.925 seconds.

Just getting sporatic reports from the '07 project supervisor who is out there with them and expecting a full report this evening/tomorrow morning via email, so will update.

JR

[James Waltman]

Chalmers got their engine running and had a blazing fast car.
They had FTD for a while in accel.

Michigan State ended up with the fastest time of day for the acceleration event (3.8xx seconds).
I'll try to post pictures of the score sheets.

The announcement van at autocross said:
1. Texas A&M
2. Oklahoma
3. ?
4. U of Washington
(That's from the van and from memory = very unofficial)

I heard Design Final Teams were:
BYU, Auburn, can't remember the other 3(?)

I have a ton of pictures - might not be able to post them for a day or two...

[Maverik]

I hear Michigan state is in design finals, won accel and autocross, unofficial of course

[Chris Allbee]

Design Finals:

Auburn
Oklahoma
BYU
Michigan State

Michigan won accel
Texas A&M won AutoX

I'm unsure about skid pad (except that Oklahoma got 3rd)

[Flexicoker]

Here's some of my pictures here, not the best ones I took, but the ones that have something cool going on (tirelift!!!) The accel and skidpad results are also in there.

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v237/Flexicoker/FSAE%20West%202007/

[Mike Claffey]

Does anyone feel like filming enduro and sticking it on youtube?

[Dan G]

Here's my shots from today. Sorry they suck, I wasn't in the picture taking zone today. Most of the shots are out of focus or have vignetting from me not zooming in tight enough through the teleconverter. Tomorrow's should be better.

http://evilengineering.com/gallery/v/SAE/FSAE/WEST07/

Here's a 7MB pano group shot from the banking. Its 7 shots stitched together.

http://evilengineering.com/pano.jpg

[MikeDutsa]

What is going on under the front of Kansas's car? Looks like some rowdy hydraulics?

[95M3Racer]

I cant find a couple teams in the Pano, were some teams not there?

[Matt N]

Kansas has their ride and roll springing and damping separate = 'monoshock' front suspension.

I'm not 100% sure but I think the rotary damper for roll was an in-house piece.

[AeroAg03]

Just got back from the endurance race today and thought I'd share a few of my pics.

As far as the current standings go, my fellow Aggies (Texas A&M) were pretty sure they won after they finished. I didn't stay long enough to hear an announcement or see a posting though.

http://www.pbase.com/aeroag03/image/80635016/large.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/aeroag03/image/80635017/large.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/aeroag03/image/80635018/large.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/aeroag03/image/80635019/large.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/aeroag03/image/80635020/large.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/aeroag03/image/80635021/large.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/aeroag03/image/80635022/large.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/aeroag03/image/80635023/large.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/aeroag03/image/80635024/large.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/aeroag03/image/80635025/large.jpg

[JordonMusser]

Results DAMNIT! http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

[Kurt Bilinski]

I just got home. The Oklahoma car (I think) threw a rod. Unfortunately because I was working the course I didn't have my camera ready, but had a front row seat. Anyhow, they threw a rod and boom, Huge flames out of the engine area as the crankcase oil lit off. If anyone has a picture it's sure to be a keeper. Driver's safe, but it was a real shame. A very fast car driven by a very fast driver.

I'll post pictures on my website tonight after I write it up. Oh, and sold some books while I was there http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

[Dan G]

Great shots AeroAg03. I was suffering from camera envy all weekend. I think I'll have to upgrade to a DSLR for next year. Those shots just make my jaw drop.

I had to split from the pano shot early to go help setup the cones for enduro, so there could've been more teams that showed up after I took it. Thats also why nobody is looking at the camera or anything.

Here are my pictures from today (521) start on page 3...

http://evilengineering.com/gallery/v/SAE/FSAE/WEST07/?g2_page=3

I'll come back with some shrunken highlights, and post a .zip file of all the shots in the next day or two. Congrats to everyone, there were some amazing cars there this year. I was very impressed with BYU's car, some really trick stuff on there.

[Azim]

Well, we didn't finish endurance...we were running great and passing a bunch of people when two laps from the end our right front brake locked up and the car spun off the course. Right about then our shifter cable broke and that really sealed our fate.

Inspection of the brake rotor once we were allowed to get to the car revealed a small chunk of aluminium had melted off either the rotor or the caliper and wedged itself between rotor and caliper, locking the wheel.

On the plus side though, we did get some pretty cool footage from our onboard camera in endurance and autocross. When I edit the videos I'll be sure to put links here...

Azim Yazdani
Wichita State University.

