Defianz Racing '07 at Formula Student, Silverstone Circuit,UK

harsh87 · 29th July 2007, 22:49

Hello guys,
It was another exciting year for us designing and building a Formula Student Car. The competition was held at the Silverstone F1 Circuit, UK this year. It saw a tremendous turnout of 72 colleges (both Post-grad and under-grad colleges).
I'll start with our side of the story.

We arrived on a cold cloudy morning at the circuit. However, our hopes of setting up the car early and getting it ready for scrutiny early were shattered as our crate could not be opened due to unavailability of a forklift at site.

Finally we opened the crate and setup the car but we were way far behind for scrutiny and it was only till late next day the car was passed through scrutiny. Scrutiny was easy and didn't take much time but the time we spent waiting made us lose two of the four precious days at the competition.

After scrutiny we passed tilt and noise test easily.
But Brake test took us time to clear as one of the rear brake lines had suffered damage during transportation. Replacing it and then bleeding the brake circuit again consumed most of the third day.

We finally passed the brake test but at the cost of not being able to participate in the Acceleration, Skidpad and Sprint event as the allocated time for these events was over by the time we cleared brake test.

So it was finally time for the endurance race on the fourth day.

Pictures from the endurance race.

Our pit was the Mclaren's pit but we were sharing it with five other colleges.

Sadly, we couldn't finish the endurance which is a 24-lap race on a part of the F1 track, our car overheated during the 11th lap. On the bright side, I got to drive our very own hand built car on the Silverstone circuit for 11 laps.

Despite the poor performance at the event, we are not disheartened and will try again next year, because the appreciation we get from our judges and the other teams is commendable. It makes us want to come back again and again. My team mates tell me the applause was amazing when I overtook an American college's car and the commentator was very excited seeing our car run on the track.

This Team TU Graz Racing has a budget of 1.2 million euros!!!!

Our very own REVA on the streets of central London.

aZa · 29th July 2007, 23:50

Had always heard about the DCE and their Student Racing Car!! Great to have a friend who is a part of it. And i want all the details when we meet next

v1p3r · 29th July 2007, 23:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by harsh87

On the bright side, I got to drive our very own hand built car on the Silverstone circuit for 11 laps.

That's something that you can proudly say for the rest of your life!

Rehaan · 1st August 2007, 12:30

Hey harsh87,

Thanks for the awesome pics. Silverstone looks so much better than the parking lot where the FSAE event is held in detroit

Its unfortunate that a couple of things went wrong, but im sure it was a learning experieince.

Howcome the car OVERHEATED??? of all the things that could go wrong that was the last thing i was expecting...!

cya
R

Rtech · 1st August 2007, 12:37

Whoa. This thread slipped through the cracks. Great writeup, finally giving us a small insight into this contest. What uprights did you guys use?

ported_head · 1st August 2007, 12:37

Wah 1.2 million euro budget. I wonder what even a Rs. 12,000 budget looks like right now.

Great going DCE, what matters most is to be on track.

That Helsinki Poly car is sweet too. Who won? How di you guys place?

sujaylahiri · 1st August 2007, 13:32

Our University also took part in the event. We were 46th out of about 105 teams throughout the world.
Check out the website.
Formula SAE Windsor 2007

Also, check out this video.

YouTube - FW-07 FSAE Capstone Presentation Video

Our team is called Lancer Motorsports.

Rehaan · 1st August 2007, 23:58

Heres a vid to give you guys an idea on how quick these little things are off the line :

FSAE vs M5 vs E55

(Please excuse the bad music

)

Granted, this wasnt a full length dragstrip, but given the fact that it is 600cc vs 5L+ its not bad!

cya
R

low_bass_makker · 2nd August 2007, 00:44

Very nice write up and good pictures...

What problem came up with the engine. and which engine did you used.

ananthkamath · 2nd August 2007, 01:38

Good job harsh. now you guys know what to do for next year.

