Design, Construction, and Testing of the 2008 FSAE Car Chassis

The formula SAE competition challenges teams of college students from around the world to design, fabricate, and present a single-seat, open-wheel racecar at Michigan International Speedway in May 2008. The competition involves static judging and critiquing of design choice and effectiveness, as well as technical inspection. Another portion of the competition consists of dynamic events such as acceleration measurements, braking and handling capabilities, and endurance. The main goals of the 2008 team were to complete a light-weight, reliable, and predictable vehicle with enough time for intensive testing before the competition. The process of creating the vehicle also involved many aspects not necessarily related to the fabrication of the car. Some of these included budgeting, planning, fundraising, and research. A specific vehicle can only go to competition one time, so each year an entirely new car is built. Each year much of the focus is on making improvements to, as well as learning from, the team of the previous year and their final product. Some improvements this year included a significantly more rigid frame, a predictable suspension, and dependable driveline, all while maintaining low weight and overall reliability of the car. The frame and different subcomponents, such as suspension, were tested using 3-D computer models to show imputed forces and then further physically tested for accuracy and reliability. Brake decisions were made from the calculated stopping force required due to the car\u27s overall weight. This project was an all-­encompassing mission in which skills from all aspects of the college career were utilized