[mtg]

Here's the notes I took during enduro with some help and inspiration from Waltman:

Our extra perceptual premonitions are in bold

A&M passes UW
A&M on Oklahoma
Mich gaining
Mich spins
Oklahoma passes A&M
Mich passes Shiba-Ura
CSUN on track
UIUC on track
OK on track, 2nd driver
A&M on track, 2nd driver
OK making clunking noises
A&M passes South Dakota
Oklahoma massive fire & spin, DEAD CAR
Red flag
Parade lap & break whilst removing Oklahoma shrapnel
Bring all cars in
SD back on track
UIUC on track
SD driver change
CSUN on track
A&M on track
Mich on track
Mich spin, stall
A&M drifting behind UIUC around sweeper, passes UIUC
A&M makes large gap quickly
Mich pulled over/black flag?
Mich big spin into grass
KU on track
A&M hits cone, big drift
UIUC 2nd driver out on track
Mich black flagged
A&M finishes
Mich back on track
SD bogging, low on fuel? Off pace
Shiba-Ura finishes
RPI on track
SD off pace bogging for 2 laps
UW out- lost coolant after parade lap
The Ohio State University on track
RPI looks fast
SD out/finished?
KU lifting inside rear in sweeper
RPI transmission problems
KU passes UIUC
The Ohio State University off course
RPI black flagged
UIUC boots cone
KU driver switch
UMR winged beast lurks on deck
RPI back out
RPI in dirt, hits cone. RPI = RIP, push of shame
The Ohio State University only car on course (that's alive), misses shift
The Ohio State University solo for awhile
The Ohio State University finishes, break to collect corpses (RPI, Oklahoma)
Repairs to timing line
Long break
Purdue on track
UMR on track
The Ohio State University back out
Maryland on track
KU on track
Purdue catches/passes Tokyo Denki U
The Ohio State University spins, into grass
KU stopped b/c The Ohio State University spin
UMR stopped on track
KU catches, passes The Ohio State University
TDU stopped at UMR speed bump
Maryland has shifter problems
UMR dead, body pulled from battlefield
Cal Poly Pomona on track
TDU held in passing lane for Maryland, KU, The Ohio State University
Matt coughs up chunk of LA air
KU catches, passes Maryland
CPP fast shifts, sounds like Italian enginery
CPP big spin
Chalmers out on track
Toledo on track
The Stig makes appearance in Purdue car
CPP black flagged, then back out
Chalmers carries inside rear all the way around sweeper
Toledo closing in on Chalmers
Maryland off pace
Maryland way off pace, holds up The Stig
The Stig passes, opens up 42 mile lead in one lap
Toledo screwed- Chalmers passes Maryland, Toledo stuck behind Maryland
Chalmers broken, holds up Toledo
The Stig hits cone
Purdue passes Maryland with 100 mph speed difference
CPP on track, 2nd driver
Purdue passes TDU- The Stig isn't joking around
Kum Oh on track
CPP passes Maryland
2nd CPP driver not as smooth
Auburn on track
Auburn does not show southern hospitality to Maryland- passes them
Auburn passes Kum Oh
Kum Oh blasts two cones
Dartmouth on track
U de Sherbrooke (UDS) on track
TDU & Purdue finish
Toledo passes CPP
Kum Oh MIA
Auburn hits cone in slalom
CPP finishes
Toledo passes Dartmouth
Kum Oh returns
Western Ontario on track
Toledo opens big gap on Dartmouth
Auburn in for driver change
UDS off pace
Brazilian V8 team on track
WO making clunking noises, sounds like diff
Auburn back out
UDS brake overtravel switch kills engine, dead car
Dartmouth in for driver change
WO attrition victim
BYU on track
UOIT on track
Clemson on track
Carnegie Mellon (CM) on track
Clemson held in passing lane for CM and BYU
Auburn passes Kum Oh
BYU stalls out, facing wrong way, staring match with CM
Lehigh passes UOIT
BYU DNF
CM missing upshifts
UNIP out on track, super quiet
Clemson carries drift around fast kink
Lehigh's muff broken, redneck high dB levels
CM stuck in 1st gear maybe
Lehigh passes UOIT
Leeds on track
CM in or dead
Clemson in
Lehigh passes UNIP
Lehigh pulled in, black flagged for noise?
Clemson back out, 2nd driver
Leeds passes UOIT
UOIT passes Leeds
Leeds passes UOIT
Leeds opens up gap
UOIT drags cone
Saskatchewan on track
UC Irvine on track
Clemson held up by UCI
Clemson and UOIT pass UCI
UOIT spins in slalom
UCI stops on course
Cal Berkley on track
UNIP passed by UOIT
UCI hits cone
Saskatchewan breaks front suspension in bus stop, dead car
Berkley sidepod ready for liftoff
UOIT finishes
CSUS on track
Firenze on track
UCI passes UNIP
CSUS passes Wash State
BYU carcass dragged off course
Montana on track
The Reaper goes to collect UMR body & soul
CSUS passes Wash state
Wichita State on track
Firenze makes lots of smoke or dust
UMR helmet-less driver limps car across live track
CSUS major tire lift around kink
CSUS in
Montana continues to hold up Wichita and Wash state, passed
Montana passes Wash State
Wash State passes Montana
Wichita opens gap on Wash State and Montana
Wash State in
CSUS back out, second driver
Montana coolant overflow is steaming
Montana stuck in low gear
UCI passes Wash State
Wash State in
Wichita in for driver change
UCI passes Wash State
UBC passed by UBC (what? It must have been getting hot )
UBC passes UCI
Firenze passes Wash State
Firenze has oil spilling out, lots of smoke, black flag
TTU on track (Tenn. Tech)
Alberta on track
U Alabama Birmingham on track
Saskatchewan body drug off course
Dalhousie starts & finishes enduro
Rumor: A&M engine in sad shape after enduro

[95M3Racer]

Thanks for the recap, sucks to see RPI had a DNF in enduro, they were on their way to another strong finish.

