Race Report

Mini Baja East, 4-6 April 2002, Orlando, Florida

The Auburn University Mini Baja Team (AUMB), recovering from a 100% graduation loss of its key designers, won the 1^st place trophy for Engineering Design at the Mini Baja East Competition. Unfortunately, a few key missteps in setup and equipment choice left the Team frustrated in 11^th place overall. The host, University of Central Florida, hacked a real he-man of a course out of a Florida palmetto swamp that didn’t leave much room for finesse. Several specific lessons were learned, which will be put to good effect for the remainder of this season, and by future Teams.

The Auburn Lady Tigers Mini Baja Team (ALTMB) made its first consecutive year appearance, for the first time entering a car designed and built by Competition veterans. The Team took almost half its points from a stirring performance in the Endurance Race, earned several Event place honors (top 10), and improved vastly to a 20^th place overall finish. ALTMB’s season is also still running, with much promise yet to come.

Mini Baja is an engineering student design competition organized by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Each college starts in August with an engine (305 cc Briggs & Stratton – no modifications allowed), a thick set of safety rules, and a blank sheet of paper, and then proceeds to design and build the best off-road racing car that they can dream up. The right answer on design is continually evolving, and the design diversity of the cars from the different colleges is striking. In general, Mini Baja cars are designed for applications similar to sport-style All Terrain Vehicles (ATV’s), but are expected to corner more effectively and be safe in rollover. Compared to a sport ATV, a Mini Baja car is wider, longer, lower, carries a full rollcage with safety harness, and has more sophisticated steering and suspension systems. Mini Baja cars also float, propel, and steer in deep water.

Mini Baja began in 1976. Over 200 universities across North America (plus several overseas entries) now participate in one or more of the three regional Competitions: East, West, and Midwest. AUMB competed from 1977 to 1981 (beating 12 cars to win the East Competition in 1977), and continuously since 1991 (placing as high as 3^rd in fields of 50 to 129 cars, and very rarely finishing out of the top 10). ALTMB first appeared in 1998 in response to SAE’s Challenge to Woman Leaders, competed again in 2000, and continuously since 2002. There have been 12 all-female Teams in Mini Baja history, and 4 of these are Auburn’s.

Mini Baja Teamers are more likely to be mechanical engineers, but over the years Auburn's Teams have included software, aerospace, electrical, wireless, industrial, chemical, biosystems, civil, and textile engineers as well, plus a sprinkling of non-engineers (secondary education, marine biology, medical technology, criminal justice). Team alumni are widely sought because of their project skills, though graduate school and the automotive industry tend to be the more popular post-graduate destinations.

East is the toughest of the three Mini Baja Competitions, and the only one involving water operations; East tends to draw only the most capable Baja Teams. After running a fast, sandy course on the south side of campus in 1993, 1996, and 1999, host Central Florida, in league with the Devil himself, made a switch and dove into the palmetto swamps on the north side of campus with waders and machetes. Emily Johnson (ALTMB Drivetrain Leader) put it best – “this is a weed-out course”. The field was mostly comprised of well-conceived Baja cars, competent and capable. Perhaps Baja’s mechanical curiosities (hydraulic drivetrains, deployable propellers, six-wheeled skid-steerers) are beginning to pass into fond memory. Ecole de Technologie Superieure (University of Quebec) won this year’s East Competition with 980 points out of 1250, followed by Bucknell (968) and Tennessee Tech (902). AUMB managed to drag 709 total points out of the deep liquid muck and too-tall palmetto stumps, faring better than many traditional Baja powerhouses. ALTMB put down 538 total points, to the dismay of sophisticated Teams from Georgia Tech, North Carolina, West Virginia, Princeton, and West Point. This year’s East Competition also featured the first-ever meeting between all-female Baja Teams, ALTMB handily stomping Vanderbilt and Tulane.

