Formula SAE

[cbeebz]

Anyone on here part of an SAE team? I've been looking at colleges that have teams, it seems really cool. Any input on what it's like?

[Yogi_Bear]

Honestly I had to look it up, but if I knew about this in college I would have tried to join as well

[FunfGang]

I'll be running SAE baja this coming year, I have been around a lot of Formula teams and helped work on them some though.

[aaron22]

If you are studying engineering or go to school and just are into cars, join for sure. I've been on my school's team for three years now and get more and more involved every year. I started by just doing little jobs here and there at the the team's shop, then got more involved as a department design leader. In my opinion, I've learned far more through SAE than in my actual classes at school, and for that reason, I take it more seriously than my real studies. You will gain a ton of design and manufacturing experience that you can't get in the classroom. Another plus is that employers (especially in the automotive industry) look for FSAE experience.

A word of warning though, things will get tough. Once you get heavily involved, your marks, bank account, and social life will suffer. But stick with it and you won't regret it

[zmancb7]

If you are studying engineering or go to school and just are into cars, join for sure. I've been on my school's team for three years now and get more and more involved every year. I started by just doing little jobs here and there at the the team's shop, then got more involved as a department design leader. In my opinion, I've learned far more through SAE than in my actual classes at school, and for that reason, I take it more seriously than my real studies. You will gain a ton of design and manufacturing experience that you can't get in the classroom. Another plus is that employers (especially in the automotive industry) look for FSAE experience.

A word of warning though, things will get tough. Once you get heavily involved, your marks, bank account, and social life will suffer. But stick with it and you won't regret it

This couldn't be any more true. My school has both an FSAE team and a FSAE Hybrid which is much less competitive.

I couldn't handle either because of the time that needs to be dedicated to working on the car. I wish I could juggle academics, social life and building a race car but I just couldn't. I settled for being a member of the student auto shop but it's not the same. I really want to try and join again later when I get me schedule sorted out,

[NudeLobster]

I'll be on the FSAE team at Georgia Tech this year (freshman year). I have a good understanding of all systems on a car and I have rebuilt both a whole engine and a whole suspension system so I hope I'll be able to start out fairly involved.

-Justin

[aaron22]

This couldn't be any more true. My school has both an FSAE team and a FSAE Hybrid which is much less competitive.

I couldn't handle either because of the time that needs to be dedicated to working on the car. I wish I could juggle academics, social life and building a race car but I just couldn't. I settled for being a member of the student auto shop but it's not the same. I really want to try and join again later when I get me schedule sorted out,

Yeah it is difficult to do it all but remember that its just a volunteer team. We have some guys that show up every once and a while just to wrench on the car and that's perfectly fine. However, the more time you put it, the more you'll get out of it.

I'll be on the FSAE team at Georgia Tech this year (freshman year). I have a good understanding of all systems on a car and I have rebuilt both a whole engine and a whole suspension system so I hope I'll be able to start out fairly involved.

-Justin

You'll have no problems diving right in. Many engineering students don't have background experience and some kids in my final year class still don't know how to turn a wrench. Don't be turned away if the senior guys don't let you design components right off the bat because believe it or not, there are some useful things taught in the first couple years of school that help with design and contribute to good engineering practice.

But for sure, let the team know your background and dive right in. We really value new members who have a good idea of what they're doing

[cbeebz]

I think I'm going to go to school to be a chemical engineer, but I am absolutely in love with cars. I've torn a few apart, wrenched on a few friend's cars, etc. How easy are teams to join, generally? I mean, do you just ask someone who "runs" it and then go from there?

[zmancb7]

I think I'm going to go to school to be a chemical engineer, but I am absolutely in love with cars. I've torn a few apart, wrenched on a few friend's cars, etc. How easy are teams to join, generally? I mean, do you just ask someone who "runs" it and then go from there?

They usually have a fair of sorts where all the clubs have a table and you can get to know a few of the guys/girls and they'll tell you exactly what to expect. Then you can sign up on their email list and be notified of when/where the club meets.

[VR.G2]

FSAE is a really cool and appropriate project team given that you find the right team to join. The idea should be that you are a student full time and do project team stuff on the side, but at my school its completely opposite.

I used to volunteer for the Cornell team and can give you some insight to what that's like. First of all, I was shocked to find out that the majority of the students on the team didn't care for cars. WHAT? I talked to a few of them and they said that they just liked to machine and do that kind of stuff (which is fine), but I had really hoped to find more car nuts on the team like me. I'm assuming that other schools are less like this because it seems to me that the Cornell team is really just in it to win it.

If you ask any Cornell engineer about FSAE, they'll tell you something along the lines of "there goes your life and all your free time." And its true. The team leaders spend 50 hours a week on the team and the average member around 30 hours. They say that the minimum required time is 20 hours but that's just not true.

What do they do? Each member of the team works on a part of the subsystem of the car (engine, suspension, chassis). The team CADs and machines all their own parts unless it's something that's just easier to buy (wheels,springs, etc.). It's great hands on experience.

Definitely talk to the teams before hand to see what the people on the team are like and what you may be getting yourself into. You've got your head in the right place and I hope you have a rewarding experience. Boy do those cars fly, the one at my school did 0-60 in 2.6 seconds.

[zmancb7]

Definitely talk to the teams before hand to see what the people on the team are like and what you may be getting yourself into. You've got your head in the right place and I hope you have a rewarding experience. Boy do those cars fly, the one at my school did 0-60 in 2.6 seconds.

This 100%.

And no joke about the cars you get to see/build.

Here's my school's car

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiEGcXb6DtE&feature=player_embedded"]RPI Formula SAE Team 2012 Promo Video - YouTube[/ame]

[05 Ghost]

It really depends on the school. I was captain at siu 2 yrs ago and with 6 dedicated guys we built the first car that was completed by siu in 9 yrs. But we lived in the shop and did nothing on the weekends but design, fab and build. Our school was stoked to have real work coming out of one of the student shops and gave us decent support.

It can consume you but it is an amazing experience. If you can handle not having a social life out side of the team and finishing your homework in the shop at 3am after working on the car all night then you will love it.

Also most teams want new ppl but are very protective of their work. You will likely have to be willing to work hard and do the crap jobs until you have some respect which might be a while.

If you havnt picked a school yet and fsae is a big deal to you I would look at the fsae Michigan book from last yr and see how big the teams are and what they built. A big team will usually have more money and nicer stuff but you will get to be more involved sooner on a small team. I would shoot for a medium size team that has had a finishing car for several yrs

[VR.G2]

awesome vid zmancb7! nice car you guys got over there. there was some nice sideways action going on too

[iliescu]

I did Formula SAE (open cockpit one seater), UWAFT (UW Alternate Fuels Team), and Midnight Sun (solar project). Each were different in their own way but I would advise you to just show up one day and see what they're about. Some teams will have things that attract you more than others, and they are all glad to be showing newcomers what they do and how they do it. They're always looking for more people and even if you're not heavy into chassis design or engine development there are SO many areas you can help in even without prior experience.

At the end of the day I say do it, no matter how much time it eats up, because it's a fucking BLAST. Looking back at college all I remember is the drinking, the girls, and my teams. #sleepwhenyouredead