[Kurt Bilinski]

Here's my write up: http://www.kimini.com/Diaries/2007April-/

[kmrobinson]

Our engine is fine, the Aprilia engine is good actually.

edit: Time for Dave and Busters'

[James Waltman]

I took a ton of pictures again today. I'll try to get them up soon.

Overall results:
1. Texas A&M
2. Kansas
3. Auburn
4. Purdue
5 .Toledo
6. SDSM&T
7. Cal St Northridge
8.UIUC
9. Chibura Inst Tech
10. Mich St

[skillet]

nice job on the commentary.

where was david hobbs?
"KAAABLAMOO!!!"
http://evilengineering.com/gallery/d/16134-2/IMG_4334.jpg

[Dan G]

Ok, here's some highlight shots. These are twice downsized and compressed, the full res shots have a lot more pop. Click the 1024x768 link in the gallery single shot pages to see a slightly better version. Or email me and I can send you full res (2592x1944). gielamonster -*-AT-*- gmail -*-DOT-*- com

Lined up for enduro...
http://evilengineering.com/gallery/d/15891-2/IMG_4251.jpg

It was pretty warm, even at 9am. No where near as sweltering as last year though...
http://www.evilengineering.com/gallery/d/15840-2/IMG_4234.jpg

OU driver escapes the flames (shame, you guys were super quick both here and at East. Congrats on an excellent car guys.)...
http://www.evilengineering.com/gallery/d/16119-2/IMG_4329.jpg
http://www.evilengineering.com/gallery/d/16137-2/IMG_4335.jpg

All these cars were wicked quick...
http://www.evilengineering.com/gallery/d/16167-2/IMG_4345.jpg
http://www.evilengineering.com/gallery/d/16170-2/IMG_4346.jpg
http://www.evilengineering.com/gallery/d/16173-2/IMG_4347.jpg

It did keep getting warmer...
http://www.evilengineering.com/gallery/d/16221-2/IMG_4363.jpg

The Stig driving for Purdue...
http://www.evilengineering.com/gallery/d/16248-2/IMG_4373.jpg

KU repeated their impressive performance from east...
http://www.evilengineering.com/gallery/d/16281-2/IMG_4385.jpg

Chalmers broke the mold with a twin-screw supercharger and water-air IC...
http://www.evilengineering.com/gallery/d/16323-2/IMG_4399.jpg

I had a lot of trouble catching Pomona in my frame...
http://www.evilengineering.com/gallery/d/16377-2/IMG_4420.jpg

Auburn set the pace when they were on the course...
http://www.evilengineering.com/gallery/d/16479-2/IMG_4454.jpg

Dartmouth had their turbo neatly packaged behind the driver's back, very clean system...
http://www.evilengineering.com/gallery/d/16485-2/IMG_4456.jpg

Sherbrook kept the engine spinning near redline the whole enduro thanks to the CVT. The engine held but the brakes gave up...
http://www.evilengineering.com/gallery/d/16512-1/IMG_4465.jpg
http://www.evilengineering.com/gallery/d/16533-2/IMG_4472.jpg

Kumho was another car that was hard to catch in the frame...
http://www.evilengineering.com/gallery/d/16539-2/IMG_4474.jpg

Spaceman driver award goes to my alma matter...
http://www.evilengineering.com/gallery/d/16668-2/IMG_4517.jpg
http://www.evilengineering.com/gallery/d/16707-2/IMG_4530.jpg
(staring match with BYU)

Ok, I'm done. Click through the gallery for more.

http://www.evilengineering.com/gallery/v/SAE/FSAE/WEST07/

[pablo180]

We were able to help Chalmers on Tuesday night. They took an extra crankshaft we had and rebuilt the engine in our lab.

Sorry to hear what happened with Oklahoma. They were damn fast out on the track for the first heat. (At least it wasnt the hub!)

This was a great competition for us this year. We bounced from 23rd last year to 7th this year.

[Rachel]

did anyone get a shot of CSUN's spin?

oh and i can't wait to see "it's all about pablo and rachel" on oklahoma's car next year!!

[Kyle Walther]

"It's all about Pablo and rachel" will differently be on the car next year.. actually we are thinking of giving you guys a set of something that we won in autocross..you know, if you want them?

seriously though with out you guys at csun we wouldn't have even made it to skid pad.. we owe all our dynamic points to you guys.. thank you

[Iloper]

We from Chalmers would like to thank CSUN FSAE for their hospitality. Without you guys we would never have been able to start our engine.

