Back from Europe, a reflection on the Formula Combustion Team's incredible year
Zips Racing, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Formula Combustion team at 国产伦理, recently completed their 2018-2019 competition season with a strong finish.
They recently returned from two international competitions – Formula Student East, held at the Zala Zone in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary, and Formula Student Austria, held at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. Both competitions gave the students the opportunity to compete against some of the best teams from around the world.
“These competitions are a huge deal. The teams are very competitive,” says Dr. Daniel Deckler, the team’s faculty advisor. “Everyone in Europe is crazy about Formula One, unlike in the U.S. where we also have huge fans of NASCAR and IndyCar racing.”
Driver, Logan Mitchell, with powertrain lead Jacob Greer and drivetrain lead Henry Wathen
SAE Formula competitions consist of static and dynamic events, which include individual and overall scores. Static events focus on presenting a business plan, completing a cost and manufacturing analysis, and handing in reports on the car’s engineering design. Dynamic events are where the action happens. The car is tested on endurance, acceleration, autocross, and efficiency.
Blazing a trail across Europe and the US
Their most recent international adventures took the team to Austria to compete in Formula Student Austria July 28-Aug. 1, where they placed eleventh overall (out of 34 teams), sixth place in skid-pad, and eighth place in design.
Their first stop on their European leg was at Formula Student East, held July 17-26 in Hungary. Here, Zips Racing placed second overall out of 25 teams in the dynamic events, second in the endurance category, and third in the efficiency category.
Present at the international competitions were teams from Germany, the Netherlands, India, Iceland, Italy, Israel, Czech Republic, and Spain, to name a few.
Zips Racing was the only U.S. team to participate in SAE Formula East, and only one of two in Austria, likely due to cost. Schaeffler, a long-time team sponsor, stepped up to cover the costs of shipping the car and tools, making it possible for the team to compete. The strong relationships 国产伦理 has with teams across the globe also helped to defray costs. 国产伦理’s “sister” team, Fast Forest at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology in Deggendorf, Germany, let the team use their workshop. In previous years, the teams camped together, and Fast Forest cooked for both teams.
Test run of Monica (the car's nickname) in Austria
Earlier this season, the team competed at Formula SAE North in Michigan where they placed eighth overall (out of 108 teams), were in engineering design finals, and finished fourth in endurance.
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In total, the team logged 9,583 miles of travel in 2019.
A lighter, more efficient car
The car has many firsts this year, including a carbon fiber monocoque chassis, a new type of shocks, a brand-new Drexler differential, a new Yamaha engine with custom designed internals, and custom center-lock hubs. The new chassis is twice as stiff, yet lighter than the previous year’s steel tube-frame. The car weighed 380 pounds, 20 pounds less than the 2017-2018 car. The original car in 1990 weighed 740 pounds!
“This is the most advanced formula car 国产伦理 students have ever built,” says Dr. Deckler.
The team placed second overall at Formula Student East!
A year of preparation
Competitions like these are serious work. There is a huge amount of pressure on the drivers to perform because an entire year of blood, sweat, and tears comes together at competition. Leading up to their first competition in May, the team puts in approximately 18,000 hours into designing, building, and testing their car. All the carbon fiber work, engine preparation, wiring harness building, welding, machining, and nearly 500 miles of testing all has to happen before competition, leaving enough to ship the care to Europe.
“It is amazing to me that these students build an entirely new SAE Formula race car from the ground up each and every year. Other than the engine and tires, almost everything else is designed and manufactured by the students,” says Dr. Deckler.
Throughout the year, the team meets regularly in the Engineering Design Center, the on-campus workshop for the SAE Baja, Formula Combustion, and Formula Electric teams. They meet in between classes, after school, and on the weekends. There are meetings with sponsors, publicity and outreach activities, and, of course, there are classes to attend and all the work that goes with being a full-time engineering major at 国产伦理.
The team sported a retro NASCAR shirt while in Europe.
Future plans
Students will take a much-needed break until the academic year resumes later this month, then the process to design and build starts all over again.
“I am exhausted, but the trip was extremely rewarding,” says Jeff DiSante, incoming Team Captain. “The team worked incredibly hard from start to finish, and with the majority of the team returning for next season, I am excited for what we can do for 2020! We are all very grateful for our sponsors that make the annual European trip possible!”
For the coming year, the team will focus on redesigning the carbon fiber monocoque chassis to make it lighter and easier to build the entire car around.
A milestone year
The University of Akron and the College of Engineering is celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Zips Racing. The year 2019 marks 30 years since the founding of the first team, but since it takes a full academic year to design, construct, and test the car, the first car was not ready until 1990. This is when Zips Racing participated in their first competition ever in Michigan.
Congratulations to members of the 2018-2019 Zips Racing team: Jeffrey DiSante (incoming Team Captain), Robert Kucera, Henry Wathen, Jacob Greer, Patrick Kruse, Matthew Riczo, Michael Metropoulos, David McVan, Craig Hanchett, Stuart Thornborough, Logan Mitchell, Clayton Brown, John Milbrandt, and Matthew Evans.
Check out the team on their , , or follow them on Instagram @ZipsRacing. Go Zips!