FSAE West Status Update #5
June 18th, 2011

WWU has finished FSAE West 2011. It's been a long week for the team and we have certainly had some serious ups and downs throughout competition. What started off with an unexpected road block (not getting to tech inspection in time), we were able to overcome and work efficiently to make up for lost time the following day. The team ran into some mechanical issues early on but performed diligently to work through them. We performed well in the static events placing 8th in Business Presentation, and 9th in Cost Report. With one of the most expensive cars at comp, we were still able to score highly at Cost by achieving perfect scores in Cost Presentation and Real Case Scenario. So considering the constraints we were forced to face early on, two top 10 finishes that put the team in great position to start off shows exactly how persistent and relentless these guys can be.

With dynamic events, we also ran into a few bumps. We were looking great early on and were able to put ourselves in the top 15 after autocross. Today during Endurance, the final event of competition, we were planning on running hard and using this opportunity to move ourselves up a couple places in the standings. Andrew Miller was the first to drive. After running the 10 laps, we swapped drivers and Chris Jones was up to finish off the Endurance.

After about 2 laps, V51 skidded out of a corner causing too much load to be put on the front right corner. This excess load in the lower control arm put too much pressure on the clevice causing it to fail. The clevice failure was too much for V51 to handle and Chris was forced to retire from the race. WWU was issued a DNF for Endurance which put a serious damper on our standings. This put us from currently being at 7th place, to being pushed back to 27th.

While this was a huge disappointment for the team, we took the time to analyze the situation fully and learn from the failure. We've learned how easy it can be to overlook certain components and the importance of double checking or triple checking the quality of the specific part you are responsible for.

But the most important thing to take away is that we concentrate on the "bigger picture" of Formula SAE. Although we may not have placed as well as we should have or wanted to, we learned exactly what to do and what not to do from the road bumps we ran into; and that is exactly what FSAE is about - learning. If anything, this well set us up very well as we now know what to expect when competition comes rolls around next year, and how to be more prepared for the unexpected.

Again, all of this has been made possible by our supporters. Thank you all for everything you do and we hope to come back twice as strong next year with your help. That concludes Western's 2010-2011 Formula SAE season! We hope you enjoyed this year just as much as we have. Now we start the voyage back home and start our summer vacation that has long been awaited!

• 18th in Design Event
• 8th in Business Presentation
• 9th in Cost Report
• 5th in Acceleration
• 24th in Skid Pad
• 15th in Autocross
• DNF Enduro/Fuel Economy
• 27th Overall, FSAE West
  

FSAE West Status Update #4
June 17th, 2011

These last couple days, teamwork, communication, and cohesion have been crucial aspects every second in the pits. Whatever is going on, we need to make sure that not only is everyone on the same page, but that anyone who has a task is doing them properly and efficiently - we are only as strong as our weakest link. In these first couple days of competition, we've been running into some road bumps and cannot afford to waste any time especially with the questionable scheduling structure the judges have put together.

Everyone has a job, and if one person fails to complete a job, we run the risk of either wasting time and missing an event, or breaking the car. So, not only is teamwork an extremely necessary trait among the members but cohesiveness and awareness needs to be kept up as well.

Today, before the dynamic events, that is exactly what WWU Racing was exhibiting. With a maximum decibel limit at 110, we were having issues trying to pass the Noise test which is required before moving onto any of the dynamic events. But with the hardworking and quick thinking minds we have, the team worked relentlessly to solve this.

What could have been a serious end to competition for the team, we stayed optimistic and tried every single option when it came to lessening the dB limit for Noise test. We were consistently hitting around 117 decibels. Time was dwindling down while Teddy and Andrew worked to repack the muffler with fiberglass, Chris and Bryant were busy welding, and Evan ready at a moment's notice to go hunt down and purchase a muffler. At the same time, Todd our engine lead and Nick, our electronics lead were working to fix the engine mapping to reach a rev limit of 11,000 - a requirement for the Noise test.

By noon, things were looking a lot better and we were finally able to pass Noise and Brake. From that point, it was off to the first dynamic events: Acceleration and Skid Pad. Props to Mike Owen and Tyler Osborn for driving their hearts out at both events. While Skid Pad could have gone a little bit better, placing at 24th, hats off to Mike for making up for it by laying down a solid Accel time of 4.048 seconds putting us at 5th in the rankings.

After that, we had a little bit more time to recoup and take a deep breath. At that point, the results from the static events came in: 8th in Business Presentation, 9th in Cost Report, and 18th in Design.

