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See How Race-Car
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Hot Rod » Features
See How Race-Car Engineers of the
Future Are Made
Written by Brandan Gillogly on February 9, 2016
Contributors: Danny Oliva, Juan Carrizosa
Florida International University Applies All of Netwon’s Laws to
Squeeze Big Performance From a Small Engine
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The concept behind the Society of Automotive Engineers Formula SAE competition was
launched in 1978, and since then has pitted teams of undergraduate and graduate
college students from around the world against each other in timed and judged
competition. Teams must design and build race cars that are safe, fast, and fuel efficient
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2. 5/27/2016 See How Race-Car Engineers of the Future Are Made
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and are encouraged to try new ideas and methods of construction to seek an edge. For
the 2016 competition, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) student chapter at
Florida International University (FIU) is campaigning this car. We spoke to Danny Oliva
and Hector Trujillo, the Vice President FIU’s SAE chapter, about their car. For a whole lot
more photos of the car, visit their photo set on Flickr.
Engine: 2009 Yamaha YFZ 450R 450cc one-cylinder, five-valve, four-stroke. The
maximum engine size allowed is 610 cc, but smaller engines allow for lower weight and
better fuel economy.
ECU: Performance Electronics PE3
The catch: Formula SAE competition rules require a 20mm restrictor after the throttle
for gasoline engines and 19mm for E85 engines. Danny Oliva, a senior working on the
team, told us they worked to design, “a custom intake manifold that not only is packaged
well but is optimized to give us the same horsepower and torque figures as a stock
throttle.”
The main and front hoops, as well as the shoulder-harness mounting bar, are
constructed from 1-inch, 0.095-wall round steel tubing. Other structure can use lighter-
weight tubing.
Much like custom cars are built starting from the wheel and tire package, students begin
with 18-inch-tall tires mounted to 11-inch wheels on a 60-inch wheelbase and 48-inch
track width and build in from there, modeling the car using computer-aided drafting
(CAD).
Vehicle weight, balance, and cornering loads are factored in to the design of the
suspension geometry.
For strength and driver safety, 1-inch-diameter tubing is welded into triangulated joints
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3. 5/27/2016 See How Race-Car Engineers of the Future Are Made
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that form a driver compartment that must fit a 95th-percentile male.
Tubing is bent and laser-notched offsite. Once they return, the main structural pieces are
placed into a jig and TIG-welded by students. Then the suspension, engine, steering, and
pedal mounts can be welded in place.
Starting with the CAD model of the chassis, the body is designed around it with an
emphasis on lightweight and low drag. Danny Oliva explains, “After that, many possible
nose-cone iterations are run through computational fluid dynamics [CFD] software in
order to predict which design will have the least amount of drag. Lastly, a small, 1/10-
scale, 3-D-printed model can be made to verify that our results from the computer
correlate with real-life test results in the lab on a wind tunnel at our university.”
When the body design is finalized, a CNC router carves a fullsize model from foam
blocks that is then used as a blank to make a mold for a carbon-fiber body. Large sheets
of carbon fiber are vacuum-formed in the mold to create the final body panels.
The FIU team, from left to right, starting at the back row: Juan Carrizosa, Hector Trujillo, Jose
Tormo, Brian Garcia, Juan Trujillo, Juan Acosta, and Ryan Sheffield. Seated: Alain Fagundo, Luis
Rojas, Victor Raymond (in the driver seat), Yussimil Libera, and Jorge Coria.
The 2015–2016 Formula SAE competition has a 178-page rulebook, because engineers
and racers love finding loopholes.
How the Competition Works
Formula SAE begins with the premise that the competitors are developing a run of 1,000
cars to market to weekend racers. As such, each team must develop a business case that
takes engineering and construction into consideration. Teams must submit a bill of
materials, a design report, and a presentation to juries made up of racing and
automotive industry experts who score the teams. These static events make up 325 of
the possible 1,000 points in the competition. The remainder of the points are awarded
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Written by Phillip Thomas on September 9, 2015
SEMA is looking for the best automotive industry students. Are you
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Author: Brandan Gillogly
Contributors: Danny Oliva, Juan Carrizosa 3 Comments
based on the results of the dynamic events:
Acceleration on a 75-meter course.
Cornering ability, measured on a skidpad.
Handling, using a solo run on an Autocross. Results are used to determine starting
order for a final race.
Endurance is tested over the course of a 13.7-mile race that also tests efficiency.
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