How many schools can brag about having a motorsports team? KSU does, and not only do they race the cars, but they build them as well. Started by a group of Southern Polytechnic students when they were no longer allowed to race bathtub cars in the 1990’s. In 1992, the first car was built and was entered in competitions in 1993 and hasn’t stopped since.
Recently, the team recruited over 40 new students including five female members. The goal of the team is to build, design and race an open-wheeled formula car. They have won numerous awards like third in Acceleration, sixth in Cost Report/Budget and 16th in Endurance. Formula SAE holds races across five continents and attends events such as Petit Le Mans. On Oct. 3, the team attended Petit Le Mans, a sports car endurance race held annually in Braselton, Ga.
Formula SAE, or Society of Automotive Engineers, is made up of students and staff from all majors across the now combined campuses. Students must maintain a 2.5 GPA and be a registered member of the Society of Automotive Engineers. It takes a year to design, build, test and compete their car. The frame, chassis, and suspension are built in less than three months. Students use the summer to design and build the car so it is ready to be finished completely and able to be raced in the fall.
The team was supposed to race in FSAE Brazil, but due to customs issues they were unable to compete. The team hopes to compete in the next year, but for now they continue to show off their car that they let their drivers test. In June 2014, Kennesaw competed in Lincoln, Neb. where the team placed 17th nationally. In September, Formula SAE invited approximately 50 students from the SAE School in Mableton, Ga. to learn more about the program and how to apply STEM to their soapbox car project.
Formula SAE recently received 3D mice for their computers from 3Dconnexion, a provider of 3D mice for design and visualization professionals. They started putting the mice to good use by using them to design the Carbon Fiber Wheel.
The team, who’s budget is $20,000, says that it isn’t about the amount of money that they have in order to build a great car, but it’s really about the engineering, cost and design experience and the work that goes into it. Placing third in acceleration among schools with half a million dollar budgets is more than impressive for such a small program.
KSU Motorsports will be racing at Michigan International Speedway in May 2016. Meetings are held every Monday night at 8 p.m. in building Q on the Marietta campus. Check out the team’s Facebook page under “KSU Motorsports — Formula SAE” for updates.