Late afternoon finally came around and it was time for Autocross! We had some solid runs put in by Andrew Miller and Chris Jones. We landed a 68 second lap on the last run putting us 14th in autocross. This sets us up well for the last dynamic event. Plus, those laps were on cold tires so we definitely expect to shave off a lot of time when we run the Endurance.

That's all for now. Thank you again for all of your wonderful support. If it weren't for our supporters throughout the year, none of this would be happening. And because of your support, we are able to compete and words cannot describe how amazing of a learning experience this has been for every single student on this team. We would especially like to show our appreciation for the Kremsner's as they have generously donated to the team just for competition. Because of them, many of the students are able to afford this trip. Be sure to check in tomorrow as we will be competing in our biggest and final event. Wish us luck!

For more full size photos check out our Flickr

FSAE West Status Update #3
June 16th, 2011

Since we weren't able to get through tech inspection in day 1, this was the first thing we wanted to take care of and get out of the way. With tech inspection completed, we could move on to get weighed in, fuel up, and go through the tilt test - all of which could take a very long time if left to the middle of the day. This was something we were not trying to have happen and so right when we got to the track, we got this taken care of as soon as possible.

In addition, we had the Business Presentation event scheduled for 10:00 AM, Design Judging at 1:30 PM, and Cost Report Presentation at 3:30 PM. As you can see, we had a very busy day ahead of us and could not afford to waste any time. Missing any one of these static events due to a prolonged tech inspection would set us back by quite a bit and a bad way to go out.

Here is Mike Owen as he practices for the egress test. Once egress was out of the way, we were off to get the car weighed in.

After weigh in, we headed directly to the tilt test. The tilt test is to ensure that the car is fully capable of handling certain amounts of load without leaking any liquids or showing any other signs of incapability of handling excess load. We were able to pass the tilt test with no issues and move on to the Design Judging that was happening 30 minutes later.

The Design Judging was quickly followed by the Cost Report Presentation.

After 9 hours of frantically running around from one event to another, another extremely productive day was had and we were able to make up for lost ground from the day before. Business, Design, and Cost all went well and it is just a matter of time to see how well we stacked up against the other teams.

FSAE West Status Update #2
June 15th, 2011

The day started off with a brief team meeting in front of the hotel right after breakfast. Tyler discussed the lists of tasks that need to be tackled first thing when getting into the speedway.

Once we reached Auto Club Speedway, we hit the huge line of other schools and their trailers waiting to enter the paddock. It was nice to see all the other schools finally coming together after all the long journeys!

Unpacking took place right away. We worked to get our pit set up as quickly as possible and broke out V51 so we could prep the car for tech inspection.

It didn't take long until V51 drew a crowd. It was nice to see so much interest in our car as people came by ready with a lot of questions.

After team registration, the rest of the day was spent waiting to go through tech inspection. Unfortunately with a random generator placing us 40th in line, and a much longer than anticipated process, the judges were not able to reach our team. In result, this set us back quite a bit as we basically had wasted a day waiting. If we cannot make it through tech in time of the first round of dynamic events, there will be a high chance of not being able to do the dynamic events. Hopefully we can get through tech early tomorrow morning and not have to worry about wasting more time tomorrow!

FSAE West Status Update #1
June 14th, 2011

Our voyage started off early Monday morning. With the truck and trailer packed up and ready to go the night before, they headed down south at 9:00AM sharp. The truck was the first to leave followed by the rest of the convoy who had met not much later at the VRI.

After driving for a couple hours, the convoy reached southern Washington and caught up to the trailer as well as hit a rest stop. The first of many, many gas stops was in order and the team regrouped and got ready for another long stretch of driving.

Of course, we used this time to grab some proper road trip gas station snacks as well as ensure proper communication was in check.

We hit Oregon in the evening and had gained a couple more friends.

Soon, a world of endless straights became our norm. A couple more gas stops and we were back on the road!

Once the sun fell, the guys who had been running non-stop since 9:00 AM the day before, finally started crashing. By nighttime, everything was going well and no major hiccups had occurred. Sure there were more than a few times where we had gotten separated and lost each other but overall, the team stuck together pretty well.

By early morning, we had gained another friend. Mike Owen who had gotten held up the day before brought the team some presents: sponsor decals for the V51.

We hit mid Cali by 8:00AM and from then reached LA with no problems.

