SUNYIT Baja in Peoria, Illinois
Preparation
This school year SUNYIT registered for the Baja competition in Illinois. It would be a “Presentation Event” and include a rock crawl. This was the basis for design and preparation this year. Fast forward from registration in October 2010 to June 6th 2011 when we packed up our hard work and engineering and headed to Illinois.
The competition was held in Peoria, Ill and took the team about 14 hours to make the drive with the trailer, tow vehicle, and van (much thanks to Andy and Michelle for towing the trailer, and Jonny for the use of his trailer). We arrived a day before we needed to be at the track which allowed us to finish some of the small details that needed to be added to the car.
Presentation and Inspection – Day 1, June 9
Thursday June 9th we arrived at the Edwards Caterpillar testing grounds where the competition would be held. Picture just about every large truck Caterpillar manufacturers on display for all the teams to see. Also think about what kind of dirt they can move with them to produce a challenging course for the week, more on that later.
The first event on SUNYIT’s agenda was the Sales Presentation at 9:30AM. This was new for the team to present in this manner at competition. We were given a seminar room with a computer and projector with the ability to show a presentation. Four judges sat in the first row while Jeremy and I presented and the rest of the team observed from the remaining seats in the room. After our 20 minute allotted time we were ready to move on to the next item on our schedule. But not before taking a look around the Caterpillar “show off” equipment and interactive displays. Enter computer simulated driving and excavating consoles and display engines and parts. The team enjoyed looking and playing with the equipment. Then I ruined everyone’s “fun” when I told them we actually came here to compete, so we headed back to the pits to go through tech inspection.
Engine inspection went without a hitch as the engine was already race ready and governed where it needed to be (I’ll add my pat on the back here since I took the time to tune the engine haha). We then waited in line for tech inspection, which is actually pretty smooth since they have gone to the “take a number” system. A couple of minor things needed to be fixed, however the team needed to be at the design tent for the design presentation and judging. So the tech inspection re-check would have to be put on hold.
Design judging went well and was executed in a very satisfying manner. It is something else to be given the chance to show off your hard work and engineering to the people that would say you did well or you dropped the ball. The team knew the car very well and told the judges what they wanted to hear. Between our written design report that was submitted in March and the design judging on site SUNYIT Baja earned a 30th place out of 115 entered.
Tech inspection was back on the list and completed in just enough time before they closed for the day. Brake testing would have to wait till Friday morning but it was a successful day overall.
Performance and Events – Day 2, June 10
Friday started off bright and early when I hopped in the car to go over to brake testing at 8:30 AM. Normally until you satisfy brake testing you are not allowed to turn the engine on and drive (read: move at a walking pace with someone with you) to move between point to point. However, since the compound was so large and the brake testing was moved to the other side of the top half of the compound, we were allowed to drive around to it. First attempt at locking all 4 tires after accelerating proved to be a complete success and brake testing was completed just like that.
We then headed to the practice track right next door but that proved useless as the Illinois heavy clay that this practice course was in didn’t allow me to move out of 1st gear because of tire slippage and the torque required just to move through it.
Acceleration
We cleaned off the car and went over to our first event, acceleration. The first attempt didn’t go nearly as planned because of a malfunctioning driveshaft. It was remedied quickly by a few welds to hold our inner spline in place. Back to the line and just as I was ready to go to the staging line I put it in 1st gear and heard a pop like the chain fell off. Turns out the clutch assembly fell off. Another minor setback that was easily fixed on the spot. And within 10 minutes we were ready. Everyone is only allowed 2 runs per event so this was our 2nd run after the driveshaft incident. The car took off and felt great as I went through the gears. It was a decent time, and for a team that strives for excellence we weren’t completely satisfied but happy we had a successful run.
Hill Climb
We decided to keep the rock crawl for last since we expected that it would be the harshest on the vehicle. This way in case anything broke we had all other events out of the way. The hill climb was next on our list and was a matter of car setup and gear selection. After a quick discussion we decided to start in 2nd gear to go up the hill. The hill climb works either by distance if you do not make a full climb or by time if you make it to the top. The first run started off great but as the grade changed 2nd gear proved to be a tad to high and it was already too late by the time I downshifted into 1st. A quick measurement by the judges. No big deal let’s try 1st from the start. 2nd run now at the line: Took off slightly slower because of wheel spin but as the grade changed to a steeper upgrade the wheels dug and made it too the top successfully. It felt like a quick time and it was a great morale booster to see our car do what we built it for.
