sae.sjsu@gmail.com

Writers and Editors: Marjo Mallari

Ross Fraser, Manuel Mangrobang, Dustin Decker, Robby Sampson,

Moy Barajas

facebook.com/SpartanRacingSJSU @Spartan_Racing

arly this month Spartan Racing made our

way in to the Silicon Valley International Auto

Show. We set up a booth in our continuous

attempt to meet new people and make

connections but of course we made time to check

out the newest vehicles available for 2012. I was

most excited to see one of the new Fiat 500s but

ended up disappointed. I was hoping that a little

European flavor in an American company would

help to improve Chrysler’s products, but it seems that they only managed to make the Fiat feel small

and cheap. I got an alternate opinion from a young

man named Troy who was looking at the same car

as me. Troy thought the car was super cool and

wants one when he gets old enough to drive. There were few cars that seemed original or

innovative at the show but one that comes to mind is the Scion IQ. It seems perfect that the

compact vehicle manufacturer would eventually build a micro car to compete with the likes

of the Smart Car. The worst feature a manufacturer was touting this year was the new Dodge Challenger’s driver side fuel filler door,

and the best was Mercedes’ trunk bag. The

Mercedes S-Line can come equipped with a

drawer mounted within the trunk that you can

pull out and transform in to a bag to keep

items from rolling around the trunk; an

interesting little feature. It was great to get my hands on this year’s newest vehicles and see

what today’s automotive engineers can do

and I am now more confident than ever that

the next generation of engineers that Spartan

Racing is molding will be more impressive.

E Ross Fraser

his month, Spartan Racing was honored to

be invited to SAE Mid-Cal section's Collegiate

Design Series Outreach event. SAE

partnered with World Speed Motorsports to

host teams from four schools, as well as numerous

industry professionals at Infineon Raceway in

Sonoma, California. In addition to our Formula and Hybrid/Electric teams, teams from Sacramento

State, UC Merced, and UC Berkeley also attended.

In addition to seeing a presentation given by one of our

own alumni, Joey Penniman, we had the opportunity to

network with other teams as well as the professionals

themselves, who spent three hours answering questions

about design review. We also had the chance to give

feedback to Kinelogic, a company based in Sacramento

that is marketing a data-acquisition system tailored to

FSAE teams.

Moy Barajas, the FSAE Powertrain Team lead, had this to

say about the event: “[I] had a good conversation with

Paul Hasselgren about engine stuff...regarding valve overlap and muffler design... He basically

confirmed some assumptions I had, but also raised more questions I'm interested in testing.”

Robby Sampson, the FSAE Chief Engineer: “The event was very well organized and had a bigger

turnout than we expected.” He went on to say that the event benefited the team most by getting

team members in the proper mindset for a design review, and kicking off design binder material

preparation. This turned out to be quite a valuable outing and hope we are invited to this event again

next year.

he Formula Team’s 2012 challenger, SR-4

began to taking shape on January 16th with

the arrival of our chassis tubing. All of our

steel tubing arrived laser cut and ready for

welding thanks to the awesome folks over at Carroll

Racing Development in Orange, CA (http://www.crd-

usa.com/). The weeks prior were spent preparing

and assembling the frame welding fixtures. Once

the tubing arrived, we didn’t waste any time getting

to work. Thanks mainly in part to the oversight of our Manufacturing Lead, Ryan Sharp, three days

after delivery every tube had been tacked in place and in another few days the tubes were almost

fully welded, the engine had been test fit, and the frame was ready for brackets. Because many

other components require a completed chassis the real manufacturing can finally begin.

Morgan Crouch

T

Robby Sampson

T

FORMULA u p d a t e January has been a tense month as we try to pick up

steam after the break, but we all feel confident about our

current progress.

The Chassis Team has nearly finished manufacturing the

frame and the engine has been test fit to ensure proper

mounting and clearance. The next step is the design and

manufacture of a rig for testing the torsional rigidity and

structural efficiency of the frame. The data from the chassis

tests are important to the design judging portion of our

competition and give us reassurance of the frame’s strength.

The Suspension Team has been well underway

manufacturing the smaller components of the spring/damper

systems, including the bell cranks, brackets, and the numerous

inserts and spacers. The tedious manufacturing of the major

components of the wheel package, specifically the hubs,

uprights, and wheel centers, have also begun, and should be

completed in the coming weeks. Assembly and manufacturing of the control arms and brackets will

begin shortly as well. Morgan Crouch, Suspension Lead, has done a great job motivating himself and

his subteam and it shows.

