Rutgers Formula Racing (previously known as Rutgers Formula SAE) is a collegiate club within the Rutgers University School of Engineering which competes in the Formula SAE Design Series.
History
1989
Rutger's Formula Team organized and several members attended the 1989 event at South West Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. Design of the first car began in the fall of 1989 alongside fund raising activities. Ford Motor Company was the first monetary supporter of the team with a $5000. Dean Dill soon followed with a donation from the school's Alumni Association fund. SAE Metropolitan Section was another key early sponsor that got Rutger's FSAE program going. SAE's shop took residence in a cleaned up section of the boiler room off of the main MAE lab. Also during this same time frame, Rutger's MAE department bought a new Bridgeport Mill and Harrison Lathe.
1990 Major design and fabrication work on the first car was completed in 1990. The car utilized a Ninja 600 engine and 10 inch wheels. Wheelbase was 61 inches and the track was 60 inches front 58 inches rear. The car was not ready for the 1990 competition; however, the rolling chassis was brought to the event which was held at Lawrence Tech.
1991 The 1991 competition was held at the GM Proving Grounds aka "Black Lake." This was the first entry for a Rutgers car into the Formula SAE competition. A modified Ford ECU was being used to control the engine, but it never really worked. The car never ran on its own power with this ECU installed.
This car won the "Best Suspension Award" which was judged by Terry Satchell. Bill Mitchell's suspension software was awarded to the team.
1992 The 1992 Formula SAE competition was held at Ford's Research and Engineering campus in Dearborn, Michigan. The 1991 car was updated with an Electromotive ECU. Approximately 60 hours of dyno testing was performed on this motor and numerous track sessions. Rear wheel Hp was 73. This car earned 3rd Place in Acceleration. The car completed all events except the second heat of endurance due to the failure of a suspension linkage eye end.
1994 Rutgers entered its first carbon fiber monocoque in the 1994 competition at the Pontiac Silverdome. The front half of the car was constructed of pre-preg carbon fiber with a Nomex honeycomb core. 3 sandwich panel aluminum bulkheads were used to mount the front suspension and master cylinders. The rear half of the car was constructed of 4130 steel tubing. One of the most dramatic features of the car was the use of very long lower A-Arms. They were so long, that there was only about 1 inch of space between the left and right mounts on the chassis. The composite construction made use of very simple molds made primarily from sheetmetal and wood. There were no compound curves to any of the molds for the monocoque. Shifting was performed by steering wheel push buttons via pneumatics (an FSAE first). The brakes used 200mm OD cast iron vented rotors. The engine was a naturally aspirated Kawasaki Ninja 600R, making 73 RWHp. Result Highlights: Presentation - 7th Place, Design - 13th Place, Acceleration - 13th Place, Skid Pad - 5th Place, Autocross - 3rd Place, Endurance - 7th Place (22 Cones and 3 spin outs), Economy - 6th, Overall - 9th This car earned the "Best Prototype Fabrication Award"
1995 Car #9 - This was the second year entry of the 1994 car. Carbon fiber wheels were custom built for the car.
1995 Competition Results: Cost: 31 points Presentation: 14.2 points Design: 82 points Acceleration: 46.25 points Skid pad: 34.4 points Autocross: 130.4 points Endurance: 171.1 points Economy: 22.5 points Overall: 22nd / 531.9 points
1997 Car #68
1997 Competition Results: Cost: 54.53 points Presentation: 60.5 points Design: 110 points Acceleration: DNF Skid pad: 5.59 points Autocross: 45.0 points Endurance: 153.0 points Overall: 22nd / 428.67 points
1998 Car # 22
First time an entirely new car was designed and fabricated from scratch at Rutgers in a school year. The car earned a spot in design semi finals. Utilized a 600CC Honda F3 motor. First time a motor was semi stressed in this program. Incorporated outboard shocks, which seemed to be going a step back, but they worked quite well. CV joints were applied after a long hiatus since the first car. Switched to a single inboard rear brake rotor. All three aluminum brake rotors failed during the morning heat of endurance. New rotors were made by the afternoon, but the car ultimately did not finish endurance due to a throttle control issue (jam nut came loose).
1998 Competition Results: Cost: 65.0 Points Presentation: 63.8 Points Design: 127.0 Points Acceleration: 48.26 Points Skid Pad: 29.97 Points Autocross: 98.05 Points Endurance: DNF Total: 32nd / 432.12 points
1999 Car #67
The 1998 car was utilized for a second year with slight improvements and adjustments to meet the current years rules. The changes included: Adjustable pedals, conversion from the air shifter to a mechanical lever arm for enhanced reliability, new differential mounting brackets to ease chain adjustments, new main roll hoop to meet new chassis regulations, and a full carbon fiber foot box, also to meet new chassis regulations.
The car weighed just over 500 lbs.
The differential failed during endurance due to lack of safety wire on the main bolts. Early model Tosen differentials are assembled with three main bolts that hold the two housing together in the axial direction. These bolts loosened during the endurance event, which created a large gap between the two main gears and the friction washer.
