Aeronautical engineering students from Sydney University tested their student built vehicle at the University’s Formula Race Testing grounds at Arthursleigh farm on Thursday and Friday, November 8 and 9. 

Previous Sydney University teams fared pretty well, so chief engineer Stephen Huang and his team, which includes race car driver Greg Elder, are confident about their chances at the 2018 Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (FSAE) competition.

“We’re very confident that we will do well, “ Mr Huang said. 

“We’re aiming to be in the top 10.”

The premise given to the teams of the university based competition are that they are a hypothetical company looking to sell 1000 of the vehicles they will be racing. 

“We have to give our pitch as to why people should buy the vehicle and reasons why we chose to design some parts in a certain way to gain points in the competition,” he said. 

“There will be some motor enthusiasts watching the event, as well as people from companies like Ford and Tesla who may decide to offer some participants internships.”

Mr Huang is a massive supporter of the event due to the experience and gives those involved a chance to apply what they have learnt in real life. 

“The project gives us a hands on experience,” he said.

“The things we learn in lectures during university are tested and it lets us apply it in life.

“We become better engineers as a result of this.”

Teams were given a budget $45,000 and their 200kg vehicle, which can take up to 5.8 litres of 98 Unleaded petrol, has hit a top speed of 111km/hr.  

Every team has to have an air restricter installed in their vehicle to lower its power for safety reasons and to force sides to tune their engines from time to time.

The 2018 FSAE competition will be held at Melbourne’s Winton Motor Raceway from December 6-10 and teams will compete in three categories. 

“In the acceleration category, teams will try to get their vehicles to travel 75km in the shortest possible time, and our current record is 4.2 seconds,” he said. 

“There is a 22km grand prix event as well as a skid pads category where vehicles will go in circles to test its cornering speed.” 

Other members of Sydney University’s team include drivers Henry Crossing, Jackson Bowden and Andrrew Donnelly.

The sponsors of the team include the University of Sydney who provide most of the funds, Calm Aluminium, Tuneboy and the Picton Karting Track.