By Nathan Inman
As the semester draws to a close, Clemson Formula SAE remains busy, polishing the final touches on the team’s Tiger 26 race car. With less than a month until the car takes to the track for the main competition at Michigan International Speedway, the build is officially in its final stages.
RHBSSI sat down with Alex Daichendt, a senior electrical engineering major and FSAE’s chief engineer, to discuss the progress made this semester and the final preparations being made before the team makes the long trek up north next month.
“We ended up with a rolling car right at the beginning of spring break,” Daichendt said. “So, it was a really, really big accomplishment for us.”
With the base of the car completed prior to the break, the team was left to focus on putting together the mechanical and electrical components. With those additions completed, the team was able to begin testing the car and ensure it was up to snuff.
Following testing, the team went back to work, focusing on potential areas for improvement to make changes.
“There’s still plenty of work to do in regards to the suspension tuning,” Daichendt added. “Hopefully, we’re getting the full aero package on the car this week for this weekend for testing, so we can get everything dialed in and what we need to be.”
With the build nearly completely put together, the finishing touches on the car will include applying the wrap of the car’s livery. Daichendt mentioned that the wrap will be in the team’s hands within the next two weeks, meaning it’ll be the end of finals before Tiger 26 reaches its final form. Daichendt added that isn’t a bad thing, though.
“It’ll really go on right before competition, which is completely fine with us,” Daichendt said about the wrap. “You know, less rock chips makes it look nice and pretty going into competition.”
With the car nearly complete, the team is focused on May 13, when Tiger 26 will hit the track at Michigan International Speedway for a multi-day competition against roughly 100 other schools from the United States and around the globe.
