Design Report | Transilvania University of Brasov | Car111
Overall vehicle concept
For our 12th year we tried to produce a more compact and ergonomic car. To acheive theese we delimit
space for each individual subanssembly in order to make them work properly but keeping them easy
reachable .
We focused our goals on mass, power and [Link] team decided that we should build a car that
would be 10% lighter than the one form last [Link] order to sustain reliability and increase performance we
decided to reduce extra weight form chassis , bodywork and aerodynamic package.
We decided to use the same engine as before ,a Honda CBR 600 RR. The main goal of our powertrain
department was to get at least 80 hp out of it, gain more fuel efficiency in order to keep it reliable and
economic. In order to get the most out of our engine we will adjust different values that would result form
our dyno tests. From our dynamic tests we would collect data that will show us how efficient our car is when
talking about braking, fuel consumption and lap timing.
We tried to maintain the ratio between cost and performance as high as we could taking into consideration
our targets.
Structural Design inc Suspension & Brakes
Our chassis, suspension and brake departments are very important for us since they increase our
performance while keeping the driver safe.
Chassis
Chassis from our 2020 car is a space frame TIG welded. We chose this type of chassis because it has a relatively low
cost of manufacturing and the materials are accessible.
The main goal for the chassis design team was to make a more ergonomic, lighter but still stiff chassis than the
previous one while improving the handling of the car and also the height.
In order to achieve our target regarding ergonomics we made a case study collecting data from all our drivers , taking
into consideration their height , weight and the length of their arms and legs as necessary input for ergonomics. After
this session we were able to make our first model by building a mock-up. Each driver was in it and we collected
another set of measurments that are more relevant for the chassis and the cockpit ( angle of the back, angle from the
legs, distance from shoulder to steering wheel , height of the steering wheel in relation with visibility).
The rest of our goals were solved by using the rake. We had in mind this engineering method since we start
developing the car because this would influence the chassis,the suspension and the aerodynamics of our car. We
introduced a rake angle of 4.6 degrees which helped us improving even the ergonomics since we were able to move
our lowest point under the front hoop and making the driver go deeper into the car.
Data collected in the ergonomics study and all major aspects (like space for the engine maintenance, suspensions
points, torsional stiffness resistance etc.) were used as input data for all the chassis iteration. We chose the final
iteration with the best ratio between manufacturing difficulty and the performance but not frogetting about all the
aspects and main goals.
In order to improve the ergonomics as much as we could we took more sets of measurments after we made the mock-
up. Theese information helped us understand what changes we should make on the steering wheel and the chair .
Design Report | Transilvania University of Brasov | Car111
Suspension
The suspension geometry for BS20 was modified to improve overall grip since Formula’s Student traks
usually favors agility over acceleration performance.
Trying to find the best solution for our suspension ,we made different options in Ansys and Excell. We took
resulted data and made a 3D model out of it in [Link] resulted in having longitudinal suspension on
both axles, front suspension being pullrod while the back one being pushrod.
In order to reduce the negative effect that ride change have over aerodynamics perofromance during acceleration and
braking we adpot anti-dive and anti-squat geometries of 15%.
We have experienced last year with CNC aluminium uprights and we decided to use same type of parts since
they worked perfect and by doing that we were able to make our car lighter , imporving overall mass and
also the handling
Brakes
When talking about th breaks , we used Mathcad in order to understand what are the dimensions for master
cylinders and how many pistons should we have on each calliper.. From our calculus resulted that we were
able to choose the smallest bore master cylinder. By doing that we saved space at the pedal box and also we
kept the wheight low.
The brake pedal is made from aluminium 6061-T6. The pedal connect to Tilton master cylinders by a balance bar that
allows up to 40% brake pressure bias between front and rear wheels.
Front wheels brake system consists AP Racing calipers with 4X25.4 mm cylinders. On the rear axle, the braking is
ensured via AP Racing calipers with 2X25.4 mm cylinders. We decided to go with callipers that have 4 pistons
on the front axle since when braking all the mass comes forward. For the rear axle we decided to use 2
piston callipers since they are lighter. Stainless steel brake rotors are integrated into the hub via floating fasteners
to improve initial pad bite and reduce the risk of thermal cracking.
Powertrain concept & choice , simulation , design & analysis
Powertrain
Possible choices were Honda CBR 600 RR PC40 or the Aprillia RSV 550 in order to save weight and gain
better performance overall. We decided to use the Honda CBR 600 RR P37 due to it’s reliability but with
some changes like high compression pistons, aftermarket knock-sensor ,E85 fuel, a short oil pan and a
custom air intake.
The oil pan and the air intake were designed by our team in Solidworks. We made different simulations in
Simscale in order to optimize the shape of the air intake. By changing values we ere able to find the most
suitable air intake form in order to have better throttle response, better VE and to increase power
We also use a custom fuel tank made out of aluminium. Its principle aim is to minimize the slosh effect of
the fuel and to prevent losing fuel pressure. The shape is made to fit perfecty under the seat of the car in
order to save space.
Design Report | Transilvania University of Brasov | Car111
Electronics
During the 2020 season, the Electronics Dept. focused mostly on improving the reliability of the harness
wires with proper and efficient shielding of the sensor, along with the data wires for a better signal integrity
and EMI properties, also keeping an eye on improving the observability of the wire looms, by labeling
individual wires along with color coding the power path for faster debugging.
