S.H.S
Race Team
Participating in the electrathon car race's since 2012!
'14-'15 News
April 24th, 2015
Today we finally had both cars running! For 422 it was the first time since our race in October. For 426 it was the very first time ever! Immidiately we encountered our first problem with 426 that we had anticipated from the begining but we decided to still take it for a test run anyway. The problem was that since we decided to make our steering column out of aluminum it was very weak and immediately started to bend under the pressure of us trying to turn the wheel. We decided to continue practicing even with the comprimised steering because eventhough it was difficult to maneuver it was still possible. Also we were all to excited to finally have it running!
We very quickly learned that 426 was MUCH faster than 422. We held a mock drag race between the two cars. 426 blew 422 straight out of the water. After we were finished practicing we went back to the drawing board to try to come up with a new solution for our steering column and decided that it would be best to use a steel steering column. We hope to have both cars back on the track tomorrow!
April 20th, 2015
Over our April vacation we worked on the putting together the electrical components of 426. We were careful to make sure that all of the wires were neat and tidy while staying efficient and useable. We also worked on our steering and and hopefully found a design that will work well for us. It was a challenge to creat a steering system that was going to accomidate both of the drivers because of the height difference between the both of them.
While a few of us worked on 426 other students worked on rewiring 422 to make it neater as well. An issue was encountered with the throttle and Cory and Sean worked together to fix it.
March 27th, 2015
March 31st, 2015
Today, Marc worked on ballast system with Colin to ensure the best way to create it, and the best weight situations. Cory worked on notching three more tubes for the ballast to be mounted onto that way it can support all the weight that is going to be added.
Jamie started working on getting ends made for the tubes. Brian made a bunch of gussets for the A-arms so that way they can have the proper support.
Today, Cory helped Sean level and measure the wheels on each side to ensure that the wheels are properly aligned. We screwed the tires down to the table and put bolts between the tires to keep them from moving.
April 2nd, 2015
April 7th, 2015
April 9th, 2015
Tom continued to weld the car frame together. Cory and Brian fixed the wires on 422 and got it running again. Cory also made the throttle in 422 better. Colin placed an order for the aluminum tubing we were in need of. Andrew made the seat for our new car, 426, and also attached the hinges. Since we couldn't do much work on 426 because Tom was welding, we all participated in cleaning the shop and making it more organized. Tabs for the ballast system were cut out and bent by Paige.
Cory and Brian worked on the brakes, steering, and wiring needs for 422. Tom continued to weld the new car frame together. The papers for the May race were organized by Jamie and Paige and will be sent in. We came into a problem with 422 with it not running at all. Hopefully we can fix this problem soon and be able to practice with it for the race!
Today, we continued to align the wheel, and worked on aligning the prototype of the bearing holder. We used a jig to hold the wheel at an 85 degree camber. We should be ready to send out the aluminium block to be milled into the bearing holder soon.
Colin Cut out four L shaped aluminum pieces to attach the ballast system to the new car. He also drilled holes in all 4 to screw it to the support bars on the new car. Cory created a gusset for the back right angled bars going up next to the motor to allow easy in and out access and still a strong support. Brian and Andrew cut body out of actual fiber glass.
March 19th, 2015
March 25th, 2015
Today, Tom and Sean worked on finding the proper placement of the steering knuckle, and where the mounting brackets needed to be. Plus, We went over the placement and size needed for the bearing holders. Colin started cutting out L shaped pieces of metal so that we could connect the ballast to the frame of the car. Cory struggled with Mr. Perruci to get a correctly notched back bar. Brian and Andrew both started cutting out body designs on paper so we can all choose one that we like.
Today in class, Tom continued to work on the steering knuckles he also started to map out and drill the holes needed to mount the spindle and brakes. Marc and Colin both worked on finding the correct weight to put in the ballast for our drivers so that they all weigh 180. Brian and Jamie both cleaned up the shop and organized essential items so that we can work faster while Sean works on the steering for our new car.