As many peolpe know we discovered that our crankshaft was bended (caused by a broken clutch) on the friday before the comp. Our faculty advisors managed to bring a straight shaft with matching bearings from sweden on the tuesday before comp. The car was assemled on wednesday morning, thanks to CSUN who let us use their fascilities.

Hereafter it went on pretty well, second place in acceleration and sixth in skiddad (tell that to the design judges who totally ditched our susp. design and told us that the car was WAY to heavy).

Unfortunately the brake overtravel switch was activated after six lap in endurance, and you all know what this means http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_frown.gif

Overall we had a great racing weekend!

/Per

Chalmers Formula Student

[pablo180]

Kyle,

Its all good. We all argreed early on that we wanted to compete with the teams on the track, not on the sidelines.

We were glad that you were able to find us. Hopefully if all goes right, we'll be hanging out with you guys at the Texas shootout.

[mtg]

I'm curious as to what the ride frequencies were on the BYU car- it looked like the 4 Hz range, and was quite ridiculous when the car hit bumps.

I didn't get a chance to ask the team, anybody from the team have any input? It seems surprising to make it that far in design with a suspension that seemed like a hinderance on track.

[csquinn]

So who finished top ten and what were total points? why hasn't anybody posted this yet? The suspense is killing me.

[clif2001]

csquinn...the top ten is posted at the bottom of page 2. There are no points, just a top ten list.

[James Waltman]

I finally got some pictures up.

They're broken down by day:
Wednesday (http://dot.etec.wwu.edu/fsae/HostedPics/2007_FSAE_West/Wednesday/index.htm)
Thursday (http://dot.etec.wwu.edu/fsae/HostedPics/2007_FSAE_West/Thursday/index.htm)
Friday (http://dot.etec.wwu.edu/fsae/HostedPics/2007_FSAE_West/Friday/index.htm)
Saturday (http://dot.etec.wwu.edu/fsae/HostedPics/2007_FSAE_West/Saturday/index.htm)

I'll make a 'Best Of' gallery soon.
I'll also zip the good ones into a single file to make it easier to download them.
Send me an email if you want full resolution versions of any of these.

I'll try to give some more comments and reports if I have time later today.

[Kirk Feldkamp]

All my pictures from this weekend can be found here (http://evilengineering.com/gallery/v/Kirk/FSAE+West+2007/).

Here's one of my favorites. I call it the "Michael Royce Boogie".

http://evilengineering.com/gallery/d/17715-2/P7040165.JPG

[Mathieu]

All the team from Université de Sherbrooke would like to thank CSUN for their extraordinary hospitality. We arrived there saturday june 9. They helped us a lot getting prepared for the competition and fixing the car. They have been really good for us. We would not have been able to make it without them.

Big THANKS to Pablo and his team!!

Unfortunatly, a lot of problem happened to us. The noise test and a lot of other things slowed us down and we missed the accel and skid pad event. We were able to run the autocross, finishing in 22 place with a 45.9xx. In the endurance, the overtravel switch was activated after 7 or 8 laps. The first driver said that the pedal started to become loose after the second lap. The problem was getting worst at each lap to the point there was no more brake. When we got back the car at the end of event, the brakes were back!!
Has anyone ever had problem with brake fuild? Seam like we just got one.

Anyway, We had a lot of fun, we lurned a lot and we will be back stronger!!

Mathieu

[Wade Marcantonio]

Does anyone have a video of the OU big bang? http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

[Dan G]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by turbotwig:
Here's one of my favorites. I call it the "Michael Royce Boogie".

http://evilengineering.com/gallery/d/17715-2/P7040165.JPG

-Kirk </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[mtg]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mathieu:
The first driver said that the pedal started to become loose after the second lap. The problem was getting worst at each lap to the point there was no more brake. When we got back the car at the end of event, the brakes were back!!
Has anyone ever had problem with brake fuild? Seam like we just got one.
Mathieu </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That sounds exactly like brake fade- your brakes got too hot, boiled the brake fluid, and the brake pedal got really soft.

By the way, good job on making sure your brake overtravel switch was positioned such that the engine was killed when the brakes went away. That happened right in front of where James Waltman and I were standing and I saw the CVT primary drive stop right before the corner and the car went straight off into the grass and stopped safely.

[Lexusteck]

Kansas U has a video of the final 10-15 seconds of the OU car. Lawrence is trying to gert the proper music to go with the clip and they are still on the road. It will be up soon.

[Rachel]

Mathieu,

we are very happy we were able to help your team! it was great having you guys in our lab. i'm sure you will be welcome again at CSUN next year.

[Pilotin]

Here`s video footage of the OU fire.

http://www.youtube.com/v/5U2YyIk7XSE

Sorry for the lack of zoom but blame that on the camera.

After the accident all the fire trucks arrived in a timely fashion, nice work FSAE West organization!!