We used AEM Infinity Standalone ECU on relay based power distribution unit designed and made by our
electronics department. For the fuse box we chose to use the OEM one since it is reliable and it does not
affect our timeline .
A basalt fiber material (similar to fiberglass) will be used to avoid wire heat due to its physicomechanical
properties along with lower costs.
A commercially available dashboard display will provide HMI functionality, making the data transferring
across the modules possible through a CAN Bus interface, being the party line through which all messages
are relayed to all electronic devices in the vehicle and providing real-time data monitoring and processing,
along with possible analytics and diagnostics through the micro-controlled sensors.
An in-house developed Brake System Plausibility Device compliant with the new set of rules will be
present. The power management will be relay based with ECU outputs triggering.
To avoid overheating and failure we decided to use bigger relays, also avoiding further possible negative
incidents.
Drivetrain
Differential, chain, supports
The drive train consist a 520 Chain, 1 1 toth pinion and 45 toth sprocket. The rear sprocket is mounted on the
adjustable Drexler limited slip differential. The differential is directy connected to the engine by CNC made
aluminium brackets, reducing number of pieces and weight. (bracket weights?). The bearings that hold the differential
where chosen to further with weight reducing and to provide the desired lifetime. The chain lenght and slick are
precisly precalculated to avoid using chain tensioner.
Uprights, Hubs
The design of the CNC made aluminium uprights is defined by the A-arm s position. This also integrates the supports
for the brake caliper. Steel hubs have different design. Rear hubs include an integral tripod housing, using the
otherwise wasted space of an empty hub to provide a compact, light design.
Drive shafts
The hollowed-out Drexler axles provide further weight savings and are dimensioned to function with all pre-
configured suspension settings. The higher cost of the axles is justified by the lower normal and inertial mass.
Shifter
Shifting is done by an electromagnetic quick-shifter unit mounted on the differential supports and operated by steering
wheel mounted paddle shifters.
Design Report | Transilvania University of Brasov | Car111
Aerodynamics and bodywork
For this year our body and aero package is built around quick and efficient manufacturing without losing much on
performance side. As materials we used mostly composite carbon fiber to gain advantage of their high strength
module and lightness.
Nose, hood, side pods and body panels which are not meant to take large amounts of force are also made from carbon
fiber hardened by special carbon fiber resin which we found to be the right choice keeping in mind structural stiffnes,
their role and also the looks.
Elements which are meant to be structural are made from carbon fiber and reinforced carbon fiber.
Front wing on the car was conceived to have a moderate amount of downforce and to guide the airflow around the
extremities of the car. Path of radiators is left clear to get as clean air for the cooling process. The front wing also
guides clear air underneath the car to the undertray.
Sidepods are design with Venturi effect in mind to get even better performances out of it and as a result a better
cooling for the radiators.
Rear wing is designed to produce as much downforce as it could without losing the balance forces on the car which
are distributed 50% on the front and 50% on the back. The 3-winged design to improve the downforce and decrease
the drag.
Undertray is designed to be clean and efficient with skirts for maintaining a strong effect on the car. This year we
design the undertray and the chasis with the rake in mind, wich on our car has an angel of 4.6⁰. Skirting was
employed in critical zones of the undertray, such as changes in cross reference area to control the volume of air which
passes thru. In the rear of the car on the diffuser are located straight narrow fins oriented in directing of the flow to
have multiple expansion chamber in that area of the car.
All In all, our aerodynamic package develop 531 N of downforce and 109 N drag resistance with a ratio of 4.9
between them at 70 kph.
Overall Timing , Manufacturing, Procurement Plan plus Team Organisation Plan
We start working on our project car since september 2019. At the begining we had only technical meetings
where we set our goals and planifing our timeline in order to have a prepared car for competitions. We took
into consideration our previous years experience , so we had a good ideea about how much time we sould
give for each aspect of the project.
At the same time we decided to make recruitments taking into consideration our needs and the skills of the
students that [Link] doing this we where able to ensure our team future.
After we finished with the recruitments and we knew our timeline , we were able to start developing our car
by 3D modelling [Link] we finished this stage , we start analyzing differnet components like aerodynamic
package or air intake in order to optimize them.
Before we started our manufacturing process we tried to obtain the best materials , but keeping an eye on the
delivery time and [Link] our manufacturing process we included our new members giving them different
tasks in order to teach and prepare them for competitions.
Design Report | Transilvania University of Brasov | Car111
While a part of our memebers were working on the car , others were working on static
events like Cost Report , Design Report and Business Plan [Link] aim was to finish our car and
our static events by the mid of may and run a series of tests in order to choose the best setup for the car and
gain as much information as we could.
Design for Manufacturing & Profit, Customer Respect and Innovation. Lessons learnt from
Prototype Parts
In order to manufacture our parts as fast as possible we tried to optimize their shapes , but keeping the
performance targets high. Some part may be remodelled for mass production in order to keep them simple.
Our prototype parts give us the posibility to push our car at extreme boundaries , but in order to make profit
some of them could be done in different ways , using different methods and also different materials.
Design Report | Transilvania University of Brasov | Car111
Design Report | Transilvania University of Brasov | Car111
