FSAE @ ADFA History

Written by FLGOFF Michael Olsen - submitted Wed 16 Sep 09

The ADFA has been running a practical vehicle design project since 2004. Prior to this students designed and built an electric vehicle. The higher speeds and accelerations of Formula SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) cars caught the attention of several ambitious engineering students who started the ACME Racing team in 2003. The first vehicle, WS01 (named after team faculty advisor and project champion Dr Warren Smith) was designed and built over a two year period. WS01 sported a unique Auscam paint job which made it stand out from the crowd. For a first year car, the team was able to take it to a reasonable finish of 19th place (out of a field of 23). Unfortunately the team had to retire from the endurance event with a broken shear pin in the steering column.

2004

2005

2005 was a year for consolidation and development of the good ideas presented in WS01. WS02 was a simple robust car, it is still running today as a the main driver training vehicle. Much of it's success came from emphasising simplicity and reliability in the design. The paint work was inspired by the 20th anniversary F/A-18 Hornet and looked more like a race car than it's Auscam predecessor. WS02 finished with the teams best result to date in 10th plate (out of a field of 25). The highlight of the FSAE event in 2005 was placing third in the acceleration event with a car weighing in excess of 270kg (the benchmark is 220kg).

2006

In 2006 the team built WS03 which was intended to be a technological development on WS02. Unfortunately it suffered from some attention to detail and design flaws in the suspension. WS03 did however sport some technological advances including an electro pneumatic paddle shift system, custom CNC machined wheels and a bespoke chain drive differential. Suspension loads were fed through some well designed and fabricated 4130 chromoly uprights but were let down by incorrectly loaded rod ends which eventually failed due to overload during endurance event.

2007

WS04 was built in 2007 with an overly ambitious schedule and a swag of technological advances. The design flaws of WS03 were targetted and resolved although to new technologies proved to a be a bridge too far. Unfortunately the lessons of simplicity and reliability were pushed aside in source of technical excellence. WS04 was driven through a bespoke gear driven final drive which proved to be the ultimate weakness of an otherwise strong package. Engine lubrication problems were resolved by integrating a dry sump system which required a custom structural sump plate. The sump plate presented the opportunity to remove chassis weight by loading the engine as a stressed member. Major gains were made during the competition static events however poor reliability meant that WS04 had to retire from the autocross event. A major pat on the back was awarded when the team received the highest cash prize, Best Endeavour Award. It was awarded for the team's determination to make it to the competition and compete after suffering several failures to the final drive system and developing innovative solutions in a short amount of time under high pressure.

2009

Coming Soon