Of all the subteams the Powertrain Team has made perhaps the most progress over the winter

months. Moy Barajas, our Powertrain Lead, opened our engine and completed the numerous

modifications we had planned. These included removing the top two gears in the transmission,

increasing the compression ratio, and adjusting the intake and exhaust cam timing. The engine block

and covers have been painted following this year’s black and teal paint scheme. The intake system is

currently in its final design phase, and components of the oil and fuel systems have begun

manufacturing. The team hopes to begin initial testing and

verification of the engine modifications by installing the

engine into SR-3, our 2011 car, in the near future.

Our Composites/Aero Team has decided not to

continue further development of a rear floor diffuser due to

time and resource issues. However, they are still working

diligently to finalize designs for the essential sidepods and

nosecone. Next, Composites plans to begin structural testing

the carbon fiber structural floor panels. We would also like

give big thanks to our new sponsor, Axiom Materials, Inc.

(http://www.axiommaterials.com/), who donated enough pre-

impregnated composites to last us for a long while. Welcome

to the team.

Our Electronics and Firmware team successfully

assembled our new Megasquirt III ECU and are beginning to

put together the wiring harness so that engine testing and

troubleshooting can begin.

Robby Sampson

ELECTRIC his winter break, Electric has not been able to move forward with manufacturing.

Frame design has been finalized with electrical components in mind, but the

frame jig and frame manufacturing has crawled to a standstill. Yet again, this team is behind.

On the bright side, the Electrical Sub team has been able to move forward. We have

finally decided on what components to use. The car will be using the same electric

powertrain as that of the road-going motorcycles from Zero Motorcycle, the same

batteries, motors, and motor controllers. All we need to go ahead with the purchase is

to arrange a price and find the funds.

We have discussed making the Formula Electric car a two year project, yet even with

the amount of delays the team still wants to make the car as a one year project.

Changing to a two year schedule would surely cause a plummet in team moral. For now

we are committed to working hard to achieve our goal but will reevaluate if it becomes

necessary.

u p d a t e Manuel Mangrobang

T

BAJA u p d a t e he Baja team has been working outside of the shop notching tubing and beginning to weld our frame together. We built a set-up that will

allow for the frame to be completed outside of our shop since space has become limited. By the beginning of February we plan on finalizing our gearbox design but keeping to our timeline is proving harder than

expected. There are some near future purchases, such as axles, tires and rims, safety gear, shocks, and brakes that we need to deal with. This year we plan on upgrading our shocks, if funding will allow, to adjustable float shocks so we can better tune the suspension. The axles will be out of a Yamaha ATV and should fit up nicely to our differential. With the start of classes, shop problems and most of our team working to pay for school, finding a time and place to work on the vehicle is becoming our biggest obstacle. In an effort remedy the problem we have set aside weekends throughout the semester dedicated to working on the vehicle so that we can get back on schedule.

Dustin Decker

T

Messages from our SPARTAN RACING Alumni:

-communication -researching -problem solving -organization

Make a Difference

Support project-based Many college students today graduate without the hands-on experience that they need to flourish in the work environment. Our program is the answer to this problem! Our students receive special training that puts them ahead of the curve in the professional sector. Through participating, they build real-world skills in: -leadership -project management -team work -critical thinking

Project-based learning is proven to produce students that are motivated, energized, and focused. Supporting our program provides our student members with opportunities to be the directors and managers of their own learning. Becoming a Sponsor means that you are fostering experiences that our students will never forget, as they learn knowledge by using it in exciting and challenging ways. Please join us in our advancement, we are prepared to present to you what our enriched relationship may hold.

“If you really commit to participating in SAE projects, you will raise the bar of your own expectations and performance. It takes a lot, but it’s about pushing yourself further. That’s what puts you years ahead of your peers.”

Johanna Knudsen EMC Test Engineer, Cisco Systems

“Today's automotive industry targets students from SAE International's Collegiate Design Series to be the next generation of young engineering professionals. From engineering and manufacturing principles to leadership, management, and team development, students who participate in these projects are prepared for any challenge that the industry has to offer.”

Randy Floresca Global Battery Systems Test Engineer,

General Motors

Account email: SAE.SJSU@GMAIL.COM

Become a Sponsor!

Thank You to our Sponsors!Thank You to our Sponsors!

Arlo Inc. Don Beall, Former CEO Rockwell