[Maverik]

Hey, kinda reminds me of a little fire that happened up at Indy this weekend too... http://youtube.com/watch?v=UCc2vVxEGDk

[jakez]

mtg,

I'm the engine leader/team captain for BYU. As far as suspension goes, it has been our weak point this year. Our car could have been much faster than it was, but we never got the suspension dialed in as you mentioned. As for design finals, we were told it was our engine, drivetrain, and weight reduction (437 from 528) that got us through. In enduro, our first driver misjudged that corner, spun, killed the engine, and a still unknown electrical problem kept him from restarting. Apologies to those who were stuck behind us. Lack of testing really hurt us in all the dynamic events. Congrats to A&M for two in a row and to OU for #1 in Design.

[Biggy72]

At least the safety crew at Indy had fire extinguishers and were there relatively quickly... wish the same could have been said for the OU fire. Thankfully it put itself out after a second, but it could have been much worse.

[Biggy72]

http://w3.mme.wsu.edu/~sae/media/07_competition/day_3/target16.html (http://w3.mme.wsu.edu/%7Esae/media/07_competition/day_3/target16.html)

That's how we roll.... on three cylinders. We found the problem after the first auto cross run, fixed it and ran the rest of the auto cross runs. Then we took it back to the dyno and got it up to 59hp.

We left it alone figuring if it's not broke don't fix it and the car never did run right during the endurance. I haven't looked yet, but it felt and looked like it dropped two cylinders for some reason. We would have still finished, but the fuel pickups that were supposed to draw fuel from one side or the other of the tank in case one side was in air decided to pull both check valves closed and the car stalled out with about a lap and a half to go. As soon as we got home tonight we turned the car on and it started right up without touching anything since we pushed it back to the trailer after endurance. It was still down two cylinders, but at least it was running

[James Waltman]

jakez,
No need to apologize.
It's pretty impressive what you were able to do in your second year.

I know that mtg is talking about this:
http://dot.etec.wwu.edu/fsae/HostedPics/2007_FSAE_West/Best_Of/Best_Of_Dynamic/Best_Of_Dynamic_Resized/IMG_2340_bouncing_resized.JPG

(Sorry if the image is huge)
This is from the autocross - the left hand uphill on the far side of the track.
Many of the cars were disturbed/upset by the bump at the start of that turn.
The BYU car absolutely bounced on it though.
The image above is not from cornering so hard the car lifted.

Fun picture either way. Good luck next year.

[Scott Borg]

I'd like to thank Oklahoma for letting us borrow their CO2 regulator on Friday and Saturday after ours failed. There is no way that we would have been able to complete our accel and skidpad runs if we had to wait for a team member to buy a new one.


Scott Borg

[James Waltman]

Alright,
I've culled the herd a little.
This is the best of my Dynamic pictures:
Gallery (http://dot.etec.wwu.edu/fsae/HostedPics/2007_FSAE_West/Best_Of/Best_Of_Dynamic/index.htm)
.zip file to get them all at once. (http://dot.etec.wwu.edu/fsae/HostedPics/2007_FSAE_West/Best_Of/Best_Of_Dynamic/Best_Of_Dynamic_Resized.zip)
Individually (a little larger than in the gallery) (http://dot.etec.wwu.edu/fsae/HostedPics/2007_FSAE_West/Best_Of/Best_Of_Dynamic/Best_Of_Dynamic_Resized/)

A few highlights from my pictures:
(sorry that these are so big - they just don't look right shrunk down)

Acceleration Launch
http://dot.etec.wwu.edu/fsae/HostedPics/2007_FSAE_West/Best_Of/Best_Of_Dynamic/Best_Of_Dynamic_Resized/IMG_1857_acceleration_launch_resized.JPG

CSUS Wheel lift http://dot.etec.wwu.edu/fsae/HostedPics/2007_FSAE_West/Best_Of/Best_Of_Dynamic/Best_Of_Dynamic_Resized/IMG_2186_lifting_resized.JPG

Engine Smoke and I think a wheel lift
http://dot.etec.wwu.edu/fsae/HostedPics/2007_FSAE_West/Best_Of/Best_Of_Dynamic/Best_Of_Dynamic_Resized/IMG_2322_engine_smoke_and_air_resized.JPG

Tokyo Denki - Big Lift
http://dot.etec.wwu.edu/fsae/HostedPics/2007_FSAE_West/Best_Of/Best_Of_Dynamic/Best_Of_Dynamic_Resized/IMG_2498_big_lift_resized.JPG

Cone Killer
http://dot.etec.wwu.edu/fsae/HostedPics/2007_FSAE_West/Best_Of/Best_Of_Dynamic/Best_Of_Dynamic_Resized/IMG_2453_squash_resized.JPG

Was The Stig driving for Purdue?
http://dot.etec.wwu.edu/fsae/HostedPics/2007_FSAE_West/Best_Of/Best_Of_Dynamic/Best_Of_Dynamic_Resized/IMG_2502_the_stig_resized.JPG

[James Waltman]

...continued...