Land Maneuverability
We took a break before the land maneuverability course to setup the car differently and so I could watch several runs of other cars to learn the course and understand what is happening at different points on the course. After 15 or 20 minutes I was ready to hop back in the car. The line to wait for our turn at the course was long and took about another 20 minutes to move up to the starting gate, but was a valuable time to learn what other drivers were doing.
The first run started off well but I knew I would have to deal with a bit of a steering issue. This year we went to a hydraulic setup, never before seen in Baja and we were the pioneers of this setup (very cool to say the least). However, we did some adjusting on it the night before and had some air in the system. I said I could deal with it but I was wrong in my assessment as I had to fight the car a little bit. Regardless, I made it halfway through the course when a jump decided to dislocate our drive axle. I was stuck on the top of the course with no ability to move with drive axles that were disconnected. After being towed back to the paddock I also mentioned we needed to fix the steering. Matt (‘John Deere’), who was the steering system leader, went at it and got the air out of the steering. A fantastic job by him as I soon found out. The axles were placed back together and the suspension limiters adjusted so that this wouldn’t happen another time.
Back to the course with a much smaller waiting line. The 2nd run started out with a lot of confidence because the steering was much easier and the car handled great. Getting through the course was a matter of driver skill now. I will admit this type of course is my thing but I did hit a few cones in the rough section of the course. After watching several people flip their cars on the downhill left hander that was off camber I managed to creep through it without a scratch. Made it through the rest of the course successfully.
Rock Crawl
The car was still very much in one piece and we moved over to the rock crawl. I gladly gave up my seat for Preston who has real world and professional experience in this type of off road racing. We again set the car up a little differently and let Preston have at it on the rock crawl. The first run was good and gave Preston a good feel for what his next line should be. Attempt 2 was even more successful and we came within 5 feet of the distance the current leader had posted. An inspection of the car by a few of us revealed not one bent or broken piece. Quite amazing to some who heard the beating the car took on the rocks but there wasn’t a piece out of place. A very successful way to end the day.
Here’s how we placed at the end of Friday:
Acceleration: 62nd out of 96
Hill Climb: 30th out of 96
Maneuverability: 57th out of 96
Rock crawl: 24th out of 96
Some good scores for sure and definitely a couple scores that could have ended up in DNQ’s (Did Not Qualify) that resulted in finishes. And not to make excuses but you can see the events where we had two complete runs allowed us to improve and make an awesome 2nd run where as runs that had mechanical failures only really allowed us to make one successful run without being able to adjust or adapt a better 2nd run.
Endurance and Pay Off Day – Day 3, June 11
Saturday was set to be the 4 hour endurance race that is intended to challenge teams and their vehicles. We made some fine adjustments at the end of events day for driver comfort and to allow for a more comfortable and less fatiguing race. The race started at 10AM sharp and everyone must be staged no later than 9:30AM. However, Preston and I as the drivers were able to get a track walk 7AM that morning. The reason it wasn’t the end of the day before was because CAT wanted to change the track a bit more that night. Remember all those big trucks and heavy equipment I mentioned earlier? Yeah, they used them and they made one heck of a course that looked to be both fun and challenging. After walking the 1.2 miles track me and Preston were ready to go at it.
I was set to be the first driver and to start us off in the race. The team strapped me in and got me situated with all the gear (which by the way includes a 5 point harness, SNELL approved motocross helmet, neck restraint cushion, arm restraints, a fire jack, gloves, and goggles with 5 tear offs.). All of which we have been wearing all competition. They lined us up by our acceleration time (basically a qualifying time). Trevor stayed with me during the final safety check by SAE and gave me one last hi five and hit on the helmet before they rolled us to the two by two line up on the actual course.
