On Sunday, August 30th, UCSD SAE made its way to Qualcomm stadium to participate in an Autocross Championship event. The cars, TR-9 and TR-6 were both in running order going into the event, but both encountered failures soon after the start. Community advisor Rob Shanahan also entered his car “TR-’67″ into the event. Pictures from the event are shown below.

Alumni advisor Andrew Holman waits in TR-9 as his run time gets closer.

Alumni advisor Lucas Fornace sits in TR-6 as UCSD SAE President Kanchana Gunasekera checks his tire pressure.

Both generations of Triton Racing cars wait in line as they prepare for their runs.

Community advisor Rob Shanahan waiting in line with his racecar affectionately named “TR-’67″.

Last Saturday, the team took TR-9 out to a parking lot for a day of testing. A mini autocross-style course was set up, and drivers took turns doing laps in order to gather as much data on the car as possible. The day went well with the team gathering loads of suspension and tire data, and most importantly, having a great time while doing so. Below are a few pictures from the day:

The car being put through a mock endurance run.

UCSD SAE Vice President, Ritwik Ghosh, takes the car for a spin.

Team member Ryan Revilla gets ready for his run.

Team members gather tire temperature data at the pits.

An article about UCSD SAE was featured on KPBS Public Radio as well as on the organization’s website earlier this year.

The article can be viewed here.

An audio recording of the news story can downloaded here.

After two years of development, UCSD SAE’s TR-9 debuted at the 2009 Formula California Competition in Fontana, California. The car, which was originally planned to be entered into the same competition a year ago, suffered from last minute complications and had to be withdrawn. This time around the car was in top condition going up to competition and performed admirably.

Pictures from the event are shown below:

The car at the pits right before the design presentation.

Team members work on the car during a pit stop.

The car performing in the Acceleration event.

Driver Andrew Holman turns a corner during one of the dynamic events.

After months of hard work, UCSD SAE’s latest car, TR-9E, finally made its appearance at the Formula Hybrid Competition held at the New Hampshire International Speedway. The car performed remarkably, winning 3rd place in its class of electric vehicles, and placing 9th overall.

The car also got the second best time in its first and only Autocross run of the day. Unfortunately, due to technical malfunctions on the part of the event’s organizers, this time was not recorded.

Below are pictures from the competition:

Driver Andrew Holman takes off for the Autocross event.

The car as it undergoes tilt-testing as part of the technical inspection.

Team members prepare the car for brake testing.

Driver Tej Patel finishes up the last lap of the Endurance event.

On April 23rd, UCSD SAE formally unveiled its newest car TR-9E to the campus community, sponsors, and the media.

Now, the team has begun to prepare for the Formula Hybrid International competition that will take place in New Hampshire next week. Wish us luck!

The Triton Racing team was able to get their latest build, and UCSD’s entry into the Formula Hybrid competition running over spring break. The car was assembled due to the dedicated work of team members who sacrificed their spring break plans. All that remains are a few minor details that need addressing and some finishing touches.

Pictures of the car being test driven and the bodywork molds being cut are shown below:

With finals week behind us and spring break just beginning, we are well on our way to completing the car by our deadline. This development was helped by the fact that right before finals, we were able to get our motor running on the dyno and acquired valuable data. Pictures of the setup are shown below:

With only ten weeks to our deadline, we have begun to make substantial progress on the car. Over the past week, we have come up with a way to mount the motor to the dyno for testing, and machined the attachments we will be using. During this weekend, we hope to finally weld the battery structures to the chassis, and to finish construction of the transparent housing. We will also begin connecting our battery packs in preparation for motor testing.

We have also finalized the design for the body of the car. Below are pictures of what it should look like when it is done.

The Qualcomm Autocross was successful as the car ran as planned and the competition drivers got valuable seat time. This will probably be the final time the TR-4 Chassis will be autocrossed using the original petrol engine, before we put in the electric drive train.

We have taken delivery of the motor that will power the car and the motor controller will arrive by next week.

Below is a picture from the autocross.

SAE alumni advisor Lucas Fornace giving the team some last minute tips before the car is put on the track.