Writing the team proposal

[Kenny T Cornett]

In order to be reckognized as a project under our SAE team here at UT, we must write a proposal to the engineering department and to the administration. We mus outline dates, officers, procedures, finances, etc.

In an effort to get all this together, we would like some help from the teams that have previously done the competition (remember, we're new)

Things we'd like to know
* Length of steel used (we don't care about budget for steel so much as length due to sponsorship suppliers, mild vs 4130, etc)

* Over-all budget including travel, tooling, development, and fabrication

* Man-hours actually put into your FSAE project

* Anything else you think would be important to add along these lines.


We have no plan to base our team development off of in terms of finances and fabrication, only in terms of structure. In our proposal we have to sell the idea and sell the concept to all the powers that be. We must also provide some sort of allusion to the fact taht this can be done in the time frame we're looking at.

Thanks guys

[Kenny T Cornett]

In order to be reckognized as a project under our SAE team here at UT, we must write a proposal to the engineering department and to the administration. We mus outline dates, officers, procedures, finances, etc.

In an effort to get all this together, we would like some help from the teams that have previously done the competition (remember, we're new)

Things we'd like to know
* Length of steel used (we don't care about budget for steel so much as length due to sponsorship suppliers, mild vs 4130, etc)

* Over-all budget including travel, tooling, development, and fabrication

* Man-hours actually put into your FSAE project

* Anything else you think would be important to add along these lines.


We have no plan to base our team development off of in terms of finances and fabrication, only in terms of structure. In our proposal we have to sell the idea and sell the concept to all the powers that be. We must also provide some sort of allusion to the fact taht this can be done in the time frame we're looking at.

Thanks guys

[Jersey Tom]

I'd have to get back to you on length of steel, but..

Overall budget depends on team size and how much youre willing to pay out of pocket. On our '01 or '02 car it was like, 7 guys on a budget of $6000. Still paying off debt.

More realistically.. last year with 11 seniors and about 10 underclassmen.. all told I want to say it cost us $35,000 (we get $1000 from the department).

Man hours.. ahhaha ohh man. Id say on average people should be putting in a minimum of 15-20 hrs a week. There were a couple of us last year who wound up doing 40-50 hr a week for a couple weeks.

Structure.. typically senior design projects in Mechanical are supposed to have a Captain, Treasurer, and Note Taker. Sounds like 5th grade. More realistically you will need a Project Manager, Technical Director, Race Engineer, possibly a Controls/Systems engineer.. subteam leaders for engine, suspension, etc.

[KU_Racing]

Length of steel is a pretty tough call- it depends greatly on your frame design, and what else you make out of steel tubing. For a team looking for a reliable car and a small budget, that means almost everythihng out of steel. I would say that linear feet is probably in the realm of 150-175, including different sizes and mistakes. Another 15 feet or so of stainless for a header.

Our budget, including getting to west, was about $30,000 last year.

Man hours.. oh man. For your first car, like Tom said, plan on 20 hours per week per person for a year. Then double whatever that number is. (just kidding.... just plan on spending more time in the garage then you planned for. Thats right.. plan for your plan to be wrong. http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif) More people shouldnt mean less work- if you have more manpower, your designs should just be more detailed. Side note- why are they asking you about man hours? If UT institutes an FSAE program with salary I will transfer right now.

I would also say that for a first year team, K.I.S.S. should be your mantra. It has been said a thousand times, but dont bite off more than you can chew the first time your build a car. Figure out however much work you think it is going to be, then triple that number- that should be about right. Just try to design a car that wont break, and looks good so that you wont be so lonely when you lose your girlfriend to the FSAE mistress.

Speaking as a Texan who misses the motherland dearly, best of luck to the new team. Next time you are down on 6th street, drink one for me.

[Kenny T Cornett]

Thanks for the replies and PM's guys. We're well on our way to putting together a good proposal. Sadly, we're losing time everyday by having to wait for this info to be compiled, but I feel we can do it.

I asked about man-hours because I am trying to take a realistic look at how much of a time commitment this will be for the team as a whole. I'm well aware from my previous experience in FSAE that you loose friends, weight, sleep, significant others, palces in wills, etc because of the time commitment, but I need to be able to demonstrate to the powers that be that we can design and get a prototype out the door on time (we're within 6 months already of the the required drive date... which is a joke because most people don't finish their car until the week of anyway, haha).

Again, thanks for the replies. We had initially set our budget for teh car at 17k plus cost of travel, and we're hoping to raise it all, but we'll see what ends up happening. Unfortunately, being in such a big money gobbling university, all the good local comapnies are spoken for by other things (*cough*football*cough*).

Such a shame to see Denso giving money to the football team and not the SAE club http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif

Thanks for the replies guys

[JHarshbarger]

One other thing to note - if your team doesn't already have machinery, you will either need to buy machinery or outsource it. Everyday machinery including a welder, lathe, and a mill will easily cost you $20k, plus all the little things you'll need around the shop. Outsourcing can take up a LOT of time and can be expensive if you don't have a sponsorship.

Good luck to you guys. Hope to see you in Detroit

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Joel Harshbarger
USF Motorsports