Articles Curated by Formula SAE Judges
A Guide To FSAE Axles
Many of the common issues with FSAE halfshafts stem from these problems:
Extreme misalignment between differential and wheel hub
Tripod housing depth too shallow or too deep on either or both ends
Contaminants in grease
Changing Gear Mechanically
Travel, Backlash, Deflection
Bearing Stiffness, Contact Area, Degrees Of Freedom
Link Stiffness, Strength, Weight
Fuel Tank and Battery Pack Sizing
Energy consumption * time
(Throttle history, rpm history) * (BSFC -or- cumulative EV efficiency maps)
Add up fuel injector duration
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?
The Origins Of Aston Martin’s V12
There was one closely held secret design condition. It was secret because management would not want us to ‘overdesign’ the V12. The truth is, with clever engineering, planning for significant power increases adds very little weight and cost if you know what you are doing and if it is done up front.
Restrictors And Plenums And Sometimes Turbos
The restrictor limits the amount of air an engine can use. The intake plenum smooths out the intake pulses, and makes it possible for other engines to compete with 4-cylinders. Asides on turbocharging.
Dynamic Valve Event Optimization
The approach to understand what makes an engine run well is to look at the opening and closing of each valve. But whatever you want the valves to do, they’re actually doing something else, because you always have: Deflection, Inertia, and Vibration.
Used Engine Reliability
Steps to reduce the chances of valve-piston contact or crank bearing failure. The importance of cooling and RPM limits.
Tractive Force Graphs
This is a logic path for understanding the performance of your car in straight line acceleration. Understand the impact of gearing and power and torque curves.
Differential Effects On Vehicle Dynamics
Definitions of limited slip differential types and performance, focusing on yaw moments due to combined cornering and acceleration or braking.