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20060416_1 Why do we get less than an hour to present our design when we have spent an entire year working on it? 45 minutes is not sufficient time.
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This is a typical request, but an unrealistic one. Firstly, if the organizers wish to finish the event in less than a week, then there must be a limit to the time allowed for presentation.
It is also an incorrect assumption; you have much more than 45 minutes to make your presentation! Long before you attend the event you have to submit a Design Review and a Specifications sheet. These are part of your presentation. The Design Judges read these thoroughly (most are a great read) and so are familiar with your design before they even arrive at the event.
If you have not prepared a good Design Review, then you have wasted a golden opportunity and I agree, 45 minutes is not enough time to recover the situation.
The organizers also want to have a scenario similar to what happens when you enter the real world of business.
In business, you submit a proposal to management. It will be discussed and hopefully, you will get an opportunity to make a presentation to the Board of Management in support of your project. You would have 10 minutes at most to make that presentation! So 45 minutes is not so bad after all. -
20060416_2 We wish to use a turbocharger on our engine. ...
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"We wish to use a turbocharger on our engine. Why are we not permitted to mount the turbo so air passes through it before the restrictor? If we must put the throttle and restrictor before the turbo, can we drill a small hole to relieve the pressure behind the turbo seal as we are drawing oil through the turbo?"
The Rules Committee discusses this matter each year. At present there is good parity between N/A and turbo engines and the committee is loathe to disturb this parity.
The fundamental problem is that when the turbo draws through the restrictor the maximum pressure difference possible is one atmosphere assuming a total vacuum on one side of the restrictor and atmospheric pressure on the other (impossible, I know, and ignoring spikes or pulses on the atmosphere side).
If the turbo were to blow through the restrictor, the pressure change could be much more, as much as several atmospheres. Allowing for stalled flow and supersonic effects it is clear that under some circumstances an intake system arranged in such a way could produce much more power. Such a situation would destroy the parity we have now.
As for the bleed hole, the rules state that all air entering the engine must pass through the restrictor and so a bleed hole is not within the rules and so is not permitted.
There is an elegant work around solution to the turbo seal problem and some lateral thinking and research will find it. -
20060416_3 Why do the rules require two full threads through a nylok nut when the industry standard is one thread?
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Industry standards may what they are, but our responsibility is to protect the health and safety of those involved in the competition.
Many commercial bolts and studs have a slight taper on the first few threads to permit easy assembly. This means the nylon locking ring may not properly engage the threads. -
20060416_4 Why are we not permitted to have a fly-by-wire throttle given that most production cars are fitted with these throttles?
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The problem the Rules Committee and the Technical Inspectors face is proving the safety of such systems. And unintended signal driving the throttle open could have catastrophic consequences, and so this form of throttle control is currently not permitted.
These systems are not permanently banned; rather, their use is suspended while the organizers assess methods of qualifying a design for safety. -
20060416_5 I have read several articles you have written, and it seems you have a bias against 10” wheels. Why is this?
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Firstly, let me make this clear. I have no “bias” against 10” wheels! Many very successful FS and FSAE cars have used 10” wheels
In the paper I wrote for new teams, I strongly suggested the use of 13” wheels, and I had good reasons for this.
Firstly, the bigger wheel permits an easier solution to developing proper suspension and steering geometry. There is room for a bigger brake and clearance for different calipers.
Secondly, there is a better selection of suitable tyres in 13” sizes
Finally, I recommended to new (all!) teams to get finished as early as possible and do lots of testing. Testing consumes tyres and a great source of testing tyres is cast-offs from Formulas Ford, BMW, Renault etc. -
20060416_6 We are a new team, about to enter our first competition. What advice do you have for us?
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Firstly, enjoy the experience! A first time team will suffer many frustrations but don’t let them get you down.
Dynamically, you must pass the brake, noise and tilt tests; otherwise you don’t get to even start any of the dynamic events. If nothing else, ensure your car will pass these static tests.
Whether you get to start or not, use the event as a learning experience. You will find that teams, officials and judges will all be happy to talk with you and offer help and advice. Just don’t bother them at critical times.
Most teams will have no problems with you taking photos and will freely discuss their design with you.
Don’t just look at the ‘professional’ teams, there is interesting stuff to see on every car at the competition.
2 very important things!
Have a debriefing meeting after the event. Notes should be taken, photos indexed and archived and results discussed. If this does not happen, team members go on vacation and stuff gets forgotten, a valuable learning experience is diluted.
Secondly, keep records and notes on the car to hand on to the next team. They need to learn from your lessons.
Come by and say hello to me at some stage. -
20060416_7 Why have the organizers incorporated Impact Attenuator data into the event this year?
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There are two reasons for this new requirement.
The older rules were not very specific and there was no way to verify the effectiveness of the impact attenuator.
Secondly, because of the imprecise rule, some teams treated the rule as a joke. The result did not project the professionalism the organizers required.
Recent attempt at an Impact Attenuator -
20060416_8 Have you ever driven a FS/FSAE car? I often wonder if your advice is based on theory or practice
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Of course! I have driven many cars over the years, usually at a level of competitiveness that surprises the teams.
As the cars get smaller and I get bigger (Must do something about that!) it gets more difficult to drive some of the cars I would really like to try…But I’m not finished yet...gotta keep practicing the theory.
This is me driving the famous Wollongong car ‘Stumpy’ on slick tyres in the wet.
