Formula SAE CompetitionOverview
Formula SAE is a collegiate design competition sponsored by SAE International. The competition challenges teams of students to create from the ground up a small, formula style car. Teams are to assume that they work for a design firm that is designing, fabricating, testing, and demonstrating a prototype vehicle for the non-professional, weekend, competition market. Event The competition is broken down into two parts: a static event and a dynamic event. In the static event, the team is judged through technical inspection, cost analysis, engineering design, and presentation. The dynamic event will test the car on the track in the areas of acceleration, skid-pad, autocross, efficiency, and endurance. Major Guidelines The Formula SAE competition provides a thorough and exhaustive list of rules governing the design and construction of a car. The following represent major rules that govern the eligibility of the car into the competition.
History The first competition was started in 1979 after Dr. Kurt M. Marshek of the University of Houston contacted the SAE Educational Relations Department to add the Mini Indy event to the existing Mini Baja event. After seeing the potential of the Mini Indy event, three students of the University of Texas - Robert Edwards, Mike Best, and John Tellkamp - approached Dr. Ron Matthews with an idea for a less restrictive competition. The new rules would have fewer restrictions on the engines, allowing any four-stroke engine with a 25.41 mm intake restrictor to limit the power. The name was changed to Formula SAE to differentiate it from the Mini Indy event. The first Formula SAE competition was held in 1981 at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, with 6 teams and 40 students. Now there are two competitions held every year in the United States, one in California and one Michigan, as well as international competitions held in Australia, Brazil, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan. The Michigan event is currently the largest, with about 100 teams and 2000 students participating annually. |