BTW the team from my university was placed 40th...3 positions above U of M Ann Arbor which is an infinitely better funded team..Our team's car is different from the crowd because they use a V-twin engine instead of an R6 or CBR engine. The car is very lightweight as a result and we got a good score on design. But we lost out on the endurance as the car DNF'ed due to suspension failure.

thats a nice video there Rehaan, but to get a feel of how fast this car is around a racetrack, take a look at this:

Waterford Hills Road course 2006 with new front wing on FSAE car

His time is 70.8 seconds (1.18:00) on a track where a stock Viper does 1:22 and the E46-model M3 does 1:16. Now thats bloody fast because the engine is restricted to typically 60 or 70 hp. A stock R6 or CBR engine, unrestricted, does about 110 hp.

harsh87 · 2nd August 2007, 09:06

Work has already started on the next car, and cooling is a major issue this time. We never got the time to test the car for endurance, so as Rehaan mentioned, overheating of the car was least expected.

Anant which V-twin engine are you guys using(is it the aprilia sxv550), currently we are on a cbr600 f4i but we were planning of getting a single cylinder
or a twin cylinder this time to reduce weight.
The aprilia is a very nice motor, dry sump lubrication and weighs around 25 kgs less than our current engine.

Rehaan · 2nd August 2007, 09:18

Hey Ananth,

Awesome video, and good to see some time comparisons with other cars other than the 0-60 and 1/4 mile.
Is this the Vtwin? Is it forced induction ?

Heres an absolutely ridiculous video i found (infact i posted it in the official video thread some time back because i wasnt convinced that it was a FSAE car).
Given the familiarity of every one of our "driving days" having ended due with some sort of mechanical failure, the sustained speeds seems rather scary in this video, especially with the places at which spectators are positioned, but i guess they trust german engineering.

YouTube - Rennteam Uni Stuttgart beim Bergrennen

cya
R

ananthkamath · 2nd August 2007, 19:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Hey Ananth,
Is this the Vtwin? Is it forced induction ?

No its not our car. I dont know much about UMR's car but its definitely a four cylinder.

Quote:

Originally Posted by harsh87

Anant which V-twin engine are you guys using(is it the aprilia sxv550),

Our team's using the Briggs & Stratton V-Twin (spec engine for Baja SAE) which is a very very low-tech OHV design. But these guys have gotten some competitive hp out of it. And the car weighs something like 350 pounds. There's talk of using a better engine this time (not 600 superbike) but I dont know which one.

faithless_1984 · 2nd August 2007, 22:34

Awesome writeup Harsh.!!

Man the track looks amazing ,you must have had one helluva time.
Dont worry about the results ,there`s always next time and am sure you guys are gonna rock next time.!

Quote:

i want all the details when we meet next

Hey me too....you free tomorrow Harsh ?

harsh87 · 20th August 2007, 22:14

Here are some short clips from the race, mind the camera and shots of same part of the track as only one of our DV cams was working
and did I miss " I was driving

"

YouTube - Defianz Racing at the Silverstone F1 Circuit

29th July 2007, 22:49	#1
harsh87 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Delhi Posts: 169 Thanked: 3 Times View My Garage	Defianz Racing '07 at Formula Student, Silverstone Circuit,UK Hello guys, It was another exciting year for us designing and building a Formula Student Car. The competition was held at the Silverstone F1 Circuit, UK this year. It saw a tremendous turnout of 72 colleges (both Post-grad and under-grad colleges). I'll start with our side of the story. We arrived on a cold cloudy morning at the circuit. However, our hopes of setting up the car early and getting it ready for scrutiny early were shattered as our crate could not be opened due to unavailability of a forklift at site. Finally we opened the crate and setup the car but we were way far behind for scrutiny and it was only till late next day the car was passed through scrutiny. Scrutiny was easy and didn't take much time but the time we spent waiting made us lose two of the four precious days at the competition. After scrutiny we passed tilt and noise test easily. But Brake test took us time to clear as one of the rear brake lines had suffered damage during transportation. Replacing it and then bleeding the brake circuit again consumed most of the third day. We finally passed the brake test but at the cost of not being able to participate in the Acceleration, Skidpad and Sprint event as the allocated time for these events was over by the time we cleared brake test. So it was finally time for the endurance race on the fourth day. Pictures from the endurance race. Our pit was the Mclaren's pit but we were sharing it with five other colleges. Sadly, we couldn't finish the endurance which is a 24-lap race on a part of the F1 track, our car overheated during the 11th lap. On the bright side, I got to drive our very own hand built car on the Silverstone circuit for 11 laps. Despite the poor performance at the event, we are not disheartened and will try again next year, because the appreciation we get from our judges and the other teams is commendable. It makes us want to come back again and again. My team mates tell me the applause was amazing when I overtook an American college's car and the commentator was very excited seeing our car run on the track. This Team TU Graz Racing has a budget of 1.2 million euros!!!! Our very own REVA on the streets of central London.
	() Thanks