After 29 hours of straight driving, we finally reached our destination: the Sheraton Hotel in Fontana. It has definitely been a crazy voyage so far and its only day 1. That concludes today's adventures! Stay posted because tomorrow will be a big day!

Team Status Update
June 12th, 2011

After testing for a week straight and non-stop maintenance, the team is ready as we'll ever be for competition. Time is up and we will be shipping off to California first thing tomorrow. The team has been working all night packing up the trailer and finishing up last-minute fixes on V51 before we pack it up.

Here, Chris Jones and Ben Rogers make some modifications to the exhaust system in an attempt to make it quieter for the sound test for tech inspection.

It's always important to try and have some fun and keep the energy up as we work on the car, especially during those late nights in the shop. Here Aaron Pecora does just that as he touches up the brake rotor for V51.

That's all for now! This time tomorrow the team will be driving down the coast of California on our way to Fontana! Be sure to keep checking in because we will be posting up daily updates during competition. One last thing, thank you to Arlington Airport for their continued support. V51's non-stop testing has been made possible by them and we appreciate all the testing time we can get. At this point, we've done all we can and now time will tell how things turn out!

Team Status Update
June 8th, 2011

It's the middle of finals week for us here at school but the push to get the car ready for competition continues on. Earlier last week we ran the car for the first time and have been trying to get as much testing in as possible since then. While testing down at the CSCC autocross this past weekend, the team ran into some technical issues with the monocoque and front rocker mount and unfortunately set us back that day. However, we were able to get some repairs in immediately after.

So the team is back to running the car and testing nonstop. FSAE West starts in exactly 7 days and with the team departing on Monday, there is little time left.

We would again like to thank all of you for your support! Also, a huge thanks goes out to all of our sponsors for making their generous donations because we wouldn't be where we are now if it weren't for your support. We will try our hardest to keep you all updated with daily posts during competition so all of you can be in the loop!

Team Status Update
May 27th, 2011

18 days and counting. Competition keeps getting closer and we keep getting closer to get a running car.

Last week we were fortunate enough to have Pete Brock stop by the VRI to share some insight on racing while we gave him a little tour of the shop. Thanks for the visit Pete Brock we had a great time.

The team has been getting closer to getting a running car. Nicholas Conroy, our freshman electrical system lead has been working hard on getting the wiring harness ready. He even stayed up all night on his birthday to stay in the shop and work. Major props to Nicholas for doing work!

In other news, Andrew Miller has been making a substantial amount of progress with the controls system. Pictured below is the steering column and front left corner package coming together.

Another last shout out goes to Sparco for taking care of our competition team shirts once again this year. The team is now looking sharper and more professional with the new shirts. We will be looking good at comp! Thanks again for keeping posted.

Team Status Update
May 17th, 2011

This last weekend was the Back to Bellingham Alumni weekend here at Western Washington University. A great time was had, hanging out in Redsquare talking to visiting alumni along with the soon to be freshman that were checking out the campus. We were able to get both V48 along with V46 out into the public.

After the Redsquare showcase in the morning, tours of the VRI were hosted all throughout the afternoon so everyone could come check out the areas in which we work. It was a great opportunity for them to catch a quick glimpse of our work environment and where we spend most of our time. Ben Rogers and Bryant Idzik here responding to some questions and explaining to the crowd what FSAE is and what we do.

Construction of V51 is still in progress. Only a few days now until we will be taking it out for its' first drive day! That's it for now, thanks for checking in! Remember to keep updated with our facebook page as competition is less than 5 weeks away.

Team Status Update
May 2nd, 2011

6 weeks to go and counting down until competition! The team has been making way in completion of projects in all fields. Just last week the team finished and submitted the 218 page Cost Analysis along with the Design Report to be reviewed in time for competition. In addition, earlier last week we reached our goal of arriving at rolling chassis. With this deadline reached and out of the way, the next deadline is to get a running car!

While the team was running some tests on V51's motor on the engine dyno, we ran into some complications with the intake manifold which caused it to explode. This was just a minor setback and we were fortunate enough to have this happen here on the dyno rather than possibly out on the track at competition. The problem was solved and fixed immediately and production of a new manifold was underway not long after.

A couple weeks ago, the team held driver run-offs to scope out potential drivers for competition. The team headed up north to Sumas where we raced at Sumas International Motorsports Academy. A huge shout out goes to SIMA for letting us take over their track! A great time was had and some potential drivers were noticed.

To conclude this update, the team would like to give a big thank you to those at State Street Autobody for contributing their time to paint V51's chassis. If you haven't seen, the car is looking great and it's just one step closer to having a complete car.

Team Status Update
April 2nd, 2011

Spring Quarter has just rolled in which means one thing, competition is getting closer. With only 11 weeks remaining until the big event, the team has been working nonstop. With dead week and finals week over, the team can focus on getting manufacturing projects cleared and squared away. This last month of March the team has been working hard to reach its rolling chassis deadline which is also coming up in mid-April. With other competition deadlines coming up such as the design report and cost analysis, time is of the essence.

Manufacturing projects have been underway and system components are coming together. With intake parts being laid up and manufactured, the intake system is getting closer and closer to being completed. Here we have carbon fiber trumpets that have been laid up and ready to go.

Chris and Andrew have been working on the chassis and getting it prepped and ready to go for the rolling chassis deadline coming up.

Furthermore, Jon has been busy designing suspension components while Chris, Derek and Ben have been manufacturing them. Here we are our new control arms connected with the new uprights ready to be mounted.

Design and manufacturing isn't the only thing the team has been working on. The team just recently met where we discussed status updates and set new goals to help ourselves reestablish our current situation and prevent falling behind. These last couple months have truly been a learning experience for the team - not only with building a car but how to work with each other to form a fluid and cohesive team.

That's the gist of it for now. Thanks for checking in and we'll be sure to keep you updated as things come together!

Team Status Update
February 20th, 2011

A huge thanks goes out to Pro CNC Inc. for helping us these last couple weeks in these essential times. Pro CNC Inc. was able to help us out by producing our live axles, throttle bearings and injector base plates. We really appreciate the help because now we will be able to focus our attention on other manufacturing projects.

Also, thank you to the Associated Students of WWU. They've been very kind in the past; donating money to the team such as safety gear last year. Last week, they were nice enough to donate money to help us purchase a new welder.

Now that we have a new welder, we can begin the process of connecting the motor with the new tub and subframe. Here, Chris Jones is lining up the motor with a mock tub to find the new mounting points. The tub and subframe should be mated in no time.

To wrap things up, our 'new' motor just arrived in the shop earlier this week. Here it is getting, some attention, being stripped down and cleaned to its bare essentials.

In addition to all of our sponsors, a huge shout out goes to each and every one of you. Everything we've accomplished up to this point has been done with the help of your support. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for all of our supporters!

Team Status Update
February 8th, 2011

WWU FSAE has been getting at it! Manufacturing has been long underway and we should have a rolling chassis in no time! Fortunately with the efforts from everyone on the team, this last weekend we were finally able to finish the tub (and still have time to watch the Superbowl!). All there is left to do now is some fitment here and there and we'll be ready to move along

A big thanks goes out to our sponsors for providing all the necessary materials to help this layup run smoothly! This has been our smoothest undertaking at laying up and manufacturing the tub thus far.

With the tub finished, roll hoop bent, construction of the sub-frame soon underway, and a Honda F4i currently being shipped to us, we can get back to focusing on other components of the car.

Earlier last week, Associated Students of Western Washington University hosted the Campus Activities Showcase. Here we are presenting our team to the public with the aim of attracting some interest. This was a great opportunity to get the car out there in the school community for students to check out what we do, and even recruit a couple new members!

These first couple weeks of manufacturing with the focus primarily on the chassis has been going as planned. With one of the biggest hurdles involving the chassis now out of the way, the team can take a deep breath (but only for a short while) and jump right back in the action. Rolling chassis date will arrive sooner than expected and the manufacturing phase will fly by which can only mean one thing - competition will be near in sight. Be sure to keep checking in with the team as we continue to work our way along!

Team Status Update
January 23nd, 2011

These last 2 weeks, we've had our hands quite full with work. Since with the decision of keeping the same chassis as Viking 48, we've been keeping ourselves busy with getting the monocoque done in good time. Lately we have been doing a lot of work shaping core and laying up test panels for SEF testing in order for the tub to be in compliance with this year's rules.

Jon I. has been busy at work as well working on the new suspension points for V51. Here is a diagram of the suspension skeleton that he's been putting together.

After some rigorous sessions in the shop for the last couple weeks, the team has almost gotten to the point of laying up the new tub. With a couple things holding us back, it will be no time before the team is ready to lay up. It's definitely been a group effort and we've been able to get some of the new guys in, shaping core, fitting it to tub and getting it ready.

In the meantime, we'll be sure to keep you posted with things to come and you won't want to miss out on that!

Team Status Update
January 10th, 2011

WWU FSAE 2nd Quarter Update

Things have been changing very rapidly for WWU FSAE in the last few months. Winter break began with our first FSAE alumni design review for V51. Through this review each of our design leads took the stage and presented their designs up to this point. Attendees were quick to point out a few possible sources of error in our current design as expected, and pointed out that we had moved away from our original team goal we set after competition last year of a new chassis, but not complete car redesign. Of course this wasn't what the team wanted to hear, but we did realize that it was time to sit down again and take a hard look at what we're doing and re-evaluate where we are going. We'd like to thank the Alum that came up for the visit, as your insight is always appreciated and it's a great opportunity for newer team members to meet with people who have been involved in the program before.

We sat down the next day to re-evaluate our current position and discuss other more feasible options for V51. We weighed a few vehicle options against our overall team goal of learning and continuing the transfer of knowledge to other team members, and we decided that an improvement of V48's (our 2010 car) design fit the best. In order to be successful in this path, we decided to limit the optimization of parts. If we decided to modify all aspects of V48 we'd run into the same problems again that we were trying to avoid. As expected, this was a hard decision to make, but it was the only answer that will produce a tested and competitive vehicle in time for competition in California this year.

School has just begun again for the team, and even though the first week of school can be rough, we have begun the manufacturing and testing phase for V51. The team has been looking forward to this for awhile now, and it is great to be able to start releasing parts for manufacture. The team is currently at work with composite materials testing, layup preparation, and manufacturing prototype parts for destructive testing.

Although winter break was a little rough for the team, WWU FSAE is confident that the major design change was necessary. We are learning one of the most important lessons of FSAE: learning how to set reasonable goals, and achieve them in a limited time frame.

Tyler Osborn

WWU FSAE Team Captain

Team Status Update
November 22nd, 2010

Western's FSAE team just got back from the Seattle International Autoshow not long ago (November 10th - 14th). It was a great opportunity for us to get out there and show off our last two cars: Viking 46 and Viking 48 to the public as well as advertise our sponsors, who have helped us get so far. We not only were able to spread awareness of our great program but we were also able to attract interest with potential future sponsors and future members! Here is the Seattle International Autoshow. If you look hard enough you can see us back there by Hyundai!

Here is Ben Rogers dropping some knowledge:

Currently, we have been making quite a bit of progress in our design phase of the year. With the goal of designing and building a brand new chassis, we are running along quite well. I'd like to introduce to you the new design of where we are at with our carbon-fiber monocoque chassis - Viking 51

To conclude this week's update, check out this article on Western FSAE!

A big shout out goes to the Western Front for publishing this article on us this last week. We always love the extra publicity and could always use more, so thanks again Western Front! In the meantime, read up on this article and keep checking in with these updates because you're not going to want to miss out while we continue making breakthroughs with Viking 51!

Team Status Update
November 6th, 2010

Western Washington's Formula SAE team has just finished up with autocross season, finishing hard with our last drive day at the PCA Autocross in Bremerton on Halloween. Currently the FSAE team has taken a break in the design phase to attend the 2 day race event: Dallesport Shootout racing with schools such as University of Washington, Oregon State University, and Portland University.

The following is a brief coverage of Western's FSAE team at the autocross hosted by the Porsche Club of America - NW brought to you by Viking TV.

Team Status Update
March 14th, 2010

For the last two months we've been hard at work getting Viking 48 ready for testing. Our primary manufacturing is quite far along in its progress. Unfortunately, because manufacturing of the chassis is going slower than projected, we have lots of parts to show off but not yet an assembled vehicle. It is nice to know that once the tub and subframe are put together, 48 will come together very quickly.

Here you see Viking 48's monocoque. The halves have been bonded and blended, the return flange laid in and blended. The holes for all of the suspension hardpoints have been drilled and the clevices are ready to be installed.

Last month, comprehensive dynamic testing of our Impact Attenuator was performed. The IA must meet a minimum standard of deceleration so as to protect the driver during a front end collision. Below is a photo of a crushed impact attenuator (which passed testing) – the part started more than 11" tall!

Into the tub will be installed our steering support, on which the shifter and steering column are installed. Made of foam-core and carbon fiber, the part weighs less than 3 pounds and can handle the forces of the manual steering system, aggressive shifting, and lateral impact from the drivers leg. The engraved shifter paddle weighs approximately .17 pounds and has enough rigidity to allow a driver to shift with one finger on the very tip of the arm with less than .050" of deflection.

The tub and subframe will ride on our all new upright and live center package. We sought to remove a lot of mass from the corners in order to lower unsprung weight for a more responsive vehicle. Additionally, they play into our overall goal of reducing the weight of the vehicle by over 20 pounds. Viking 48 uses a universal corner package meaning that the front and rear live centers are the same. Then the uprights are reversible left to right; additionally, reversible clevices further reduce the number of unique parts used.

While for the year we retained the Honda F4i powerplant, we've made some significant changes to increase fuel economy and performance. Again, we utilized our trademark custom carbon fiber intake manifold, however this year we've integrated the throttle body assembly directly into the carbon diffuser, simplifying assembly and further lightening the intake manifold.

The tub and subframe will be mated within the week at which point the controls, braking, electrical, and drivetrain will be installed. It's going to be a very long two weeks as we need to have the car running by the end of March in order for us to meet our testing and training requirements.

Of course, none of this would be possible without the generous support of all our sponsors. On behalf of our entire team, I'd like to thank all of our sponsors and supporters for their contribution to our team. With your help over the last few years, Western Washington University's Formula SAE team has gone from an afterschool project team to a competitive program ranked 15th in the world. Hopefully we'll have a car to show you very soon.

Matt Hill
Team Captain, Western Formula SAE 2010

Construction of Viking 48 Has Begun
January 26th, 2010

The team has begun construction of our 2010 Competition vehicle, Viking 48. Some quick snaps from around the shop:

Team Member Ben Rogers designing the fixture plate for our controllers on our HP z800, donated by HP Workstations

Andrew Grove very excited about fitting core for the tub. Materials for the chassis were graciously donated by the Advanced Composites Group (ACG) and Hexcel, with tooling provided by Janicki Industries. Special thanks also to Airtech and Fiberworks for donation of time and materials.

Andrew, Andrey Semenyuk, and Gary Liljebeck coaxing our 'new' motor out of the back seat of a Honda Civic. Should be on the dyno for dialing in our Intake and Exhaust soon.

Mr. Ringstad and Gary getting started on the subframe construction; CNC Tube Bending done by LeFarge & Egge of Kirkland, WA.

43 getting some attention before heading off to an info fair here on campus.

We've set our rolling chassis date for February 21st. We aim to have a driving vehicle by the third week of March. This ambitious schedule will allow us almost a full month for driving training and testing. Viking 43, 46 and 48 will all be in running condition together, which should make us an impressive sight no matter where we are.

I'd like to take a moment to mention a few of our other sponsors who've been instrumental in making 48 happen: BP Cherry Point, ProCNC, Porsche Club NWR, and WECU.

More photos to come soon!

December greetings everyone!

Exciting times as Western Formula SAE moves from it's design phase into the manufacturing phase. Our dedicated student members are currently finishing up their final week of this quarter so that we can begin manufacturing our composite tub over winter break. Some preliminary details about Viking 48, our 2010 car: It will utilize a carbon fiber composite monoque with a steel space frame. Additionally, we are retaining 13" wheels and the Honda F4i powerplant. There will be significant revisions in the intake system, engine management, suspension geometry, and fuel system. Other systems will simply be optimized for weight savings to improve the overall dynamic performance of the car.

A quick shout out to many of our sponsors that have come back on board for this year. Special thanks to:
- BP Cherry Point Refinery
- Porsche Club Northwest Region
- Pro CNC of Bellingham
- Deutsche
- Hexcel
- Advanced Composites Group
- K&K Industries
- LeFarge & Egge

Happy Holidays to everyone.

Seattle International Autoshow, Nov. 11th-14th

Greetings Western Formula SAE fans! Just a quick heads up that this year, Viking 43, Viking 46, and the team will be attending the Seattle International Autoshow! The Auto Show is held at the Qwest Convention Center in downtown Seattle. Western's booth will be located on the Main Floor, directly accross from the Ford display. Please, spread the word and drop by and check us out!

For more information on the show, visit http://www.seattleautoshow.com/

Welcome to the 2009-2010 Formula SAE Season!
October 3, 2009

This year, Western's team will be attending competition at Michigan International Speedway in Detroit. This competition is the premier Formula SAE event with teams from all over the world attending. It's time for us, as a team, to put ourselves head to head with the best teams in the world and see where we stack up.

We will be retaining the overall design of the very competitive Viking 46, however our newest car, Viking 48, will feature a lighter construction, optimized suspension geometry, and all new fuel, oil, and cooling systems. By building on the strengths of Viking 46 with these improvements, we hope to be a very competitive team at Detroit this coming May.

This year, the team will be lead by Matt Hill a second year returning member. Trevor Hull, a third year member, takes over as the Technical Director. Erik Kremsner, in his fourth year on Formula SAE, will be leading the Manufacturing division. We're expecting to have a member base of about 35 students, 23 of whom are returning members from Viking 46.

Currently, the team has entered the design phase of Viking 48 and over the next week will be determining the best areas to concentrate in our efforts to improve the design of 46. The design phase will complete on the 30th of November and primary manufacturing will commence. March 12th starts our testing phase and on May 12th, competition begins.

We're in for an exciting year, with a strong team that is hard at work refining the already strong design from last year. Keep an eye on our website for updates on car progress, community events, drive days, and other important team information. Check back soon!

Matt Hill
Team Captain, 2009-2010

Team Meeting - July 2, 2009

After becoming re-acclimated to standard sleeping hours, the 2009-2010 WWU FSAE team has met to plan out the summer schedule and keep the momentum rolling. A schedule was determined which places testing as the main concern for the summer, and the design of the following year's vehicle to begin in September.

Also, the Porsche Club of America NW region will be holding an Autocross and Skills Day at Bremerton Motorsports Park on July 18th, which the team will be attending. We hope to see you there!

FSAE West Final Day - June 20, 2009

Western has finished the FSAE West event! For the second consecutive year, WWU has achieved a 6th Overall finish in the event. This was a hard fought placing, given the level of compeition in the field and the difficulties faced by the program in the months heading into competition.

Today, all the final event scores were posted, and Western placed as shown below-

• 5th in Design Event
• 6th in Enduro/Fuel Economy
• 7th in Presentation Event
• 8th in Autocross
• 13th in Acceleration
• 19th in Skidpad
• 5th in Cost Analysis and 35th in Vehicle Cost
• 6th Overall, FSAE West
  

The only event run today, however, was the Endurance event. In the morning, both Enduro drivers walked the course while the vehicle was final checked and the tools were loaded. The run order for WWU put V46 between University of Texas-Arlington and University of Oklahoma, two very fast aero cars. On the first run outing, the vehicle's shifter was broken due to a component failure which has yet to be inspected, putting the car in 2nd gear for the duration of the event. Even still, WWU put down lap times within 4 seconds of the fastest recorded time and right on the average lap time by the aero cars running around it. The second driver had a good battle with U of O's aero car, passing it and being passed by it 6 times. In the end, the team managed to pull off the enduro event with fast times and excellent fuel economy, pushing up the team's overall score.

WWU FSAE is proud to continue to be a top 10 finisher, but we realize we could not have achieved this without all of our sponsors, family, faculty, and alumni. The sponsors which made this trip possible were Porsche Club of America NW, BP Oil, Hexcel, Fiberworks, HP, Paccar Technical Center, Bellingham Technical College, Alpha Technology, RCS, Lafarge and Egge, Airtech, Deutsch, Speedmart, Fastenal, Henkel, Janicki, ACG, and Victory Lane Data. All of the members' families who have supported this trip are especially important, specifically the Kremsner family and the Hill family for all of their generous donations and support. As for faculty, a special thanks to Eric Leonhardt and Mark Dudzinski for coming to competition. A special thanks to the whole team- Erik Kremsner, Trevor Hull, Matt Hill, Eric Olausen, Seth Rich, Spencer Foote, Erik Nickerson, Andrew Grove, Mike Howe, Andrey Semenyuk, Matt Kelly, Kirk Koontz, Erin Kelly, Bill Mann, Camden Thrasher, Isaac Stark, Sharon Fisher, and all of the rest of the members who put in effort but couldn't make it down to West! Finally, a very special thanks to all the alumni who helped out- Eric Urness, James Waltman, Matt Nucci, John Furtado, Marshall Haggen, and Vedran Curgus.