Points start to pile up a month before the Competition, when reports are due on engineering design, and on cost for mass production (the basis for the Competition is to offer a prototype design to a fictional company seeking to build and market an off-road racing and sport vehicle). These are combined with on-site Design Evaluation and Safety Inquisition on Day One of the three-day Competition to yield the Engineering Design score. AUMB tied for 1^st in Design Report, tied for 1^st in Safety Inquisition, pulled 4^th in Cost Report, and 7^th in Design Evaluation to add up to 1^st in overall Engineering Design with 220 out of 250 points, and a $500 cash prize from Honda. The Safety Inquisition on Day One was completed with a flag on only one minor item, with more time spent in transit for re-inspection than in repair. AUMB was honored with selection for the Final Round of Design Evaluation. Rationally assessed, the design is the best yet produced by AUMB. The frame shows continuous significant improvement of the 2000 concept (slightly misunderstood in 2001, improved in 2002, and now reaching up to touch the treasured ethos of Simple, Light, Rugged, and Reliable). The drivetrain has become very sophisticated, and also profits from the adventurous concepts and hard lessons learned in the previous three seasons. The engine drives a tuned Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT), which feeds a student-designed planetary gearbox pulling a double-row chain final drive on an interally-splined, tension-adjustable spool. The vehicle dynamics package benefits from a new Mechanical Engineering Department technical elective course in that area. Front and rear suspensions are both dual A-arm independent with double-spring (series) coil-over shocks and a rear anti-roll bar. Curb weight is 392 lbs., and in driving trim the rearward weight split is 43/57. The rack and pinion steering (student-designed rackbox) came out tight, light, and responsive this year (to great relief). Disk brakes are on each wheel in front and on the final drive spool in the rear. Flotation, ergonomics, body panels and covers, and general fit and finish are all very well done. Captain Ken MacAllister brought the Team through the design phase before handing off to Captain Garon Griffiths for the final fabrication crunch and Competition. Design Group Leaders are: Darrell Krueger (Drivetrain and the Builder of the Gearbox); Matt Damato (Frame); Jeremy Belcher (Rear Suspension); Taylor Owens (Project Naval Architect); Daniel Hobson (Test & Evaluation – also responsible for the anti-roll bar); Mike Zieman (Electrical & Webmaster) and Garon Griffiths (Front Suspension & Steering). AUMB is comprised, this year, of mechanical, software, and aerospace engineers.

ALTMB is always a very diverse bunch, this year including software, aerospace, chemical, electrical, and wireless engineers, and a smattering of other majors. However, the presence of only one mechanical engineer meant that some of the finer points of mechanical design couldn’t be treated quite as completely as might otherwise be. ALTMB managed to tie for 27^th in Design Report, tie for 36^th in Design Evaluation, and tie for 28^th in Safety. A rather nicely done Cost Report somehow netted only a 36^th place tie (the report did arrive one day late). That gave ALTMB 117 points for 33^rd in Engineering Design. ALTMB drew first in the Safety Inquisition line on Day One, and had the honor of being the vehicle that the less experienced Inquisitors were trained on. After 90 minutes of poking and prodding, the final deficiency list was (for the Inquisitors) embarrassingly short, and easily fixed before the sun set on Day One. All things considered, and although fit and finish is a little rough in places, the design is well conceived. Developing a completely new arrangement concept, the frame came out light and compact with a double A-arm independent front suspension and a swing arm rear, both using triple spring (series) coil-over shocks. Steering is by rack and pinion. Drivetrain is reversed engine, to CVT, to student-designed single-reduction gearbox, to chain final drive. Flotation design yielded a good waterline for propulsion. Curb weight is good at 400 lbs., though the weight split is 30/70 rearwards. Disk brakes are on each wheel in front, and on the solid axle at the rear. Both the CVT cover and chain guard are made of hand-laid Kevlar, and weigh almost nothing. Captain Renee Smeya led her Team in this successful product development. Design Group Leaders are: Emily Johnson (Drivetrain & Webmistress); Angela Morris (Front Suspension & Steering); Brittany Consuegra (Rear Suspension); and Renee Smeya (Frame).

