Formula SAE, or FSAE, is a collegiate design competition hosted by SAE, the Society of Automotive Engineers. In FSAE, students design, build, and compete with small, formula-style race cars. Students must assume that a manufacturing firm has engaged them to design and build a prototype car for the weekend autocross racer.
The car must be of high performance in terms of acceleration, braking, and cornering. It must also be affordable, reliable, and easy to maintain. A typical FSAE car might weigh about 550 pounds, have about 80 horsepower, and be capable of accelerating from 0-60 miles per hour in under 4 seconds. The rules are restrictive enough to make the cars safe and economical, but lenient enough to allow high performance and unique designs. Some important guiding rules are:
The students must build the car in a methodical and professional manner: all costs and manufacturing processes must be documented and all engineering decisions – such as suspension geometry and layout – must be defended and explained. The winner of the competition is determined not just by fast lap times, but also by having a well-designed and practical car. Formula SAE is a very large and competitive series, with over 130 teams competing. Many of the teams are from American universities, but other teams come from as far as Finland and Japan.
How much does FSAE cost?
Formula SAE programs vary greatly from team to team. Some schools have very large budgets and teams with over 60 members, whereas other schools with newer programs have much smaller budgets and teams of only 5-10 members. All teams must consider their available resources and set goals accordingly.
WPI’s Proposed Budget for Formula SAE 2009
Building a competitive FSAE racecar is challenging and not inexpensive, and we owe a lot to our sponsors.