http://dot.etec.wwu.edu/fsae/HostedPics/2007_FSAE_West/Best_Of/Best_Of_Dynamic/Best_Of_Dynamic_Resized/IMG_2759_resized.JPG

Texas A&M Drifting
http://dot.etec.wwu.edu/fsae/HostedPics/2007_FSAE_West/Best_Of/Best_Of_Dynamic/Best_Of_Dynamic_Resized/IMG_2981_texas_am_drift_resized.JPG

Kansas
http://dot.etec.wwu.edu/fsae/HostedPics/2007_FSAE_West/Best_Of/Best_Of_Dynamic/Best_Of_Dynamic_Resized/IMG_2422_big_lift_resized.JPG

Lehigh's muffler is starting to lose it. That's packing flying out. A few other pictures around this one in the Gallery (http://dot.etec.wwu.edu/fsae/HostedPics/2007_FSAE_West/Best_Of/Best_Of_Dynamic/index_2.htm#105) tell more of the story.
http://dot.etec.wwu.edu/fsae/HostedPics/2007_FSAE_West/Best_Of/Best_Of_Dynamic/Best_Of_Dynamic_Resized/IMG_3409_muffler_losing_it_1_resized.JPG

Oil on the tires makes for a slippery drive (The Italian car)
http://dot.etec.wwu.edu/fsae/HostedPics/2007_FSAE_West/Best_Of/Best_Of_Dynamic/Best_Of_Dynamic_Resized/IMG_3607_slick_tires_means_cone_attack_resized.JPG

Oklahoma Vented Block
http://dot.etec.wwu.edu/fsae/HostedPics/2007_FSAE_West/Best_Of/Best_Of_Dynamic/Best_Of_Dynamic_Resized/IMG_3713_Oklahoma_vented_block_resized.JPG

[mtg]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by jakez:
mtg,

I'm the engine leader/team captain for BYU. As far as suspension goes, it has been our weak point this year. Our car could have been much faster than it was, but we never got the suspension dialed in as you mentioned. As for design finals, we were told it was our engine, drivetrain, and weight reduction (437 from 528) that got us through. In enduro, our first driver misjudged that corner, spun, killed the engine, and a still unknown electrical problem kept him from restarting. Apologies to those who were stuck behind us. Lack of testing really hurt us in all the dynamic events. Congrats to A&M for two in a row and to OU for #1 in Design. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Fair enough, you still made a very impressive showing. I was just curious, thanks for the explanation.

[kmrobinson]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Pilotin:
Here`s video footage of the OU fire.

http://www.youtube.com/v/5U2YyIk7XSE

Sorry for the lack of zoom but blame that on the camera.

After the accident all the fire trucks arrived in a timely fashion, nice work FSAE West organization!! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

The EVs (emergency vehicles) were California Speedway staff, so they're used to playing with the big boys (NASCAR). I'm sure the moment they saw flames they were already in drive and going to the site.

I don't want to complain, but the corner workers had a terrible reaction time to the incident. I was on course spotting for our photographer and noticed that the corner working team located before the incident did not yellow or red flag until well after the EVs showed up. Infact our driver was well before the corner (~20 seconds up course), saw the smoke and fire, looked for a flag, and proceeded past the corner when he saw none. There was no flag until after he passed the scene, and had to be directed by a worker around the incident. In every autocross/HPDE event I've participated in as a driver or worker, the moment you see a car gush fire out the back you do something besides stand with your hands in your pockets. I know the course steward probably wanted to control all flagging actions so there might have been lag there, but throwing a yellow flag would have been my first instinctual reaction. Particularly if I'm the corner upstream of a car on fire I would have done something to ensure the safety of the emergency crew, drivers, and responding workers.

I know the workers were volunteers, but they seemed to be fairly lackadaisical during the incident. Just my $0.02.

[Biggy72]

I saw another instance where a car had been leaking oil all over the track, the crew threw down kitty litter, but then they didn't have a red and yellow flag to throw so they just stood there... seems like at least a yellow would help since it was in a very tight corner. After awhile they got a flag, but this was the main flag man, it seems like he would have known what to do to slow down the cars out of anyone on the course.


Also while driving with our car off the pace I some how chased down a car. The blue and yellow flag was flown for what looked to be the car in front of me. They did not pull in at several passing lanes, so I just thought they were ignoring it. During this time another car had chased both of us down. Once I finally passed the car in front of me I was shown the same flag so I immediately pulled over and they let a car pass me and then held me until the first car I passed went by. Once back on course I was shown the black flag and told I had ignored several flagging stations.

If they want the second car in line to pull over they need to have a better way of notifying that driver. If I ran someone down and the flag comes out in front of the front car I'm not going to pull over unless they show me something else to tell me to get out of the way.

[Kurt Bilinski]

I guess I'm partly to blame, then. I was on the opposite side of the track from where the car blew up his engine. One issue is that we each had our own little section to be responsible for, so if something happens behind or to the side, there's a delay before you know. Plus, us cone weenies weren't given yellow flags, though we did have red ones. Then there's the question, do I red-flag on-coming cars, or run for the fire extinguisher. I chose the latter, only to be very nearly run over by the fire truck... That said, yes, you're right about slow reactions.

