Optimal Car for Weekend Autocross Racer

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Our formula team has spent the past year designing, building, testing and optimizing a race car for the weekend Autocross enthusiast. We have focused on increasing speed and maneuverability while maintaining an easy to maintain, safe car. Our car features a steel space frame chassis designed to fit the 95th percentile male driver, with an adjustable pedal box and 5 point safety harness. To further increase safety, a dynamically tested impact attenuator has been attached to the front of the car, designed to fully absorb the energy of the car hitting a solid barrier at 15 mph. The engine package features a Honda CBR 600 engine that has been augmented with a custom fuel injection system, 4-2-1 exhaust system and variable length intake runner system. Additionally a electro-pneumatic paddle shift system has been implemented on the car enabling the driver to keep both hands on the wheel and reduce shift times. Carbon fiber and other composite components are used throughout the car to increase chassis stiffness and reduce weight as much as possible. All major components; frame, outboard suspension, drivetrain, and hubs have undergone extensive finite element analysis to improve stiffness while minimizing weight. The car also has an aerodynamics package specifically designed for the typical speeds encountered on an autocross course. All together these optimizations have created a 450 lb car boasting 75 HP and 45 ft-lb of torque and capable of generating upwards of 160 lbs of downforce at 70 mph. Sitting on 7 inch racing slicks at each corner, the car can consistently beat almost every production supercar in 0-60 mph times, and can pull 1.75 lateral g's in a corner. This car is the perfect design for the weekend autocross enthusiast who desires a car to compete in Sports Car Club of America sanctioned events around the country.

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  • ABOUT THE ENTRANT

  • Name:
    Japheth Learn
  • Type of entry:
    team
    Team members:
    Bryan Reinheimer Chassis Engineer
    David Donohue Chief Engineer
    Matthew Smith Project Manager
    Evan See Brake Engineer
    Timothy Monahan Drivetrain Engineer
    Johnathan Scanlon Engine Engineer
    Taylor Hattori Engine Builder
    Aleksey Kovtun Suspension Engineer
    Dominic Bugge Composites Engineer
    Edward Gliss Assistant Project Manager
    Eric Sheen CNC Group Leader
    Tyler Peterson Fabrication Group Leader
  • Hardware used for this entry:
    Dell, HP and Lenovo workstations
    Software used for this entry:
    Pro Engineer, Solidworks, CFdesign, ANSYS
  • Patent status:
    none