5/15/03

Cheryl Cobb, 334/844-2220

AUBURN RACE CAR TEAMS READY FOR COMPETITION

AUBURN -- Two student race car teams from Auburn University's Samuel Ginn College of Engineering are on the road for competitive events in Detroit and Topeka, Kan.

AU's Formula Society of Automotive Engineers team is in the Motor City for five days of intercollegiate competition against 140 teams from North America and overseas, while AU's solar car is in Kansas to try and qualify for a 2,300-mile solar car race from Chicago to Los Angeles in July.

Sponsored by the Formula SAE consortium, comprised of the big-three automotive manufacturers and the Society of Automotive Engineers, the race is designed to provide an on-road counterpart for the organization's longstanding Mini Baja off-road competition.

Since the first SAE formula event in 1981, the event has grown to attract competitors from as far away as Australia, Japan and Finland.

The competition requires students to design, fabricate and race small, open-wheel cars that look like Indy 500 racers, or their European "formula" counterparts.

Like their big league brothers, students are required to build their racers within certain chassis and engine parameters. They begin with a blank sheet of paper and a thick set of rules, one of which limits engine displacement to 610 cubic centimeters.

Within this framework students are free to use their knowledge, creativity and imagination to build the best possible car. The vehicles are judged in three categories: static inspection and engineering design, solo performance trails, and high-performance track endurance.

"This car is better in every respect than anything we've raced before," says Formula team chief engineer Matt Heffernan of Spanish Fort, Ala. "The frame is stiffer which gives it better handling and the engine has a broader power band, which makes it easier to drive fast on the track."

Formula team captain Charlie Ping of Anniston says he joined the Formula SAE team to build and drive a race car.

"It's a great application of some of the concepts that we're learning in class," he said. "We design the car using principles of computer-aided analysis, and related engineering tools."

Heffernan and Ping said an added benefit was that it helped them bring a big project together, with the management it takes to bring it to completion.

"We start with a clean sheet each year," faculty advisor Peter Jones of the mechanical engineering faculty explains. "Although we have what I call a 'corporate memory' from students who stay over from one year to the next, we're always looking for new and better ways to design the formula car."

But Jones says it is the students, not the faculty, who are in charge of designing, building and producing the racer.

"They're not going to spend the kinds of hours it takes -- and it takes a lot -- in making this project a reality unless it truly belongs to them," he said. "The students are the ones who have to take ownership of the project to make it work, and it's an exciting thing to watch."

While Auburnšs solar car is quieter than its Formula SAE cousin, it is equally impressive. With a top speed of 70 mph, the vehicle has a cruise speed of 30 to 40 mph. The car and crew hope to qualify during the Kansas trip to compete in July's intercollegiate cross country race -- the American Solar Challenge.

The challenge is a 2,300-mile solar car race from Chicago to the Los Angeles area along historic U.S. 66. On July 13-23, university teams from the United States and Canada will compete to build and race solar-powered cars across the country in this educational event.

About 40 solar-powered cars are expected to participate in the race. The car with the fastest cumulative time will win the challenge, which is the longest solar car race in the world.

Auburn's entry took 20 students more than two years to build.

"AU has participated in five solar car races, beginning in 1990," says team captain Chris Trueblood, a junior in electrical and computer engineering. "This year's car is a new design that incorporates the latest battery and solar technologies. It's been a great experience that has given us a good feel for the on-the-job teamwork that will be required when we enter the workplace."

may03:AU-racecars

CONTACT: Cheryl Cobb, 334/844-2220.