Day Two was busy, the Organizers having cooked up six short Events: Acceleration/Top Speed; Sled Pull; Land Maneuverability; Water Maneuverability; Mud Bogg; and Suspension & Traction. The first three were on UCF’s central campus, and the last three were out in the palmetto swamp. ALTMB started out on central campus, pulling great runs in Acceleration/Top Speed that yielded a 6^th place finish in Acceleration (4.59 s to cover 100 ft. (winner Rochester Institute of Technology had 4.17 s) for 44.96 points out of 50) and a 9^th place in Top Speed (21.29 mph at 100 ft. (winner Ecole de Technologie Superieure had 22.57 mph) for 44.33 points out of 50). Clearly, a light, quick car, well driven by Cathy Hill. Sled Pull features a progressive weight sled (as seen in Monster Truck competitions), and is the supreme test of driveline efficiency as the CVT winds all the way down and the gears and chains hover between friction and stiction. Liz McCollum inched the sled out to 57.5 ft. (winner Clarkson had 76.75 ft.) to pick up 49.84 points out of 100 and 6^th place. Land Maneuverability was a bit more of a debacle, with a very tight turning course on hard dirt within narrow confines. ALTMB’s new steering design did not allow enough steering angle, and Lia Almeida could not get around the course without hitting boundary pylons (and getting DQ’ed) on both runs. Never a faint-hearted driver, Lia went for broke in her final run and used lots of throttle to try to break the rear end loose around the tightest turn. She still couldn’t quite squeeze through, and hit the pylon at full throttle. The driveline deceleration shattered ALTMB’s racing go-kart final drive sprocket carrier into little bitty pieces of aluminum. The part hadn’t even been through its more serious tests, and so even if there were a spare, it was now clear that it would be inadequate for the tough Events at the swamp and Day Three’s Endurance Race. What to do? In an outstanding display of Baja pitsmanship, ALTMB cobbled together a replacement from spare steel plate (thank goodness for the plasma arc cutter) and welded it to the axle. Stronger than before, and still time enough to grab lunch. Now out at the swamp, waiting tensely in line against fixed Event closing times, ALTMB finally got into the water with Courtney Barnett at the helm. The car had great speed, but an excessive forward trim and (as now seems so obvious in the clarity of hindsight) a float forward form that stalled out the rudders (aka front wheels), steering response was minimal. Courtney was completely unable to negotiate the slalom course through buoys (an aspect of the car that unfortunately went untested in the final desperate days prior to Competition). The Bogg went better, with Angela Morris plowing the low front end out to 24 ft. for 36.92 points and 20^th.

Opening their Day Two out at the Swamp, AUMB elected to start with the deliciously gooey Mud Bogg. Ken MacAllister managed to schloop out 26 ft. (winner Virginia Tech has 65 ft.) before the low-ground clearance float lifted the short rear tires well clear of anything solid. Still, that was enough for 40 points and 17^th place. (Based on UCF’s 93, 96, and 99 courses, the low ground clearance and short tires had seemed like judicious choices – unfortunately, one must always expect the unexpected in Mini Baja). Then on to Water Maneuverability with Taylor Owens doing the piloting honors. Resistance and Propulsion were good, but the same rudder-stalling problem as ALTMB limited handling responsiveness. Result: 109.21 s (winner South Florida had 68.02 s) for 39.44 points (out of 100) and 18^th place. (AUMB had trained to turn in the water by hiking out the driver and heeling the boat, as has been its practice for years. But this time, after Boston University tried the same tactic and capsized, the practice was summarily outlawed and the driver was required to stay seated and upright). Then a slightly shaken AUMB moved to central campus where things quickly got worse. Adam Carter went all out, but the magic just wasn’t there as Acceleration netted 4.96 s to cover 100 ft. for 40.53 points (out of 50) and 18^th, and Top Speed was 21.26 mph at 100 ft. for 44.2 points (out of 50) and 11^th. Turns out, the written rules allow the Briggs & Stratton engine to be run with the governor set for any time constant as long as the max rpm is not exceeded, and so AUMB duly chose the most advantageous time constant and optimized the drivetrain for it. But the Briggs personnel on-site insisted that the as-built time constant be used, with the result that the drivetrain no longer perfectly matched the engine. AUMB had designed to the letter of the rule, but Briggs was within their brief to enforce the spirit, this being that Mini Baja Competition should be engine-neutral (in AUMB’s defense, they obeyed the spirit in past years, while several nicely hot, letter-legal powerplants slipped through). This problem also influenced the Sled Pull, where Marc Jarmulewicz could only get 40.25 ft. for 4.89 points (out of 100) and 13^th. In Land Maneuverability, Grant Roth fought hard in the now de-tuned (and therefore unfamiliar) car, turning in a good first run while hitting one cone. Turned out later that this one orange cone had been decreed to be a course boundary pylon (all the other pylons were wooden fence posts), and so Grant’s skill netted only a DQ. On the second run, the same wooden pylon that Lia couldn’t avoid scooped up Grant as well, for another DQ. Grant had trained on a differently tuned car that was much better at scooting its rear end around. Looks like its back to the training pit to puzzle out the appropriate vehicle dynamics for the new tune. (Later that day it was also discovered that the engine had been running with its prefilter in place. With only 9 horsepower to race on, it sure hurts to give up 0.75 hp to an engine protection feature).

