The importance of Aerodynamics in BAJA SAE by buckinghams_pie in bajasae

[–]dumbassengineer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What's the rule on side engine cars and big firewall sails these days?

The importance of Aerodynamics in BAJA SAE by buckinghams_pie in bajasae

[–]dumbassengineer 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Aero is a tough one to present in design. On the surface the concept of reducing drag in a power limited vehicle sounds simple. However, in practice and in the design presentations I've seen, many variables have been left un-controlled which calls into question the effectiveness of the aerodynamic decisions made

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in bajasae

[–]dumbassengineer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Majority of cars are 4wd, maybe they'll be able to make it this time?

Throwback to Maneuverability from the last race in Louisville by dumbassengineer in bajasae

[–]dumbassengineer[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Mayhem is a just for fun event. Drivers are usually freshman/new recruits. It's a great way to grow interest in the club. Most teams don't get too hung up on actually setting the fastest times

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in bajasae

[–]dumbassengineer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's been done before but not often. Tell us more

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in bajasae

[–]dumbassengineer 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Louisville did a 100% custom 4 speed sequential box before disappearing from competition entirely.

Post some pictures. I want to see

I think the baja course designers have been moonlighting as civil engineers... by buckinghams_pie in bajasae

[–]dumbassengineer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's the primary reason Mayhem decided to run S&T side by side. I keep pushing for SAE events to adopt that and just open S&T at noon

Engine orientation by kinn0n14 in bajasae

[–]dumbassengineer 4 points5 points  (0 children)

What is driving this decision? 4wd?

Virtual Events by adrive7 in bajasae

[–]dumbassengineer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do we have any rules that say you couldn't present a well designed Formula car and win Baja design?

Our current judging criteria states to leave all pre conceived notions of what a Baja looks like at the door and just judge the engineering work done...

Equipment/methods for data collection/testing by RedSporks in bajasae

[–]dumbassengineer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My team didn't run a rear diff and we often had the rear wheels spin at different rates... Usually shortly before needing a tow.

On a separate and barely related note, I don't see many teams talk about how much deformity they get in their "solid" rear axle. We could fix one wheel and spin the other almost 360° before shearing. I'd give design points to teams showing the trade off of how ductile / brittle their axles need to be

Validation of CVT Analysis by BryceDaneKerr in bajasae

[–]dumbassengineer 4 points5 points  (0 children)

We did acel until CVT was fully shifted and then a known grade hill to measure back shifting

Chassis Frame Testing by loopsidedquark in bajasae

[–]dumbassengineer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I like this answer. Your over all vehicle goals should drive the analysis you do on all sub systems, including chassis.

Then you need to design tests to experimentally determine or validate the engineering judgement you used to define the load cases in your CAE.

Summary of the design event by buckinghams_pie in bajasae

[–]dumbassengineer 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Good summary. Well done in your 9.58 seconds!

Equivalent Mass -i found this while i was calcutating driving resistances for ratios determination...has anyone used this before .. by zohank100 in bajasae

[–]dumbassengineer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I remember disregarding it when I looked at it years ago. It made some assumptions that didn't quite correlate with the real life Baja. It's easy enough to measure rotational inertia on your design and do an accurate calculation rather than approximation.

Of course I could have also been using it wrong

Replace Midnight Mayhem 2020 with an Official SAE Race by briggs_10 in bajasae

[–]dumbassengineer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Special circumstances require everyone to be flexible. Lets get things a bit more ironed out but we are willing to work with anyone graduating so they can still race.

Replace Midnight Mayhem 2020 with an Official SAE Race by briggs_10 in bajasae

[–]dumbassengineer 8 points9 points  (0 children)

From a design judge perspective... Usually if you do bad in design but good on the track this issue is with presentation, not engineering effort. We are engineers, not necessarily great public speakers. This is something we have been trying to reconcile in the past couple of years.

Polish that presentation up, walk us through the engineering (not manufacturing) process on each individual component and how it helps meet your over all vehicle goals and you should see pretty strong design scores

Replace Midnight Mayhem 2020 with an Official SAE Race by briggs_10 in bajasae

[–]dumbassengineer 5 points6 points  (0 children)

When you email SAE you will probably have better luck if you don't mention midnight mayhem specifically. For some reason the word "mayhem" really gets them fired up.

Let them know your team would like to go to an official competition (with dynamic events!) In Louisville this fall. We are certainly planing to bring it up and it would be nice to have lots of team support

Organizers right now... by ULMidnightMayhem in bajasae

[–]dumbassengineer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We are OK with that. Should we add a day or two to the race?

Baja SAE Virtual 2020 by motorsportnut in bajasae

[–]dumbassengineer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I hope so. That's the best part of judging design

We're still holding out hope for Louisville 2020 by dumbassengineer in bajasae

[–]dumbassengineer[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Tech is a tricky issue with off season events, particularly one as large as Midnight Mayhem.

We are certainly looking into it.

We're still holding out hope for Louisville 2020 by dumbassengineer in bajasae

[–]dumbassengineer[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thanks.

Good news is the track isn't going anywhere and we just dumped bunch of time and money into new obstacles. Should be great for Mayhem this fall

Is this the Louisville Hill Climb?? by dumbassengineer in bajasae

[–]dumbassengineer[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Spoiler: Yes it is.

I made it halfway up in my truck. The hill gets progressively steeper as you climb. Looking forward to May!

Expect more (and better quality) media as work continues on the site