29th July 2007, 23:50	#2
aZa Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Noida / Delhi Posts: 1,595 Thanked: 21 Times View My Garage	Had always heard about the DCE and their Student Racing Car!! Great to have a friend who is a part of it. And i want all the details when we meet next
	() Thanks

1st August 2007, 12:30	#4
Rehaan Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 24,042 Thanked: 34,074 Times	Hey harsh87, Thanks for the awesome pics. Silverstone looks so much better than the parking lot where the FSAE event is held in detroit Its unfortunate that a couple of things went wrong, but im sure it was a learning experieince. Howcome the car OVERHEATED??? of all the things that could go wrong that was the last thing i was expecting...! cya R
	() Thanks

1st August 2007, 12:37	#5
Rtech Team-BHP Support Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 5,770 Thanked: 359 Times View My Garage	Whoa. This thread slipped through the cracks. Great writeup, finally giving us a small insight into this contest. What uprights did you guys use?
	() Thanks

1st August 2007, 12:37	#6
ported_head Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Mumbai, India Posts: 2,387 Thanked: 20 Times	Wah 1.2 million euro budget. I wonder what even a Rs. 12,000 budget looks like right now. Great going DCE, what matters most is to be on track. That Helsinki Poly car is sweet too. Who won? How di you guys place?
	() Thanks

2nd August 2007, 00:44	#9
low_bass_makker Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Faridabad Posts: 6,815 Thanked: 305 Times View My Garage	Very nice write up and good pictures... What problem came up with the engine. and which engine did you used.
	() Thanks

2nd August 2007, 01:38	#10
ananthkamath Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Mangalore Posts: 1,209 Thanked: 80 Times View My Garage	Good job harsh. now you guys know what to do for next year. BTW the team from my university was placed 40th...3 positions above U of M Ann Arbor which is an infinitely better funded team..Our team's car is different from the crowd because they use a V-twin engine instead of an R6 or CBR engine. The car is very lightweight as a result and we got a good score on design. But we lost out on the endurance as the car DNF'ed due to suspension failure. thats a nice video there Rehaan, but to get a feel of how fast this car is around a racetrack, take a look at this: Waterford Hills Road course 2006 with new front wing on FSAE car His time is 70.8 seconds (1.18:00) on a track where a stock Viper does 1:22 and the E46-model M3 does 1:16. Now thats bloody fast because the engine is restricted to typically 60 or 70 hp. A stock R6 or CBR engine, unrestricted, does about 110 hp. Last edited by ananthkamath : 2nd August 2007 at 01:50.
	() Thanks

2nd August 2007, 09:06	#11
harsh87 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Delhi Posts: 169 Thanked: 3 Times View My Garage	Work has already started on the next car, and cooling is a major issue this time. We never got the time to test the car for endurance, so as Rehaan mentioned, overheating of the car was least expected. Anant which V-twin engine are you guys using(is it the aprilia sxv550), currently we are on a cbr600 f4i but we were planning of getting a single cylinder or a twin cylinder this time to reduce weight. The aprilia is a very nice motor, dry sump lubrication and weighs around 25 kgs less than our current engine.
	() Thanks