Students’ Put the Pedal to the Metal

Students’ Put the Pedal to the Metal

BY PHILIP MONTGOMERY
Rice News Staff
April 30, 1998

The squat yellow vehicle that looks like a jet plane’s ejection seat fitted with roll bars, heavy-duty suspension and knobby tires proved to be a design triumph for some Rice senior mechanical engineers.

The custom-made, all-terrain vehicle placed 13th out of a field of 58 cars at the Mini-Baja West held April 16-18 in El Paso, the first of three contests sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) with the assistance of Briggs & Stratton Corporation of Milwaukee. Last year the Rice team finished 40th out of 60 teams. Two other Mini Bajas will be held later this spring, one in May at Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, and a second at the Aztalan Motorcross Track in Lake Mills, Wis.

The Rice team consisted of mechanical engineering seniors Kevin Conrad of Brown, Jill Daugherty of Baker, Adan Herrera of Jones, and David Hindman, Daniel King and Damien Scott, all of Sid Richardson.

“The project was an incredible time commitment–50 to 65 hours per week on top of classes, job search, etc., but everyone on our team feels the time was well spent,” said Hindman, the group spokesperson, before leaving for El Paso. “We are proud of what we have already accomplished and hopefully will capture some of that pride for Rice in our performance.”

The Rice team began designing their car last September and started construction in January as part of the required mechanical engineering undergraduate courses Mech 407 and 408, which are design and manufacture classes.

In El Paso, the teams were judged by a panel of professional engineers. As part of the contest, the teams must have their designs accepted for manufacture by a fictitious automotive firm.

“Basically, student design teams pretend to be creating a prototype of an off-road vehicle for production,” Hindman said. “The car is intended for use by the nonprofessional, weekend off-road enthusiast.”

The Society of Automotive Engineers required that each vehicle be safe, easily transported, easily maintained and fun to drive. The cars have to negotiate rough terrain without damage. All vehicles were powered by Briggs and Stratton eight-horsepower engines. Briggs and Stratton donated motors to 55 teams of engineering students at colleges and universities in the United States and Mexico.

The teams were judged on the overall design and safety of their cars, cost estimates and sales presentation. The cars were then tested on acceleration in 50 yards, maneuverability and speed through a winding course, climbing ability and a four-hour torturous endurance race that usually breaks 60 percent of the vehicles.

Daugherty drove the car to first place in the maneuverability test, Hindman said. The day before the endurance test, a transmission gear shattered in the car, prompting a 2 and 1/2 hour midnight drive to Carlsbad, N.M., where they found a mechanic who could cut a new gear.

During the endurance race, the car had only one breakdown, which was repaired so the Rice team could finish the race, Hindman said. Overall, the car performed well.

Rice police used their new radar gun to clock the 415-pound car at speeds as high as 24 mph.

During a test drive next to the Rice Prairie, the students made the car corner like a running pup spinning out on waxed linoleum. Then the driver punched the throttle, sending a brown arc of sand, grass and debris through the air.

“It looks like a winner,” said David Hindman.