Dear Supporters and Alumni of Formula Kentucky,

 

          About two months ago in early May the team headed up to Michigan to compete in FSAEs annual event. With one of our strongest placements ever we thought it would be fun to ask all the subsystems how their comp was, and what they are planning for the summer.

          The team is ready to transition from FK06 to FK07 over the summer and we have some very interesting new designs already being worked on for each subsystem. As always thank you for your support!

 

 

 

Aerodynamics 

          Aerodynamics lead Pierce said that they did really well at comp after some minor setbacks with technical inspection, their parts took impact with several cones and survived, proving the durability of the components. This summer they intend on testing different ducting for sidepods to aid in airflow to the radiator and engine. They also plan to test a front and rear wing to see how effective an aero package would be and if we should invest resources into designing one for FK07. Aero has been working very hard on research and simulations so we can't wait to see what they do for design in the fall. 

 

Chassis

          The Chassis subsystem and all of their other projects did very well at comp, only having a few minor issues. They faced adversity in tech inspection having issues with the fitment of the firewall, steering shafts, and having to pull out a foam pad in the headrest. The chassis scored well in judging, with the judges liking the pre manufacturing analysis on the chassis, like tests for torsional stiffness. The chassis lead Jason noted the summer plans going forward for the next car will be to keep the subsystem as similar as possible to last year and not make too many changes. “All of our components worked out very well and all we will be doing is slightly tweaking them.” The frame Is currently being remade with a few adjustments to tube sizing and the geometry of the roll bar and they will soon start on various other components.

 

Electronics

          For FK07, the Electronics Subsystem had some outstanding results at comp. While the new Electronics lead Julian said they ran into a few issues they were able to resolve with some quick thinking, and overall they made some huge advancements. Electronics made it through ETC Tech for the first time with no issues this year and made a working Electronic Shifting System controlled by paddle shifters as well as made improvements in all other aspects like data collection. The plan for the summer is to iron out a few bugs here and there and improve the drivability and performance of our two new Electronically Controlled Systems. 

 

Powertrain

          Powertrain went through a very eventful May during this year's 2024 Michigan FSAE Competition. The subsystem certainly had its challenges during comp: from fuel leaks, trouble in tech inspection, drivetrain failures, to cooling failures. However in the end each challenge was overcome in route to having the highest design score on the team and successfully finishing endurance for the first time in five years. Powertrain’s new lead David said the goal for powertrain so far at the beginning of the FK07 build cycle is to continue their momentum from comp and continue to advance their projects. So far during the summer they have begun research and planning on a new dry sump system, titanium headers, and updates to the cooling system to name a few.

 

Suspension

          During competition, the suspension subsystem's primary task was tuning the car based on track conditions. Depending on how wet the track was, temperature, and the driving event, they needed to change things like tire pressure, tire type, and shock settings to improve the car's overall performance. Over the summer, they plan to test an anti-roll-bar (ARB), which provides another dimension of adjustment for suspension. They also plan on adding shock potentiometers to the car over the summer, to track how far the shocks compress during operation. With former Suspension lead Peter becoming our new team captain we are excited to see how the new Suspension lead, Issac, tweaks last year's design and improves the car. 

 

FK07 Design Updates

          Lastly, some design updates from our Engineering Manager Catie. “FK07 design is in full effect! All subsystems are currently working on new designs, research, and validation for all our projects. Testing is being conducted most weekends to either validate designs we are keeping, or to aid in getting data for our new ideas and designs. We will continue to test throughout the rest of summer to grab new data as we carry on with the design and validation process.” 

 

Once again thanks for all the support and we are ready to start the year off strong! See you in the Fall 2024 Newsletter!