Title: Ten years under the Michigan sun and freezing rain a Faculty Advisor's Perspective on Formula SAE Pl
1Ten years under the Michigan sun (and freezing
rain) a Faculty Advisor's Perspective on
Formula SAEPlus 3 years under English clouds,
1 year under Australian dust, wind and flies
- Kenneth A. Cunefare, Associate Professor
- Faculty Advisor, GTMotorsports
- Member FSAE Rules Committee
- George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical
Engineering
2What is to come
- FSAE and GTMS
- The Ideal Competition
- An FSAE Team
- A Rookie Team (first year team)
- Rules
- The Real Competition
- When it all comes together
3FSAE
- Design, build, defend and race a Formula vehicle
- Design Apply your book learning
- Build Hands-on fabrication
- Defend Communicate your ideas, decisions, costs
- Race Prove your design on the track
- Best score out of 1000 points wins
- 325 points in Design, build, defend
- 675 points in Race
- 400 points in endurance/fuel economy
- Must finish enduro to be top 20!
4FSAE GTMS Evolution
- SAE Mini-Indy in 1979
- 11 schools
- 5 Hp/3.7 kW limit
- Formula SAE 1981
- 4 schools
- 1982
- 4 page rule package
- Universidad LaSalle entry
5FSAE GTMS Evolution
- 1985
- 600 cc limit
- First forced-induction vehicles
- 1986
- 15 cars
- GTMS founded
- 1987
- GTMS first competition
- Car 66, 1th/36
- 1988 Car 66 DNF
6FSAE GTMS Evolution
- 1992
- 54 cars
- Dr. C. GTMS advisor
- GTMS DNF enduro
- 1993 Car 42 3rd/56
7FSAE GTMS Evolution
- 1994/95
- 66 cars
- GTMS places 6th in 94
- 11th in 95
8FSAE GTMS Evolution
- 1996-1998
- FSAE grows to 85 cars
- GTMS DNF enduro 3 yrs
- Why?
- Team not ready
- Undeveloped technology
- Cool instead of proven
9FSAE GTMS Evolution
- 1999
- FSAE grows to 86 cars
- GTMS finishes enduro (33 laps)
- 19th
- 2000
- 24th/89 Fuel economy!
- 5th/17 FSUK
10FSAE GTMS Evolution
- 2001
- DNF enduro oil leak
- 24th/108
- 1st place FSUK
11FSAE GTMS Evolution
12FSAE GTMS Evolution
- 2003
- 4th/129 (140)
- 1st FSAE-A
- U. Adelaide 7th (3rd Oz)
- 2004
- Rules 93 pages
- 140 teams registered
13The Ideal Competition
14The Ideal Competition Wednesday
- Set up paddock
- Complete early Tech
- Inspection/leaks/brake noise
- Polish the car, nut check
- Put car away
- Eat/Sleep
15The Ideal Competition Thursday
- Polish the car, nut check
- Static events
- Design preliminaries
- Cost event
- Presentation event
- Polish the car, nut check, relax
- Design Semi-finals
- Put car away
- Eat/Sleep
16The Ideal Competition Friday
- Polish the car, nut check
- Acceleration event
- Skid pad event
- Polish the car, nut check, relax
- Lunch
- Auto-Cross
- Polish the car, nut check, relax
- Put car away
- Eat/Sleep
17The Ideal Competition Saturday
- Polish the car, nut check
- Endurance event
- Polish the car, nut check
- Lunch
- Put car away
- Walk around
- Visit other teams
- Dinner at Big Bucks
- Sleep
18The Ideal Competition Sunday
- Polish car, nut check
- Design Finals
- Pack car for trip home
- Banquet
- Start planning and designing for next year
19An FSAE Team
- The students
- Thinkers
- Builders
- Managers
- The Faculty Advisor
20Achieving the Ideal?
- Planning
- Preparation
- Training
- Execution
- The car and team must be completely ready before
leaving for Detroit (or Tailem Bend, or U.K) - Building the car is only 50 of the battle
- The car must be tested and developed
- The team must be tested and developed
21Team Structure
- Team Leader
- Business Manager
- Publicity Finance Sponsor relations
- Chief Engineer
- Powertrain leader Electronics leader
- Suspension leader Composites leader
- Chassis leader Ergonomics leader
- Faculty Advisor(s)
22Your Faculty Advisor Character
- Interested in your success
- Willing to assist you
- Someone you respect
- Ability to
- Know when to speak up
- Know when to remain silent
- Leap tall buildings in a single bound
- Someone interested in you, your car
23Your Faculty Advisor Roles
- Mentor
- Long-term memory
- Liaison to other faculty, school, sponsors
- NOT a designer, NO control over car
- Will become identified with your team
24What Must a Rookie Team Do?
- Build your team
- Develop students, faculty, sponsors
- Develop publicity
- Finish the car
- Keep it simple, keep it light (under 240 kg)
- Dont over-optimize/over-design
- Finish endurance
- Plan for next year
- Youre no longer a rookie team (unless no
continuity!) - Evolve the design
25Advanced Technologies
- Supercharger Turbocharger 4 to 8 injectors
- Electric supercharger Electric water pump
- 4-wheel steer V-8 engine Shift-without-lift
- Carbon-fiber body, wheels Traction control
- Carbon-fiber composite monoqoque chassis
- Spiral-wound carbon-fiber duo-tube chassis
- Two-way real-time telemetry In-car video
- Paddle/electro-pneumatic shift Oval-piston
calipers - Custom engine control computer Dry-sump oiling
- Variable inlet runner geometry Phased
injection - And much, much more.