This car is currently undergoing a full restoration by Rutgers FSAE alumni
1999 Competition Results: Cost: 59.14 points Presentation: 31.26 points Design: 65 points Acceleration: 51.94 points Skid Pad: 17.51 points Autocross: 109.5 points Endurance: DNF Overall: 40th / 334.4 points
2000 Car # 67
The year 2000 car marked the return to inboard suspension. However, the mounting posts for the bell cranks caused cracks in the main frame tubes. This car utilized the same engine, differential, and rear chassis subframe configurations as the 1998 and 1999 cars. However, a new rear upright and half shaft designs were implemented to eliminate cv joint failure and to reduce overall weight. The remainder of the chassis was fully redesigned from the engine forward.
Earned a 3rd place Bosch powertrain award for a novel variable length intake runner system.
2001 Car #56
The 2001 car featured upgrades and lessons learned from the 2000 car which include improved bellcrank mounting and lighter front uprights. New rear suspension geometry (new rear subframe) was also introduced this year.
2001 competition results: Cost: 78.4 points Presentation: 30.9 Points Design: 60.0 Points Acceleration: 47.18 Points Skid Pad: 39.24 Points Autocross: 62.28 Points Endurance: 290.12 Points Overall: 15th / 608.1 Points
2002 Car #36
The 2002 Car was a revised version of the 2001 Car, with the engine changed from the Honda to the 2001 Yamaha R6. A coil on plug was implemented by wiring the coils directly to the output blades on the TEC II (the pins that normally connect to the GM coils). The team placed 17th overall. Taking home the Highest Horsepower Award(NA) The team and car were featured in a RU-TV News Segment. The 2002 Car was ultimately wrecked in early 2003 in the Stadium Lot during new upgrades testing for the 2003 car. This occurred when the driver, using the new paddle operated electronic shifter, pulled multiple downshifts at high speed, shifting into first gear and causing a loss of control due to virtual lock-up of the rear wheels. The car hit a curb, shearing the dropped seat bottom off the car, and then hit a small tree. The chassis was badly damaged. The driver was bruised and sore, but had no major injuries. The helmet he was wearing hit the steering wheel and was thus retired.
2002 Competition Results: Cost: 17th / 79.6 points Presentation: 27th / 54.7 points Design: 76th / 60 points Acceleration: DNF Skid Pad: 41st / 16.75 points / 5.759 Autocross: 18th / 91.19 points / 81.4 secs Endurance: 13th / 252.07 points / 1770.9 secs Total: 17th / 554.271 points
2003 Car #42
Completion of the car was very far behind. The car was ultimately able to pass all parts of tech inspection in time to be the very last car to run endurance. The chain fell off in the next to last lap of the event (second driver) due to the retaining clip on the master link falling off. This car had a chain which rubbed a friction surface on an interfering chassis tube, which may have contributing to knocking the clip off.
After the competition the interfering tube was cut out with a reciprocating saw and a diagonal tube was welded in so that the chain did not interfere. This setup lasted many drive days until eventually causing a crack in one of the original chassis tubes.
The car used a custom designed electronic shifting actuator made from a standard RC car motor and a planetary gear box from a power drill. While the actuator was very powerful, the system required an electronic controller because the motor could not be turned on for more than a quarter second without damaging the brushes or windings. The overall actuator weight was around 1.2 lbs. There were positive and negative results of the system. With new brushes in the motor and proper tweaking it was capable of very fast shifts (~15 ms), and was able to perform very well for automatic up-shifting during acceleration runs. However, the brushed motor was unreliable in this implementation (very low rev, turning only a few turns at a time, commonly stalled), which meant that the motor required constant tinkering. Further problems included the use of 1st gear on this car which led to frequent neutral-out conditions.
2003 Competition Results: Cost: 40th / 77.7 points Presentation: 32nd / 54.1 points Design: 71st / 60 points Acceleration: DNF Skid Pad: DNF Autocross: DNF Endurance: DNF Overall: 85th / 191.8 Points
2004 Car # 29
The ECU was switched from the Electromotive TEC2 to the relatively new Performance Electronics ECU.
The custom built Backseat Driver telemetery and data acquisition system was first used this year. It was a dashboard mounted unit with a rudimentary on-board LED display, and entirely through-hole based circuit board with a remote mounted accelerometer and telemetry radio.
The car did not finish endurance. The second driver was black flagged for missing a blue (pass) flag. Later review of video revealed a track worker in a low visibility location waving the blue flag. After the penalty time, with engine off, the engine would not start. The battery was drained after continued cranking without firing. Based on telemetry, coolant temperature was in the high 250 range during this period. It was later noted that the PE ECU's starting enrichments cut off after 255 degrees (the maximum setting).
2004 Competition Results: Cost: 43rd / 75.1 Points Presentation: 44th / 54 Points Design: 48th / 80 Points Acceleration: 10th / 63.1 Points / 4.343 secs Skid Pad: 20th / 38.2 Points / 5.412 secs Autocross: 16th / 103 Points / 52.225 Secs Endurance: DNF OVERALL: 40th / 413.4 Points
2005 Car # 54
In response to previous years rear subframe issues along with changing competition trends, 2005 was first year to utilize an aluminum plate rear subframe created via water jet. This design provided quick and accurate creation of subframe and also maintained precise suspension points.
Power plant was still the 2001 Yamaha R6 with a new drivetrain design utilizing the same Torsen Differential housed in a single piece housing to increase reliability.
2005 Competition: