The UTC Racing Mocs team placed tenth out of more than 100 teams at a Society of Engineers (SAE) international competition in Auburn, Alabama, placing higher than University of Michigan, Georgia Institute of Technology, and University of Alabama. The team also placed eighth overall in the four-hour long endurance race, and fifteenth overall in the design competition.
The student-led team competed successfully in four events: acceleration, hill climb, land maneuverability, and suspension. Changes to vehicle and additional trial runs helped the team secure a top ten finish.
“We went from an automatic to manual transmission. The vehicle is also lighter by 50 to 60 pounds,” Brent Griffith, team member and UTC student, said.
To lighten the weight of the vehicle, students removed unnecessary tubing and used custom-made aluminum casing around the transmission.
“A lighter vehicle means a faster vehicle with more acceleration,” Griffith said.
The vehicle was also tested at Griffith’s farm in Bledsoe County, Tennessee. Team members built a mile-long track to emulate the track in Auburn.
“It really helped to do a trial run with the vehicle so that anything that needed to be fixed could be done before the actual race,” Griffith said.
The team will compete again in early May in Baja SAE Oregon and in June in Baja SAE Wisconsin.
This year’ team members are: Scotty Adams, Jay Baker, Raymond Butts, Kevin Brown, James Fogo, Joshua Griffith, Michael Newman, Rebecca Palmer, Alex Reiners, Rachel Rifenberg, Michael Sherrit, Stephen Snyder, Emily Stark, and Joel Wood. Stark is the club leader.
Faculty advisers are Dr. Will Sutton, Dean of the UTC College of Engineering and Computer Science, and Karl Fletcher, Manager of Technical Support for the UTC College of Engineering and Computer Science. Dr. Phil Kazemersky, Professor in the UTC College of Engineering and Computer Science, taught the students in the Interdisciplinary Design class.