26Team Leaders Responsibilities
- Develop the team
- Recruit and train students (all years!)
- Recruit and train faculty advisor
- Manage the team to complete the car
- Prepare the team for next year
- Train new leaders
- Develop new sponsors, keep old ones
- Evolve/develop the design
27Team Member Responsibilities
- Represent your team with honor
- Complete your obligations
- Learn new skills
- Become self-sufficient
- Take on increased responsibility
28Test and Develop
- Dynamic test and develop
- Test fuel economy
- Record driver times, and train drivers
- Break the car
- Team test and develop
- Practice static and dynamic events as if at comp
- Training of team members
29Some Rules
- Read the rules
- Finish the car early
- Be competition-ready early
- Dont expect to complete the car at competition
30Some Rules
- Finish the car early
- Body work should not sag, drag
- Body work attachments rugged, fast
- Finish the body work early
- Finish the design boards early
31Some Rules
- Finish the presentation early
- Deliver the presentation in front of faculty,
sponsors - Keep sponsors and alumni informed
- Finish the car early
- Unveil your car at your school
32Some Rules
- Nobody owes you anything you earn respect and
support through your actions and success - Test and document, test and document
- Conduct routine design review meetings
- Use your graduates as a resource
- Finish the car early
33Some Rules
- Always act to bring honor
- To yourself
- To your team
- To your school
- To FSAE
- Keep your Faculty Advisor informed
- Train your welders, machinists
- Build it yourself
- Finish the car early
34The Golden Rule
- Chassis build video Click Here
35The Commandments
- There shall be no leaks, of any size, anywhere
- Minimum fuel economy must be met
- Noise limit must be met (new for 04)
- Design boards must be complete
- Presentation complete and rehearsed
- The car must be competition ready
- The team must be competition ready
- Expense of going to FSUK, FSAE-A must not hurt
next years car
36At Competition
- Keep your team and Faculty Advisor informed
- Be specific as what the plan is, and why.
- You are not only keeping them informed, you are
training them. - Each team member should know exactly what they
are responsible for
37At Competition
- Ensure that everyone knows when theyre supposed
to be at the paddock, and what theyre supposed
to do when they get there. - Dont let team members leave the site without
being told when to come back. - A sign that youre not managing your teams time
properly is when you have team members sitting at
the hotel not knowing what is going on.
38At Competition
- After pushing the car back from an event,
immediately prepare the car for the next event. - Never delay car preparation. Have a set routine
for checking fluids, setup, bolts, shock
settings, hose clamps, etc. - Develop and use checklists for car preparation.
- The team members who are to prepare the car
should be trained to their exact tasks, and
should be practiced before coming to competition.
39At Competition
- The team leaders head should not be down inside
the car tightening bolts - The team leader should keep an eye on the big
picture - Plan activities to avoid rushed preparation
- You must be ready well before an events queue
actually opens - Example, the endurance entrance queue is highly
structured, and the team will be called into
position well before the car actually runs.
40At Competition
- When the car pushes out to an event
- A support crew follows the car
- A support crew operates from the paddock
- Use radios to coordinate between car and paddock
- Use runners to ferry items
- Team members should know exactly which crew they
are on - Driver checklists! (helmets, gloves, arm
restraints)
41At Competition
- Keep the paddock clean and organized
- You work better in organized space
- You are representing your school, and you want to
convey a professional image - Pay attention to the fatigue and hunger levels of
your team - Dont over use and burn out your key people
- Have sunscreen available
- In cold weather, watch out for hypothermia
-
42At Competition
- If you perform a critical repair at competition
- Get on the practice track prior to the next event
- Test that the repair works as intended
- There can be no fluid leaks of any kind, of any
magnitude, ever - The endurance event has zero tolerance for leaks
- Expect that, in time, so will all other dynamic
events
43At Competition
- Time behind you is worthless time ahead of you
is priceless. The clock is not your friend. - The car cannot speak for itself
- You must sell it to the judges, using data and
analyses. - You must interpret the data for the judges,
drawing them to the same conclusions that you
made. - Never argue with the design judges or organizers
- Keep the FA up to date at all times the more the
FA knows what youre doing with the team, the
less likely the FA is to interfere.
44At Competition
- Write down design judge questions
- Use them to train/test next years team
- At the end of each competition year each leader
should write an after action report - What was done right
- What could be done better
- Maintain an archive of reports so that future
teams can use them to learn what to do, and what
not to do.
45At Competition
- Never let the team believe
- That the organizers have treated the team
unfairly - That it was just bad luck
- The team must accept responsibility
- For the performance and reliability of their car
- For the performance and execution of the team
- The team's fate is under their own control
- Never act to dishonor your team, your advisor,
your school
46The Real Competition
- The Weather
- From 0 C to 35 C
- From hypothermia to sun burn
- Rain, rain and more rain
47The Real Competition
- The Waiting
- You and 100 other cars in line
- The clock is ticking
- The schedule is unforgiving
48The Real Competition
- Anticipate problems, be ready
- Expect to be time-constrained
FSAE 2000 Taking shelter in SilverDome 100 kph
wind, tornado warnings, twice!
49The Real Competition
- The pride of accomplishment
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51Finale
- Build it because you have passion
- Race it because you love it
- Expect and deliver your best
- Learn all you can
- You will form lifelong bonds with team mates,
other teams, faculty
52In memory of Carroll Smith 16/5/2003
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