March 3rd, 2015
Today, Cory and other students had to take apart the wooden jig table for the tire, and tire hub and replaced it with the aluminum cut outs, after drilling holes that they marked them to fit in the same exact position as the CAD diagrams. As well, they measured the middle and screwed the whole jig down onto the table again. Cory also worked on notching the back bars near the motor mount and bars from roll bar to the motor mount. He had some help to re notch after a small mess up.
We took the motor and placed it inside the frame for an example of where it would sit and where the motor mount would have to be. This was used to show where the aluminum pipes had to go in order to hold the motor mount in place.
We also, got the Electrathon America License and Registration so that we can compete in the upcoming race in May.
This was another great successful class!
February 27th, 2015
Today, our class went to the Fabrication shop to continue working on our new car it was quite the successful class! Tom and a few other students worked on recreating one of the tubes for the rear of the cars chassis, the aluminum tube that connects the rear most support bar of the chassis and the main loop of the roll cage to the rear dropout. After cutting the new tube. After Tom tack welded it into place, only enough to hold it in position, but still have the option of moving it into place once we get the plates cut for the dropout.
Also, Jamie and Paige worked together and talked to one of our teacher talk to Mr. Catnese about creating stickers for our sponsors to place on our car.
February 25th, 2015
Today, we found out that we recieved two very generous donations from Tire Shak along with Andie's Bounce Barn! Thank you so much! Also, Paige and Jamie are working on creating stickers for each of the sponsors to put onto our car. We are working on signing a picture to give to our new sponsors! Colin worked on the informational fact sheet. We are now applying for electrathon america racing license so that way we can compete in the May race. We are trying to determine what number we would like on the side of the car.
Also, today we are adjusting the A arms to make them better for the car, they are cutting out plates to put on the A arms, and notching tubes for roll bar support. Also we are continously welding the car together. We are making progess quickly!
February 23rd, 2015
Today we continued working on the shoulder bars that we did not have enough time to complete thursday after school, we were able to finish cutting and notching the shoulder bars to fit on to the electrathon car where they needed to go. After completing this Tom helped Andrew fit the bars that supported the top front of the chassis. After school Tom was able to finish fitting them in properly, Then we tack welded the top front chassis supports in place.
February 19th, 2015
Today we continued to try to get into contact with possible sponsors. I had some luck with Andy’s Bounce Barn and will be picking up a check from them tomorrow. Also, we made sure to find out when everyone will be available next week so that we can reschedule an appointment with Bakes N Cakes in Southbury. They seem interested so fingers crossed!
Today we continued printing out the blueprints for the tubes that needed to be created. After printing out the designs, we rough cut the tubes that will become the rear supports for the electrathon cars roll cage. We left a half inch of space to allow the tubing to move while being bent, without making the tube too short, We notched the end of the tube that will connect to the top of the roll cage, and used our tubing bender to create the bend in the tube, that will allow it to connect to both the main loop of the roll cage, and the structural tubing in the rear of the car.
February 13th, 2015
January 28th, 2015
Today in class we started off in the classroom, then we headed over to the metal fabrication shop and started cutting roll bar supports which are placed behind the roll bar to prevent the roll bar from falling over. Two students worked collaboratively to cut and notch the supports for the frame, and they tack welded them on. Mr. Lucke our assistant principal was trying to help us get the software fro the plasma table on the computer. Also, we have gotten up to date with potential sponsors by calling them and seeing if they are willing to help support our amazing car club and alternative energy 3 class.
Also, we managed to get a donation from a local business called tire shak and Hot Grill N Pizza. Thank You so much for these donations. We are very greatful for these contributions.
January 23rd, 2015
Today students split up into teams to complete a bunch of different tasks. Some students were in the metal fabrication shop and others in the computer lab updating sponsorships, websites, as well as our goals for the next month. Students in the car shop spent time measuring, cutting and notching the vertical support bars for our race car. These are a crtical part of the frames design, the notching tool we have has been working great for making fast precise cuts of our tubing.
