Collegiate Student Design Competition - Formula SAE
Our student organization has been designing new Formula SAE and Baja SAE racing cars since our founding days in 1994. The involved members are students completing their undergraduate or graduate degrees at the University of Michigan - Dearborn. The passion for motorsports, engineering, and competitive challenges are a few of the reasons that pull us into this activity and push us to explore the limits of what is learned theoretically. We implement this attained knowledge where the competition is at its highest levels possible, against hundreds of teams and thousands of students worldwide.
In these collegiate competitions, having the knowledge to build a fast car is not the only necessary attribute. The entire process, from the brainstorming sessions to testing sessions, is like managing a business in a very competitive market. Proper administration of resources - goods/monetary/labor - is critical to survive, whereas proper communication, passion, dedication, and know-how are essential tools to succeed. The UMDRacing team’s character has all of the aforementioned attributes to be one of the most successful teams in the world.
One of the many benefits our members acquire by being part of this organization is a training playground to prepare for a successful career in an evermore demanding and competitive environment. The long hours of designing and building these vehicles from scratch are well spent, but of course come with many challenges, particularly managing the time between classes, work, and family. Thousands of hours are spent collectively into the entire process of attaining a top performing vehicle, and the rewards are priceless.
We design, engineer, manufacture, and test a miniature formula, open wheeled race car, designed for the non-professional weekend autocross racer. We demonstrate the skills and techniques that we learn in the classroom and apply them to a real-life situation.