Suspension and Traction opened late in the afternoon out at the swamp, so the Organizers had to limit the field to one run each, instead of the traditional two tries. The course started with a jump from a 30 in. ramp (that flipped a lot of cars) and then disappeared into the swamp to wrestle with hairpins, palmetto stumps, mud bogs (though nothing like the Mud Bogg), and a nasty system of telephone pole jumps. Daniel Hobson drove for AUMB, taking the ramp in finest style and roaring into the swamp, but the car high-centered over one of the phone pole jumps, and Daniel had to get out and push the car over. That wasted too much time to yield any points for the Event. Rachel Achorn drove for ALTMB, and started just as well over the ramp. But back there in the swamp the problems of limited ground clearance and steering angle proved insurmountable, and Rachel could not stay on the course.

The four-hour, wheel-to-wheel Endurance Race on Day Three is what Mini Baja is all about. UCF had arranged a water start (there is nothing like watching 50 Baja cars line up at the water’s edge, and then at the drop of the green flag all plunge into the lake together to start the race), with the rest of each lap running on a much-expanded version of the Suspension & Traction course (minus a few of the jumps). The swamp track was narrow and passing was impractical until the cars emerged from the swamp, ran down a long grass bank, and hit the lake to start the next lap. Matt Damato started for AUMB, while Garon Griffiths ran the pit and Terrance Brown and Kyle Delpiano (with help from Grant and Marc) handled refueling and reharnessing the driver after water egress. After sorting out the first lap traffic problems, Matt got the car into a groove and started rolling off the laps, learning where to go on the course to wriggle the car through. It wasn’t all that easy, though. Mini Baja courses will find your car’s faults and mercilessly exploit them. In this case, the rear fenders weren’t keeping enough water out of the engine’s air intake and off the CVT belt to maintain full speed in the water. The car had to be pulled off several times to re-erect spray guards, and eventually the entire engine bay was swathed in duct tape. Jeremy Belcher took over for the second leg, and had to deal with a new engine-dying-in-the-water problem (this one requiring a tow from the rescue boat). The fuel tank vent line exhausted beneath the water’s surface, cutting off fuel flow (try and analyze that one in the midst of a race). Except for its decaying water performance, the car ran well, with no hint of breakdown. Matt got back in the seat for the last leg, finally completing enough laps to put AUMB in 7^th place in the Endurance Race, for 320 points out of 400.

Becky Pugh was lead off driver for ALTMB, while Renee Smeya worked as Pit Boss, and Amber Cronin and Danielle Johnson worked on refueling and reharnessing. Out in the swamp on the first lap, Becky turned the car on its head and popped the final drive chain off. Delaying a bit to get those issues resolved, Becky went to work running the course. In a straight line, ALTMB was very fast in the water, and gained several places in the lake on every lap (handling difficulties out in the swamp made it necessary for these places to be regained). Brittany Consuegra took over for the second leg, and continued to fight her car through the weed-out course. The car just would not quit. The laps were coming like clockwork, except for a few minor episodes of trackside repair to shore up the badly-beaten chainguard and float with zip-ties, safety wire, and ratchet straps (the stuff of Mini Baja). Becky got back in for the last leg, bringing ALTMB in for 13^th place and 261 points.

AUMB and ALTMB have their work cut out for them as they prepare for Midwest Mini Baja, 5-8 June at the Kenworthy motocross track near Dayton. This will be ALTMB’s first appearance at Midwest Mini Baja. AUMB cars have traditionally been prepared for the East Competition, and simply dropped the float to run Midwest. However, recent designs have been pushing more in the direction of Midwest, and AUMB’s 03 car goes the furthest yet in this direction. We’re looking for a great Midwest performance. The lessons of how not to stray too far from good East performance will be applied next year in Montreal, in Rochester New York in 2005, and here on the Plains as Auburn hosts Mini Baja East 2006.