We are ensuring each tube fits properly to have a tight and strong frame. Students have been working on contacting local community businesses to gather support for our program. Many business are willing to support we are finding out! One of our first donors has been Fritzs snack bar, located in Oxford, CT. We are very thankful for their contribution to our goals! http://www.fritzssnackbar.com/
January 19th, 2015
January 21st, 2015
Today students are all in the shop. There are many tasks to complete. A few students are simply cleaning the shop in order to maintain organization of the space. We have students also cutting small pieces of wood to start laying out our frames tubing. These small pieces of wood will hold the tubing in place as a jig table so when we go to weld it, all the tubing will be in the correct spot and within the tolerances we have choosen.
Other students are notching our roll bar that we bent after school the other day. This is a critical step because it determines the height of the entire car and how the seat will be angled. We seem to have gotten it within an 1/8th of an inch of what our goal was in the blue print design. The roll bar is also one pieces from the bottom of the frame to the top. It is critical that its straight and true.
Our torchmate plasma table is still being assembled by Sean. It is a long process in which we have to ensure the table is level and square. This way when we plug in all the electronics we can program it and use it right away.
Today our students were in the car shop. Tom and Mr. Stock started to lay out the pieces for the car frame. This is the first part of the frame. They are ensuring that this is straight and to our exact measurements, it is a critical part of this build. Last class with the help of Mr. Perrucci we bent up our roll bar and we have put the rollbar into place on the jig table.
Other students are cutting out pieces of plate aluminum for the dropouts on the car. We are hoping to have a local business cut these pieces into our rear wheel drop outs and motor mount with their plasma table. We have our own plasma table which is still being assembled by students. It is a long task and we are afraid it will not be done in time to cut our pieces we need. Students are continuing to contact local businesses to find support for our program!
Today our class had a half of a day schedule, this ment we only have 55 minutes in class. While building our car is the main goal of the class, another very important part is that the students do well on the CTE pre-engineering testing in May. This is a very important test for the class because it helps the students understand the content and curriculum of the car building process.
Once the testing was complete the students took all of the content from the test and created a google doc that highlights all of the important facts and topics the students need to know for the exam. Each student is required to fill out the document on each topic, this way everyone can contribute to the document and we are able to review it at a later date.
January 15th, 2015
Today in class students spent more time in the computer lab working on their google doc of the CTE pre-engineering standards. It is critical we get a jump start on this as there is a lot of information to go over before the May testing date. This google doc will be updated for homework every night after class. During our next class period students will also be working on this during the half day schedule. While this is taking away time from the actual building of the car it is important that we get this information started.
January 9th, 2015
January 13th, 2015
We are starting to dig deeper into the Torchmate plasma table assembly. Sean is studying the plasma tables instruction manual so we can ensure that is is properly assembled. The students have already cut out the basic parts of the bottom of the frame so we can mount them into our jig table set up we are creating. The tubing was cut during the after school club time. We have lost a large amount of time due to snow days so we are hoping to make up time during our after school activities.
We have students working on making a large list of potential sponsorships. This is an ongoing process because there are many companies and business to contact in the Seymour area. We are hoping to promote some great businesses and create a great report with them through the sponsorships.
Today in class students are continuing to assemble the Torchemate plasma table. The table requires students to put down almost 60 different 4" wide pieces of steel in which the material you are cutting can lay on. Students are currently studying the instruction manual so that we can learn to operate the plasma table without any problems There are many wires on this machine and making sure they are all laid out safely, neatly and clean is the goal. The jig table is coming along slowly and soon we will be able to lay tubing on it to create the base of our car. Paige is currently contacting companies in the Seymour area in hopes of obtaining commuity support for our program. The class over the last few days have been very productive. Soon we will be able to actually cut metal and begin the build of our new cars frame.
