Articles Curated by Formula SAE Judges

Suspension Skitter Yaeger Suspension Skitter Yaeger

Simple Kinematic Philosophies

Suspension Geometry

  • Controls Toe Angle Movement

  • Controls Camber Gain

  • Controls Ride Height Movement

  • Good geometry gives the springs, dampers, and anti-roll bars more influence than the geometry itself

Read More
Frame/Body/Aero Charles Kaneb Frame/Body/Aero Charles Kaneb

Tube Frame Analysis

In addition to a torsion test, local and whole-chassis FEA can show performance for different chassis designs during combined cornering, aero and bump loads, for drivetrain attachments during acceleration and braking, and for harness and other mounts during front impact.

Read More
Systems Integration Skitter Yaeger Systems Integration Skitter Yaeger

Field Guide To Design Finals

In the time it takes to read this sentence, design finalists are capable of presenting data from the same day’s Autocross, along with analysis of which assumptions the data validates or invalidates, how it fits with all their other testing, and what the next steps are to continue improving the car and drivers. They do this for everything, all year.

Read More
Systems Integration, IC Powertrain Anthony Musci Systems Integration, IC Powertrain Anthony Musci

The Indigo Story

They made a whole host of small changes that were almost imperceptible to the eye but aerodynamically significant. They also gave the car a nose-down rake by lowering the front suspension and raising the rear, both ever-so-slightly. All of the changes made the car significantly safer to drive at high speed. But the Ford Indigo was never going to be driven at high speeds as a show concept car – right?

Read More