They've only been at it for two years, but a team of Polytechnic students expects to be competitive with universities with more than 25 years of experience when it enters two Baja cars in a race this spring.
On May 23, the students will show off their cars in the three-day Society of Automotive Engineers Student Chapter Mini-Baja Western regional competition at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City, S.D. Last year, the team finished 44th in the competition, which was held in Oregon.
"Last year we had a problem with the steering," said Bradley Rogers, one of the faculty members in the engineering department that advises students on the project. "We anticipate doing quite a bit better this year."
This year, ASU is entering a reconstructed version of last year's car, as well as a totally new design.
According to the SAE Web site, 100 teams from the United States, Mexico, Canada, South Korea and other countries have entered, with about 20 universities fielding two cars.
"We can do almost everything in-house," said Manufacturing engineering technology senior Anthony Brook, one of the students working on the project.
Brook says the project has been a big time commitment - he's spent more than 100 hours of his own time on the cars so far. But it's worth it in the long run.
"It's really the type of project that encompasses everything that goes into my schooling," he said.
Even though the students work hard on the cars and want to finish well in the race, Rogers said the competition isn't cutthroat.
"The kids that go to these competitions really help each other. There's so much cooperation between the universities," he said.
Last year, the ASU team won a sportsmanship award, which they then shared with teams from two other universities, for donating parts to other teams who needed them to compete.
Construction on the two cars is progressing well, Rogers said.
The competition is made up of three phases. The first day judges evaluate the designs and conduct safety inspections.
On day two, drivers put the cars through four timed events: a hill climb, rock crawl, maneuverability course and an acceleration course.
The third day is the toughest, when drivers switch off during a six-hour endurance race.
"I'll probably have a piece of the endurance race," Brook said.
Reach the reporter at: jordan.lapier@asu.edu.