January 7th, 2015
Today in class, students have resumed working on finding sponsors for our program. We want to find companies that will be willing to support the great work we do in our class and club. The companies should also be related to something automotive if possible. Students are also assmebling the parts of our torchmate plasma table. Today we also received the shipment of steel plates for the plasma table. These plates will help support the material that will be cut on the plasma table.
January 5th, 2015
Jamie, Cory, Colin, Marc and Paige are in search of sponsors for our car for materials and to build positive relationships with the community.
Tom is finishing up the car on Solid Works while helping Sean figure out steering.
December 16th, 2014
December 22nd, 2014
Currently we are trying to analyze the strength of our materials by using a formula which will be interpreted and put to use by Mr Sirowich, a physics teacher at Seymour High who also has a degree in engineering. Cory and Brian are in charge of bringing the formula and numbers to Mr. Sirowich. Paige is talking to another engineer who is willing to help us with our solid-works complications while Tom works on the car in solid-works. Sean and Jamie are working on a timeline for our future goals that need to be completed before the next race.
We had winter break for two weeks and progress came to a halt during this time. Today we are getting back to work by getting a piece of plywood to create a jig table so that we can start cutting tubing and building the car. Brian and Jamie are working on a presentation for fundraising. Tom and paige are revising our car design in solid works in order to have a more accurate version of our blueprint so that we can accurately test our strength of the new car design.
December 12th, 2014
We looked threw all our parts to find out what we still need to buy or if we need extras. Made a list of parts we still need to order. Sean is working on the steering on solid works. Marc is looking up funraisers and Colin and Cory are updating the website.
December 18th, 2014
Today we've made the choice to race two cars instead of three come May, due to prices and materials. Paige and Brian are creating a presentation for company's we'd like to sponsor us. Talked about various donation techniques and finances.
December 10th, 2014
December 8th 2014
Sean has been developing and testing different types of steering. Paige has been developing the steering knuckle and our baring dimensions. Tom has been builing an assembly of our car with our motor mount, motor, sprockets for the motor and the rear hub to see if everything will fit and align properly.
We updated the requisition forms while Tom and Paige started building the motor mount, motor, steering knuckle, and steering linkage on solid works.
December 4th 2014
December 1st 2014
Today, Marc and Colin worked on an order list for parts. Paige and Tom continued to work on Solidworks for our new car frame while
Sean and Jamie were looking at steering components.
Today we had an art exhibit for the Board of Education and parents in the cafeteria after school to display and discuss our cars. Also, we explained the process of learning which goes on in the classroom. We also showed them what we use to build with, such as 3D printers and CAD programs.
We got to show off our cars in the Seymour Christmas Parade, gave out business cards and candy. We got more promotion in the town after everyone saw what we've built. We attached two small trailers onto each car and pulled decorations.
November 30th 2014
We did a dyno test with different gears to find out our top speed, which was 26 mph. We are not sure if this is the gear that we want to use, or if it is more efficient. Our lowest speed was 18 mph
November 24th 2014
Marc and Colin are working on updating the website. Cory and Brian are working on a presentation for our upcoming art exhibit December 1st, 2014. Paige, Tom, Sean, and Jamie are working with solidworks to put together a motor mount and Tom is trying to design the a arms.
November 14th 2014
We were in the shop and the torchmate plasma cutter was being delivered after school and we started assembling it. Also, we talked about the size of the a arms for the new car, to determine which would be best for efficiency.
November 20th 2014
Sean and Paige were drawing a full scale drawing of the new car we are planning on building. Tom has been working with solidworks in an attempt to put our car together and get basic dimensions of the new car and see if certain dimensions will work.
November 18th 2014
We did a dyno test with different gears to find out our top speed, which was 26 mph. We are not sure if this is the gear that we want to use, or if we want to use a different gear that it is more efficient. Our lowest speed was 18 mph which would give us the most efficiency.
November 12th 2014
Marc and Colin put on the brakes and tightened the screws on the tire arms. Continued cleaning, big project was getting the batteries in the cabinet so that we had more room in the shop for other items.