[BuckeyeMike55]

First off, I would like to congratulate A&M, Purdue, Toledo, and the other top finishers of the event.

Secondly, here's the video of 'ricky bobby' as performed by Ohio State.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZrFs5TYTgw

[Brian S]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Biggy72:
http://w3.mme.wsu.edu/~sae/?page=competition (http://w3.mme.wsu.edu/%7Esae/?page=competition)


There will be updates here every day. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

OK, I finally got all our pictures uploaded, all 1884 of them...

[Kurt Bilinski]

Loooove them hubcaps!

[kmrobinson]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by kb58:
I guess I'm partly to blame, then. I was on the opposite side of the track from where the car blew up his engine. One issue is that we each had our own little section to be responsible for, so if something happens behind or to the side, there's a delay before you know. Plus, us cone weenies weren't given yellow flags, though we did have red ones. Then there's the question, do I red-flag on-coming cars, or run for the fire extinguisher. I chose the latter, only to be very nearly run over by the fire truck... That said, yes, you're right about slow reactions. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I knew that you and the other grey-shirts were mostly just cone-shaggers with no real authority. The people wearing whites should have known better. My complaint was that the three people wearing whites at the far east end corner of the course upstream of the incident failed to yellow or red flag oncoming cars within 10-15 seconds of the incident. Sure the incident was downstream of the station, but you can't miss something like that. Not between three people. *shrug* What's done is done, I just was worried about the safety of the EV crews and the OU driver. I suppose it's a good thing our (TAMU) driver was more on the ball than the corner workers.

[James Waltman]

The results are up:
http://www.sae.org/students/fsaew2007results.xls

(Thanks chuckBYU)

[drivetrainUW-Platt]

So did LeHigh get pulled after there muffler became a fart can?

Good to see they got 30 after the bad luck at MI.

[drivetrainUW-Platt]

Cross between Iowa State from 2 years ago and UTA?

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b309/duwem/IMG_1988_resized.jpg

[mtg]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by drivetrainUW-Platt:
Cross between Iowa State from 2 years ago and UTA?

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hilarious, that's exactly what I was saying at the comp.

[Azim]

Would anyone like an in car video of the autocross event?
Driver 1, Run 1 (http://webs.wichita.edu/depttools/depttoolsmemberfiles/formulasae/Video/WichitaState_FSAEWest07_AutoX_D1R1.wmv)

Edit: I should point out that the wrong map was loaded into our piggyback on this run. That's at least one of our excuses for being so slow!

Will get around to posting more tonight or tomorrow. I've got video for all of our autocross runs and endurance.

[Kurt Bilinski]

Maybe it's the camera angle, but in the video it looked like you were running tons of anti-Ackerman.

[ScottW]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Maybe it's the camera angle, but in the video it looked like you were running tons of anti-Ackerman. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

It's the angle, we have parallel steering. The engine tuning on that run was also way off, it was much more responsive after a new map was loaded.

[Wes Snaza]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by drivetrainUW-Platt:
Cross between Iowa State from 2 years ago and UTA?

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b309/duwem/IMG_1988_resized.jpg </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Reply to: Cross between Iowa State from 2 years ago and UTA?

Mike,

Actually just to clear this up- there is very little of this car that resembles Iowa States besides the paint colors. We both have ethanol sponsors, although they are sponsored by ICM while we are sponosored by POET and South Dakota Corn Utilization Council. Now... in terms of resemblence to the UTA car- there are a few similiarities. We have had the chance to hang out with the guys from UTA quite a bit the past three or four years so we have borrowed a few design ideas. Yet, as everyone knows so well in Fomula SAE- a picture of another car means absolutely nothing unless you know how it works! Also, here is a link to our website showing our past few cars- note in particular our 2006 car - http://fsae.sdsmt.edu/?sec=team_hist We have taken a different approach the past few years by using an "evolutionary" design process- and it finally seems to be paying off for us with a 6th place overall finish at West. On a final note- you commented on where you though the car design originated from- I am actually curious if you like it?

Wes Snaza
SDSM&T Engineering Lead

[drivetrainUW-Platt]

Wes, that comment was meant to be a compliment. It is a very sharp looking car. No monster wings or bad body work your car.

The comparison was striclty the paint colors and the overall look, just surface similarities.

[Wes Snaza]

Mike,

Thanks, I figured as much- and as everyone knows- you can't built a light car unless you pay attention to the details.

Wes

[James Waltman]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by mtg:
Rumor: A&M engine in sad shape after enduro </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by kmrobinson:
Our engine is fine, the Aprilia engine is good actually.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I would like to revisit this.
I had mtg add that to our endurance notes.

On Sunday, I talked to the guys that were telling me this once more.
They were adamant that the Texas A&M engine had issues after the endurance.
They claim that they saw the oil catch can with a lot of milky fluid after the endurance.

