Formula UBC Racing team’s 2018 Racecar

racing, applied science, formula, support

Goal $10,000

Raised $6,065

Formula UBC Racing team’s 2018 Racecar

Your support helps improve Formula UBC’s performance on an international scale while providing valuable, hands-on experience to young engineers.

Story Description

The Formula SAE Intercollegiate Design Series, hosted by the Society of Automotive Engineers, is an engineering exercise constructed around the exciting subject of motorsport. Every year, 12 competitions are held across four continents with over 550 teams. Teams design and build their cars to compete in a number of events that evaluate everything from engineering design to business plan to racecar endurance. Competitors are judged by industry professionals, including engineers from Tesla, Ford, Honda and Bosch. The Formula UBC Racing team competes annually at Formula SAE Michigan, North America’s largest and most competitive event in the series. Last year, UBC placed 23rd out of 120 teams. Although this was an incredible accomplishment, the team is aiming for a top-20 finish this year. Formula UBC’s 2018 team plans to build on last year’s accomplishment and redesign a faster, more reliable car for this year’s competition.

Challenges & Impact of your Support

The team is fortunate to have the support of many local companies, but lacks the financial support required to tackle the increasingly more advanced projects that will help increase our competitive edge.

Your generous donation will help the design and production of our 2018 racecar. A myriad of exciting projects are planned for the coming year, including the development of more structural carbon fiber composite components, an actuated drag reduction aerodynamics package, improvements to our vehicle’s on-board data acquisition system, and validation of our simulations— all designed to increase sub-system performance. These projects will not only advance UBC’s placement at competition, but also provide our members with opportunities to gain exposure to cutting-edge technologies and engineering methodologies.

About Formula UBC Racing Team

Founded in 1991, Formula UBC is a platform for students who are determined to get the most out of their educational experience. The team has progressed significantly over the last few years, greatly improving our level of performance and placing consistently among the top universities in the world. After 26 years of innovative vehicles and inspirational success stories, Formula UBC is ready to carry the team to the next level while continuing to transform students into well-rounded engineers.

The team functions on the principle that each member contributes his or her skills in a specialized area of interest such as powertrain, chassis, suspension, electronics, materials, controls, and aerodynamics. In addition to allowing students to apply academic theories taught in classes, Formula UBC strives to provide opportunities for students to gain technical skills that are not provided in the standard curriculum. Our members are encouraged to enhance their learning with projects involving custom vehicle systems, data acquisition, data analysis, and advanced simulation and engineering techniques.

The skills gained from being on the team, such as designing to standards, producing defensible cost analyses, product development, and hands-on problem solving, play an important role in the development of the next generation of engineers. Our goal is to continue to represent UBC’s engineering programs at the highest level, while participating in a competition that delivers an incredible learning opportunity for students.