November 10th 2014
Everyone cleaned the shop and rearranged all the tools because we got new toolboxes. We also moved all the welding tables and supplies to the other side of the shop so we could put the plasma cutter in the corner. Plus, we got rid of one of the big tables and cut one in half so that we can put the cars on each half.
November 7th, 2014
Students came during free period to draw full scale drawing. This helps so much because it makes us one step closer to building our 3rd car.
November 6th, 2014
We finally got our final draft of the article for the board of education. Now we can procced to our news article for our local newspaper. After, we started drawing a blueprint in full scale of the car on brown paper to ensure that we can make quick changes to the car.
November 3rd, 2014
Today, we wrote the letter to the newspaper. We decided on pictures to print out to show on the bulletin board and then also started drawing out a full size side view of our new car.
October 30th, 2014
Today, we went wrote our letter to the board of education, and started our news article. We also went into our car shop and measured our cars to help us get a little jump start on building the new car. We also got a lot of new tools which will help us build the new car in a more efficient manner.
October 24th, 2014
Race Day
October 20th, 2014
We are installing the brake light and checking the brakes today on car 422. There was also a flat tire and the ballast broke on car 424; Sean, Cory, and Brian are repairing it. To fix the flat tire Brian and Mr. Stock are drilling holes in the rims so that we can take out the air valve and replace it in a more convenient spot on the rim. The tires on car 422 are being worked on also, Tom is putting pins into the tire so that we can give it more support and keep it in place so it doesn't wobble. Sean, Brian, Paige, and Jamie are looking for a hollow metal pipe to put through the ballast hole so that we can keep the ballast in. We ended up finding a perfect tube for the ballast but one of the holes wasn't big enough and we had to re drill it so that the tube we found could fit. Cory and Andrew are also messing around with the ballast weights so that they can find the correct weight for themselves that they will be using to weigh in with at the race. Brian and Cory pumped up all of the tires on both cars and they were able to fix the flat on car 424.
October 16th 2014
This past week of school has been chaos due to a day off monday, no class tuesday and testing on wednesday, so our first class was today thursday. We have been staying after school however all week and a lot of progress has been made. During the time after school we were able to paint the 424 car bright pink to help #ninastrong and her battle against cancer. It was our first time painting with a real paint gun so we were very happy with how it came out. Mr. Lucke is an expert at putting on decals so we had him put all the decals on the car which also look great. We have been figuring out how to put the ballast in the cars for both cars and both drivers.
A new ballast was bought for the 422 car, a 130lb 4” across 3ft long chunk of steel. We had to cut it down which took 2hours on the bandsaw. But now we have a new ballast container and ballast for that car! We wired up the taillight on 422 and got it working great. The body of 422 also went onto the car, we had to modify it for our new ballast system but seeing it all come together is a great thing, we are very excited for it!
The 424 car has had some serious changes to the ballast system, for one driver we have two, 25lb weights bolted to the frame on the front of the car and then only 1 40lb chunk of steel in the back of the car. This is being finalized and the drivers are practicing their pit stops with the seat belts to become more familiar with them. The 424 body will be waxed soon and looking really good. The weather is rainy so we cannot go outside to test but we will be in the gym practicing our pit stops this afternoon. We have a half day so we can work for almost 6 whole hours on it. The race is coming up next friday and we still have a lot to do!
October 10th 2014
Today we are placing the practice tires on the cars because we don't want to ruin our new tires. We determined the ratios for the paint so we can paint the 424 car today so that way it would be ready for the race. We also placed and wired the brake light on the 422 car. After we put the practice tires on we tightened the chain so we had the right tension. Also, To prevent the driver from accidentally hitting the throttle control we created a throttle box so the cable will not disconnect during the race. In order for the driver to be more comfortable in the 424 car we created a foot rest and placed it on the car. We are slowly counting down the days to the race and hoping that we are going to be finished. But we always pull it off!