Posted here is a link to Camden Thrasher's consistently updating folder containing pictures of comp. Check back often for new pictures! FSAE West Pics

FSAE West Dynamic Day 1 - June 19, 2009

Today was the beginning of the of the dynamic events for the WWU FSAE team and Viking 46. In the morning hours, accel and skidpad were run. With the help of all the teammates, appropriate vehicle settings and run times were chosen to best allow the vehicle to perform at optimum operating conditions during the events. The car put down a best time of 4.180 seconds in the acceleration event, making the team 13th place in this event. A fueling issue meant that the engine was not running correctly for the skidpad, yet the drivers still put down excellent split times in the 5.3 second range and average times in the 7.8 second range. Congrats to Bill Mann and Matt Hill for driving the wheels off of V46 in these events.

Before the second half of the day, some small changes were made to the engine fueling map which quickly solved the issue. The car was then quickly pushed over to the Autocross to begin running. First up was Trevor Hull, who put down a best time in the 46 second range. After Trevor's first run, slightly more fuel was removed from the engine map before getting back underway. Once this run was complete, Erik Kremsner was handed the car and put in another 46 second time. The combined effort of these drivers yielded an 8th place finish, which gives the team an 8th place run in the Endurance event tomorrow, right between University of Texas - Arlington and University of Oklahoma. There will be Endurance results and pictures tomorrow, wish us luck!

FSAE West Static Day - June 18th, 2009

Viking 46 and the WWU FSAE team were put through the ringer today. To start the day off, the car had to be run through tech inspection in the garage. Minimal modifications had to be made to run through tech, yet only one driver made it throgh driver egress before the car had to move.

Shortly after, the team moved to another garage for the Design Event. This was the first round of 3 to be held, which was a half hour session where the designers were rigorously questioned by industry experts in their respective fields. The team performed quite well in this event, but we'll come back to this later.

After finishing design, there were a number of tech issues to deal with. First, the rest of the drivers had to complete driver egress, which did not take much time. Next, the vehicle was rigged up to a tilt table and angled 60 degrees to check for fluid leaks, which the car passed the first time. While the vehicle was fueled for entry into the dynamic areas, the Presentation participants prepared for their event.

Team members also performed very well in the Presentation event, being told by the judges that they had taken the highest score of the day by that judge set. They were later told that they had achieved second for the day in that judging group, down by only one point to the best team in that group. Directly after this, the vehicle headed out to the dynamic area to be tested for Noise and Brake. Both were passed quickly, with V46 being tested at 105 dB and passing the brake test on the third try.

The vehicle was then quickly rolled over to the Cost event, where team members discussed the cost, labor, and assembly involved in creation of the vehicle. While scores have not been posted as of yet, the team felt comfortable that their performance went quite well and that the judges were impressed. Finally, at 5:00 pm the design semi-finalists were announced and WWU was selected as 1 of 7 semi-finalists! While this round lasted 1.5 hours, the team still felt that their performance was quite good, and scores will be checked in the morning.

Here is a small collection of shots from yesterday and today, courtesy of Camden Thrasher - Static Events

FSAE West Day 1 - June 17th, 2009

Today the team got settled in at our pit site in AAA Speedway in Fontana, California. The team fully registered, ran through initial tech of driving gear and wheels/tires, ran through official weigh-in (coming in at 467 lbs, only 6 lbs heavier than the previous vehicle on 10" wheels!), and got up to the front of the tech line by the end of the day, ensuring a speedy procedure tomorrow morning. After returning to the hotel and grabbing some dinner, the team prepared for static events by reviewing data and collecting research.

Tomorrow, the week's static events begin. Viking 46 will attend Design, Presentation, and Cost all in one day, after being final tech'd, so it will be a hectic day! More updates to come Thursday night.

Arrival in California Cont. - June 16th, 2009

After unloading the team and gear into the Ontario Hyatt Place hotel, several members traveled to Adams Motorsports Park in Riverside, CA to perform some final testing on Viking 46. Testing went well, and the vehicle was able to spend some time on track amongst the numerous Drift and Time Attack vehicles attending the evening session. After returning to the hotel, some last minutes checks were performed on the motor and an adjustment was made to the muffler to bring sound levels down. The team feels confident that Viking 46 is ready and complete.

The WWU FSAE team would like to extend our thanks to the Adams family for allowing us to make use of their facility and run our car there. Pictures of our vehicles and others running at this impressive facility can be found here- Adams Motorsports Park.

Arrival in California - June 16th, 2009

The team has now arrived at the Hyatt Place in Ontario and we are loading our gear into the hotel. There will be a full update, with pictures, tonight when the team is settled. Thankyou to the Kremsner's for all of their support in the last few days and getting us down here!