Ryan ChartrandThe Cal Poly Society of Automotive Engineers is moving full speed ahead into a busy quarter, working hard to prepare its cars for upcoming competitions.
SAE is divided into three teams: Formula, Baja and Supermileage. The teams all work on separate cars and compete in separate competitions, but come together as a club to share a design center and funds.
“That’s the thing with our club: There’s something for everyone,” mechanical engineering sophomore Chris Dirkes said of the club’s diverse interests.
Dirkes is the club’s publicity officer and the Formula team manager. The team is going to the National Hot Rod Association Museum in Pomona with the Cal Poly Pomona SAE club this weekend for a panel discussion with hot rod and motorcycle builder Jimmy Shine.
The Formula team will also be featured on a new show called “Hard Shine” with the man himself on TLC. They are filming the show this weekend.
The Baja team is working on a new car for their competition in South Dakota on May 3. They are using the same frame as last year, but have revamped it with new suspension and a redesign on select systems.
At the intercollegiate competition in May, the Baja team will be judged not only on how its off-road buggy runs, but on the its design as well. The physical competitions are Maneuverability, Rock Crawl, Acceleration, Hill Climb and an Endurance Race that usually lasts 4 hours, according to the team’s Web site.
Industrial engineering senior Holly Dunckel is the new manager of the Baja team. She said that the most important thing in considering a car design is “getting the horsepower to the ground with as little loss as possible.”
In addition to the car used for competition, the team also has a car used for driver training. The team practices and test runs its car in the tractor training field.
New safety regulations this year have required them to put a shield surrounding the gas cap on top of the gas tank to prevent any dangers while fueling. A new, safer gas cap that can stay sealed, even if the car tipped over, is also now required, but the team says they already used the special cap last year.
The Supermileage team is competing in the Shell Eco-marathon at the California Speedway in April. This is the first year the race has been held in the U.S., as it is usually held in Europe.
As their name states, the team is “basically trying to get the highest gas mileage possible” with their car design, said Tom Heckel, mechanical engineering junior. Heckel became involved with the club this year after transferring from the College of Marin.
The club recently received the Outstanding Student Branch Award and their president, Andrew Davidson, has been nominated for the Leadership Development Award.
The club of about 100 members held their first meeting of winter quarter Thursday to give team updates. They meet every Saturday in the hangar of the Research Development building from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to work on their cars. You can check out their Web site at http://calpolysae.org/.