October 8th 2014
Today during class we finished welding up some of the bars on the 422 car so we can start re-assembling the wiring and components we had to remove for the welding. The class is trying to figure out how to put ballast in for the 424 car, Jamie and Paige need a lot of weight in order to meet the 180 pounds so fitting that much weight in a small space is difficult. The students are playing with ideas of using lifting weights from the gym, and making a bracket out of wood for them to fit on. We are also practicing using the seatbelts getting them on and off fast. The 424 car is going to be painted in the next few days so we are setting up a paint booth in one of our cargo trailers.
October 6th, 2014
Today we started off the class with figuring out who was doing what during the day and what we needed to get done. This put things into perspective with the amount of time we have left in our class. There is not much left before the actual race occurs. So the goals were to finish welding the 422 car with newly discovered tips of welding aluminum. We bought acetone and scotch bright pads. This made a huge difference in how the aluminum welded so we were able to finally get some good welds on the aluminum. We also were sanding down the body of 424 and making the bondo nice a smooth ready for paint. The paint booth needs to be set up in our woodshop but we ran into an issue of the fan in the room not working so we need an electrician to get in to fix our fan before we can paint properly. The 424 car was set up for a test drive and Paige took the wheel. We were going slow testing out how it ran and then had a mishap with the curb, it broke all the threaded rod that supports the front fiberglass section of the bottom of the body. The 424 car was brought back in and stripped down so we can fix it. The hardware store had more threaded rod of what we needed, ¼-20 rod and it will go back on this afternoon.
October 2nd 2014
Today we were focused to get a lot done. The team split up into groups of two, one on each car. Three students worked on checking the throttle cable for the 424 car. We found out a previously welded nut broke loose and needed to be rewelded. We also allowed the roll bar of the 424 car to tilt more forward to make it easier for the batteries to be removed. We did this by cutting an angle on the front of the tubing at the base of the roll bar. The seat belt strap tube on the roll bar was final welded so it is safe for students to use. We also checked over all the wiring on the 424 car to make sure there were no loose connections. We also spent time organizing and charging up all of the batteries for the cars.
Students also spent time working with Mr. Stock to weld on the final parts of the roll bar, shoulder bars and roll bar supports. Other students are finishing painting the new body for the 422 car. We are making the new body half the weight of the old body to hopefully increase efficiency when it comes to our cars performance. We need to figure out how to support the seat so there is no more flex in it. It is created from thin wood and we raised the angle of the seat to 55 degrees, so with the new seat supports we need to adjust its support system. During the end of class students called our sponsor, NuAge Design and ordered stickers for the Nina Strong themed car. We hope to have the stickers by next wednesday.
September 30th, 2014
Today, we worked on welding the roll bar on our 422 car. We are still having trouble with our aluminum welding. Slowly Mr. Stock and Tom have been practicing and they're now able to safely weld the roll bar on. Also, we're adding bracing to the new roll bar as well. Other students are cleaning the 424 body sanding it down and preparing it for paint. Our 422 car is getting a thinner, lighter, and more efficient body put on it so it will be ready for race day. The body was cut out and is currently being painted. Paige is working on building a human in Solid Works a CADD progam which powers our 3D printers. The human will be for our new car that we will be making for the Spring 2015 race. The website will also be worked on daily.
September 26th, 2014
Today we worked on the 424 car and established our new aluminum roll bar. We had some complications fitting the roll bar on but with the help of Mr. Stock we got it to work. We sanded the body of the 424 car and prepped it for the new paint job. We also spent time cutting out a new thinner body for the 422 car. Hopefully, this will help with the efficiency of the car. Our old body was 13 pounds this new one will be half of that when it is all done. The tig welding of aluminum is presenting quite the challenge to us, slowly but surely we are getting the hang of it. We are planning a paint job for both cars.