I can't be certain but my picture seems to confirm this might have been happening:
Overview:
http://dot.etec.wwu.edu/fsae/HostedPics/2007_FSAE_West/Misc_Before_Gallery/TAM_overview.JPG

Full zoom on the catch cans - looks a little milky to me in the forward (oil) can.
http://dot.etec.wwu.edu/fsae/HostedPics/2007_FSAE_West/Misc_Before_Gallery/Catch_can_1.JPG

I'm not trying to stir things up. It's not a problem if you want to ignore me.
I'm just curious what was going on - I know a lot of people were pretty impressed by that engine (and by your car).
If that engine might have issues I'm sure I'm not the only one that wonders what they are.

Congratulations either way. Pretty impressive showing overall.

[Azim]

Video of our second autocross run by our first driver is available here (http://webs.wichita.edu/depttools/depttoolsmemberfiles/formulasae/Video/WichitaState_FSAEWest07_AutoX_D1R2.wmv). This one's significantly faster than the one I posted before... Shame about those two cones though!

[GSXR05K]

Another pic
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1266/587878492_43a42b6479_b.jpg

[make mcdermott]

I knew a lot of people were interested in our engine, but I am truly impressed at how observant James Waltman & GSXR05K are.

Yes, the oil is milky. The Aprilia has known problems with seals between the cooling and oiling systems (see apriliaforums.com/forums/). The problem began several days before we left for FSAE West, but the seal to fix it didn't arrive until the day after we returned. We were changing oil after every session at home and at competition. Hopefully there was no major damage. The Aprilia is like dating a super model - many attractive features, but high maintainance.

[GSXR05K]

Mr. Mcdermott,

Would you care to comment on your team's philosophy about using a "rare" engine to competition? How many spares do you have / did you bring?

Thank you. Aaron

[agjohn02]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by make mcdermott:
The Aprilia is like dating a super model - many attractive features, but high maintainance. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>


HAHA. Guess that makes a single cylinder supercharged Yamaha like dating a temperamental stripper.

Congrats on the win TAMU!

[rambler323]

quote:
Originally posted by make mcdermott:
The Aprilia is like dating a super model - many attractive features, but high maintainance.



"HAHA. Guess that makes a single cylinder supercharged Yamaha like dating a temperamental stripper.

Congrats on the win TAMU!"

Maybe that's why we've only been dating them for one season each? Gig 'Em Ags!

-Kevin LeClair
TAMU FSAE 2006

[Benjlv]

Dan G-

will you be posting a zip of all your pictures as well?

also if anyone else with galleries would like to put up a zip of their gallery that would be appreciated. I like to collect the pictures so that i still have them long after anyones websites might be taken down. also its easier to look at the pics when they are on my hard drive.

If you need a host I can provide some hosting.

[Dan G]

Oh yeah, I uploaded a zip a few days ago but never put the link up here...

http://evilengineering.com/FSAE-W07.zip

Here's a link to the zip of the east shots too...

http://evilengineering.com/FSAE07East_shrunk.zip

[conekilr]

A lot of people were bugging me to post the video of the OU fire. I was standing in the dynamic area waiting for the driver change when it happened and the fire definitely looked bigger from that angle. Good thing Kyle always does the 5 sec. egress for tech!

I have to give a big thanks to our paddock partners for helping us out, whether it was borrowing a fastener or dipping in the pool. Congratulations for winning design and we look forward to racing with you guys at UTA weekend, Nationals, etc.!


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

[Wesley]

GSX05etc.

That coolant bottle looks a bit milky, is it a trick of the light?

[GSXR05K]

Coneboy, no.

The picture was taken when the car was on the east side of their trailer in the late afternoon shade. The flash was on.

Aaron

[js10coastr]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> The Aprilia is like dating a super model - many attractive features, but high maintainance. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

...plus you get guys taking pictures of her/it all the time.

...sorry about showing up late to this party.

[Steve Yao]

If anyone from Toledo is reading...

Is the driver's seat really hanging outside of the chassis as much as i see here?
FSAEW07 Toledo (http://staff.washington.edu/seyao/fsaew07/toledo_5.JPG)

Should a suspension component fail, does the car come to rest on the chassis structure, or this "bump"? Or have you shown that the seat will handle impact and skidding to a stop w/o driver harm?

I suppose this question should also go out to any team the mounts master cylinders underneath their footbox; Have you shown that the chassis hits the ground before any component that interfaces directly with the driver does?

[The Bunker]

What you are looking at is actually part of the chassis, its just wrapped in carbon fiber and then the seat is above that.

[Steve Yao]

Ah ok. So it is spaceframe structure, with a carbon skin or somesuch.

[drivetrainUW-Platt]

If you wana see some arms with no protection check out Toyko Denki's car...

[Rocket]

Steve,

That is correct. There is a 1" X .065 tube (per rules) between the seat and the ground inside the stressed skins that you see.

[duckei]

Did anybody get good pictures of RPI slamming into approximately 1000 cones?