{"id":207558,"date":"2023-06-01T18:52:35","date_gmt":"2023-06-01T18:52:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.engr.uconn.edu\/?p=30737"},"modified":"2024-04-04T03:01:53","modified_gmt":"2024-04-04T07:01:53","slug":"uconn-triumphs-with-fastest-formula-sae-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2023\/06\/uconn-triumphs-with-fastest-formula-sae-car\/","title":{"rendered":"UConn Triumphs with Fastest Formula SAE Car"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Olivia Drake, Written Communications Specialist
\nPhotos courtesy of Doug Willoughby\/SAE and the UConn FSAE team<\/strong><\/p>\n

The University of Connecticut\u2019s Formula SAE (FSAE) team<\/a> is defining \u201clife in the fast lane.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the FSAE intercollegiate competition<\/a>, held May 17-20 at Michigan International Speedway, the student-run motorsport club placed in the top 10% of 121 teams from the U.S. and Europe. This was UConn\u2019s 13th year competing.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a whole, this year’s competition was one of the most successful in the team’s history,\u201d said UConn FSAE President Abhimanyu \u201cAbhi\u201d Sukumaran \u201924 (MENG). \u201cThe car and team both performed immaculately, and everyone knows that we brought one of\u2014if not the fastest\u2014cars to competition.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Luka<\/a>
Luka Liguori \u201924 (MENG), seated, participates in a \u201ctilt test\u201d to see if any fluids leak when the car is lifted to a 60 degree angle.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The annual competition, organized by SAE International<\/a> (previously known as the Society of Automotive Engineers) challenges college students to conceive, design, fabricate, develop, and compete with formula-style vehicles. \u201cFormula\u201d vehicles are small, single-seater racecars characterized by a low-to-the-ground aerodynamic design, an open cockpit, and exposed wheels. These high-performance vehicles can reach speeds over 110 mph on certain tracks.<\/p>\n

During the three-day event, teams are awarded points for participation in three static events (cost presentation; design presentation; and business presentation) and five dynamic events (acceleration; skidpad; autocross; fuel economy; and endurance).<\/p>\n

UConn\u2019s vehicle\u2014the CT-14 (Connecticut, version 14)\u2014scored an impressive 28\/30 for its cost analysis presentation and 88\/100 points for the design presentation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year we had very tough judges who grilled us quite a bit and really tested our knowledge,\u201d Sukumaran said. \u201cLuckily we had done a lot of prep work and we managed to get some of the highest scores of the day!\u201d<\/p>\n

But the true test of the CT-14 was measured during the dynamic events. UConn\u2019s team scored 12th in the \u201cfigure-eight\u201d skid pad event; seventh in the 45-second timed autocross event; and first place in the 75-meter acceleration event\u2014with a time of 4.17 seconds.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had been prepping for months trying to get the car setup right and squeeze the most performance out of it,\u201d Sukumaran said. \u201cWe were almost a 10th of a second ahead of second place, so we were thrilled with that result. This was the first time in the team’s history that we have ever won an event and we did it convincingly.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than 70 students worked on the CT-14 during the 2022-23 academic year; 50 of whom went to the competition in Michigan. Team members learn to design, fabricate, assemble, manage budgets, acquire sponsors, and market themselves and their vehicle.<\/p>\n

\"Formula<\/a>
Formula SAE organizing committee member Steve Balanecki congratulates UConn’s driver Tyler Dickey \u201924 (MENG), who placed first in the acceleration event.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More experienced members, such as recent alumnus Simon Getter \u201923 (MENG) frequently take on leadership roles. Getter joined the FSAE team as a freshman\u2014seeking an extracurricular activity where he could learn practical engineering skills alongside like-minded students. As a sophomore, Getter served as the team\u2019s control systems lead, and during his senior year, he served as the controls and ergonomics lead.<\/p>\n

As the controls system lead, Getter\u2019s group made the vehicle\u2019s steering, brakes, seat, and pedals.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn that position I got a ton of very important experience leading and communicating with other systems of the team,\u201d he said. \u201cEngineering wise, I was able to create parts and validate designs with [Computer Aided Design] software and [finite element analysis]\u2014things we touched on in classes but were greatly expanded on during my time on the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

While member participation varies, Getter clocked more than 20 hours a week working on the project\u2014but the dedication paid off. Not only did the team place 11th in the competition, he and 11 other graduating seniors, who were members of the 2022-23 FSAE team, had job offers or plans to continue their education well before graduation in May.<\/p>\n

\"Formula<\/a>
“Formula\u201d vehicles are small, single-seater racecars characterized by a low-to-the-ground aerodynamic design, an open cockpit, and exposed wheels.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“The experience we gain through FSAE complements the more theoretically-based classes at UConn. This keeps our team members balanced and helps us to become the best engineers the school has to offer,\u201d Getter said.<\/p>\n

Thomas Mealy, adjunct professor of mechanical engineering and FSAE senior design advisor credits the team\u2019s success to an overwhelming passion for creating the best car possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cUConn’s Formula SAE team embodies a spirit of excellence, determination, sacrifice, and collaboration,” Mealy said. “They have not only demonstrated remarkable technical prowess in designing and building a cutting-edge race car, but they have also cultivated a culture of innovation and teamwork that sets them apart. This team stands on the shoulders of hundreds of students that preceded them, many of whom come back and offer their advice and experience. As the advisor of this exceptional team, I am immensely proud of their accomplishments, and they are setting the bar high for future teams.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information, visit the team’s website<\/a> or follow @uconnformulaasae on Instagram<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During the Formula SAE intercollegiate competition in May, the student-run motorsport club placed in the top 10% of 120 teams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":212076,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1866],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2514],"class_list":["post-207558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-engr"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-31 22:55:18","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/201"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207558"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207558\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":212077,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207558\/revisions\/212077"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/212076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207558"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=207558"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=207558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}