September 24th, 2014
Today we started off in the classroom with a great idea. A fellow classmate in our class last year got diagnosed with brain cancer on her brain stem in November 19th in 2013. We had a discussion in class that for our yellow car, 422, we should paint the car pink to promote helping Nina. We will have "Nina Strong" written on the car and probably the Nina Ribbon on it. We want to put her go fund me page on the car also, possibly with a QR scanner. If you click on the pink image to the right,
it will bring you to Nina's Go Fund Me Page.
Next in today's class we are working in Solid Works to create our drivers for the race in October. The other people in our class are continuing to work on the new rollbars for 424 and 422.
September 22nd, 2014
Today we are making a roll bar for 424. Also, we are making shoulder bars for the 422 car. We are trying to learn how to make an arc out of aluminum for the roll bar. We are practicing bending it with conduit before we use the expensive stuff. Part of our class was working on notching the shoulder bars for the car so that they can be welded. We also established a more secure flooring for the car. Plus we were able to organize most of our tools while Tom worked on the lathe. Andrew was making a mold to arc the rollbar.
Septemeber 18th, 2014
We have some Goals for today: Work on roll bar and side bars. raise seat, and shorten steering column. Also, fill out drivers paperwork
We went out to the shop to start modifying our vehicles from the ideas we had last class. We cut two small pieces of tubing to raise up the seat angle, these will be welded on at a later date. We also cut and bent both shoulder guard pieces. This is a very important step for the 422 car. We also shortened the steering column in the 422 car to make sure it is more comfortable for the drivers. We took the roll bar off of the 424 car to replace it with a new one. The roll bar has been tested 2 times in the past and we believe is a good idea to replace it at this point. While we are making a new one we will make sure it is taller as well and wider so there is no issue with keeping the driver under it during inspection and racing.
September 16th, 2014
Today, we discussed our order list for the new car, tried to establish what parts we want for our new car, new throttle, batteries, controller, and heim joints for our new car. Researched technical specs of perm132 motor and LEM200-d135. Decided to stay with perm 132, Pricing list is working out well, Discussed team roles of who is doing what for the year, established drivers for both october and may races. Working on cars website to keep it updated. Getting more freshman into the car club.
422- Updates
-Change angle of 422 cars seat to a more upright position
-Make roll bar taller
-Pad the cross member under legs
-Change and lower steering column
-Mirrors
-We are Establishing where we are placing the roll bar and how we are changing the seat angle to make it more comfortable. We are putting it at 55 degrees to allow a more comfortable ride and visibility. We are also adding shoulder bars to make sure we are legal. A 2nd roll bar will be added to the car to also make sure we are in compliance with the rules. The roll bar will be 5 inches taller than the current one.
424- Updates
-Fix roll bar
-Develop better ballast system
-Mirrors
-Increase roll bar size
September 15th, 2014
Today, we held our first car club meeting. We gained new people which is a big plus. Some of the new people were freshman they are determined to do something very innovative just as much as everyone else. We drove both cars for first time this year to make sure that they were still properly functioning. One of the batteries that we had was completely dead meaning that we can no longer use it and will have to purchase a new one very soon. We are all very excited for the upcoming race in October!
September 12th, 2014
Today, we researched a shopping list of what we need to purchase this year for our cars. We are creating a new car for our Spring 2015 race which we are really excited about. As well we determined what throttle system we need to use. This year we are going to try to use a thumb throttle on a new car. We also created a list of who the drivers are, we are happy to say that we have 2 female and 2 male drivers this year! Also, we found out that the first race is October 24th and we have only 14 classes until the race day. We better get moving! We have a lot of work to do in such little time.
September 10th, 2014
Today, we started deciding on what role each student will be undertaking for the year. Also, we started brainstorming ideas and goals for the new car. We also went over the calendar to establish a timeline for the car. We are still not sure when the Fall 2014 race will be but hopefully we will find out soon. Who knows what this year might bring!
September 8th, 2014
To start off today we researched many different types of engineering jobs that are in the world to see what we are interested in and to see what are strengths, and weaknesses are. Everyone had to contact engineering professionals to get a general idea of what their daily life is like, what they do on the job, and to see why they like doing what they do.