Personally, it was awesome to be sitting on the line and to be waiting for the green flag. 100 cars all lined up and you hear nothing but the idling of your engine and the one in front of you. The crowd is quiet and your focused. Then the green flag waves for the first two on the line and they walk back row by row letting each row go every 5 seconds. You can then hear the crowd cheer as the first two dove into the first turn down into the “bowl”. About a minute later I was off and running. The car accelerated well and I passed some two other teams before heading into the first turn. I planned on being very conservative initially because after all it is an endurance race and one that is about making it to the end. But the car was performing so well I had to go with the flow and make a few early passes.
It was quite a thrilling course and one that required so much attention to remember what was around each turn or over each jump. The car was doing very well and half a lap was already gone. I made it to the last section of the course when an official directed me to another path (there are several “options” on the course where you can choose left or right and each has its own challenge). However, after walking the course I didn’t want the path he directed to me but I didn’t have a choice. It was the logs that I was concerned about during the walk that I came up against. I went over the first and waited for the car to carry itself over the next but it didn’t happen. I suddenly came to a stop. I was stuck and the carnage crew had to carry me off the track. They said my axle was gone! I was in disbelief that my axle had just disappeared. I got a tow back to the pits and sure enough half of the axle was gone. We put the spare on and got back out.
The course was starting to get groomed and a line started to develop by the time I got back on the track. The first half of the course was already by and I was working on the back half of the track when a carnage crew guy told me to stop (quite unusual to hear that when your in a race) and told me my axle fell out. Which was strange because I was still going and I said I’ll just limp it back around but another official said no you have to get towed. So another tow later and we fixed the axle and limited the rear suspension even more so that it would be impossible for an axle to slide, however it hurt our travel in the rear, but a race fix we must live with.
After a third time on getting on the track and still not completing a lap I made it known I was going to get us a lap. Through another half a lap and everything was going well, got to the point I broke on the very first lap and took the route I wanted and made it onto the front stretch and made it passed the start finish line! Alright now the car is holding up! After going back down into the bowl, though, I felt the steering being ever so squirrelly. It’s like the toe was being moved further out from center. Not a good sign but I kept going. After going off the “staircase” which was a section of jumps that looked like well…a staircase (picture below) to enter the back half of the course the car decided to go right and into a dirt berm. Stopped again. Clearly the tires were towed out at this point. I got another tow back and we all had a look at the tabs that were bending that held the steering in place on the frame. I told Preston I’ll give it one more shot and then he can have the wheel. After some welding I headed back out not knowing what to expect from the steering.
After going through the bowl with a less than perfect handling car I managed to get to the back staircase. I came off the top staircase and the car landed and stopped dead in its tracks and made a bad sound. Uh oh, I think the steering finally let go. After a moment of being dazed from the impact I was off the track again waiting for another tow. In the paddock we saw it didn’t look good. I handed over the gear and told Preston to have at it once we fixed it. It was probably our last fix at it but we kept on working.
Preston got back out on the track and I watched as he came into the bowl made one jump and one turn and the car quit turning and he landed in a berm as well. Unfortunately that would end our day early. Though we never got down on ourselves because we all saw a very good performing car have two issues all weekend. The frame, drive train and suspension all performed fantastic and truly could make for a consistent top 30 car.
We packed up our equipment and ended our day. We saw many teams have problems and very few make it to the end. Unfortunately by only completing one full lap we managed an 85th out of 96. While our finish didn’t reflect what we had brought the team has high hopes for next year with an effective plan to make this car the best it was built for.
As for me, I am now an alumni and now after competition am no longer with the team. However, I plan to support the team in the future and to continue to root for the SUNYIT Baja SAE team as their success is imminent.
Enjoy the pictures and videos of our week and thanks for taking the time to read our adventure! Your support is always appreciated!
Final Results
Sales Presentation: 32nd out of 96
Design: 30th out of 115
Cost: 56th out of 96
Acceleration: 62nd out of 96
Hill Climb: 30th out of 96
Maneuverability: 57th out of 96
Rock crawl: 24th out of 96
Endurance: 85th out of 96
Overall: 62nd out of 96
Videos
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Photos
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