Baja SAE
Encyclopedia
Baja SAE is an intercollegiate
design competition run by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Teams of students from universities
all over the world design and build small off-road car
s. The cars all have engine
s of the same specifications. As of 2009 the engine has been an unmodified Briggs & Stratton
Intek 20 single-cylinder
with a displacement of 300cc and power output of approximately 10 bhp (7.5 kW).
The goal in Baja SAE racing is to design, build and race off-road vehicles that can withstand the harshest elements of rough terrain. The vehicles used in Baja SAE racing are often similar in appearance to dune buggies. Before 2007, the events were called "Mini Baja."
Each year as many as 141 Baja cars are entered in the Baja SAE events across the US and around the world. All cars must adhere to SAE's rules, and pass SAE's technical inspection and judging; a car may not race until all safety inspections are passed. Small engine manufacturer Briggs & Stratton
sponsors Baja SAE teams by providing the SAE sanctioned engine free of charge, at a replacement rate of one engine for every two years in competition.
There are multiple dynamic events, usually four per event, as well as a single four-hour endurance race. The dynamic events include hill climbs
, chain pulls, maneuverability events, rock crawls
, and suspension & traction events. At one of the American SAE sanction events, (formally the East event) the car has to be able to float and propel itself on water under its own power.
Static events, such as written reports, presentations and design evaluations are provided by participating teams. This is when the teams are judged on ergonomics, functionality, and producibility of their cars; ensuring that the final placement of the team does not rest solely on the vehicle's performance but rather on a combination of static and dynamic events. Required reports detail the engineering and design process that was used in developing each system of the team’s vehicle, supported with sound engineering principles. Also, a cost report that provides all the background information necessary to verify the vehicle’s actual cost is used to rate the most economically feasible for production. These reports are submitted weeks in advance of each event, where the presentations and design evaluations are given on site in the presence of SAE design judges.
in 1976, under the supervision of Dr. J. F. Stevens. Since that time, the competition has grown to become a premier engineering design series for university teams.
Each team's goal is to design and build a prototype of a rugged, single seat, off-road recreational vehicle intended for sale to the non-professional weekend off-road enthusiast. The vehicle must be safe, easily transported, easily maintained and fun to drive. It should be able to negotiate rough terrain without damage. As of 2010, the SAE Baja Series consisted of three competitions, though in the past there have been as many as seven sanctioned events. A Baja SAE competition event consists of three to four days.
College athletics
College athletics refers primarily to sports and athletic competition organized and funded by institutions of tertiary education . In the United States, college athletics is a two-tiered system. The first tier includes the sports that are sanctioned by one of the collegiate sport governing bodies...
design competition run by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Teams of students from universities
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
all over the world design and build small off-road car
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
s. The cars all have engine
Engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert energy into useful mechanical motion. Heat engines, including internal combustion engines and external combustion engines burn a fuel to create heat which is then used to create motion...
s of the same specifications. As of 2009 the engine has been an unmodified Briggs & Stratton
Briggs & Stratton
Briggs & Stratton is the world's largest manufacturer of air-cooled gasoline engines primarily for outdoor power equipment. Current production averages 11 million engines per year.-History:...
Intek 20 single-cylinder
Single cylinder engine
A single-cylinder engine is a basic piston engine configuration of an internal combustion engine. It is often seen on motorcycles, auto rickshaws, motor scooters, mopeds, dirt bikes, go-karts, radio-controlled models and has many uses in portable tools and garden machinery...
with a displacement of 300cc and power output of approximately 10 bhp (7.5 kW).
The goal in Baja SAE racing is to design, build and race off-road vehicles that can withstand the harshest elements of rough terrain. The vehicles used in Baja SAE racing are often similar in appearance to dune buggies. Before 2007, the events were called "Mini Baja."
Each year as many as 141 Baja cars are entered in the Baja SAE events across the US and around the world. All cars must adhere to SAE's rules, and pass SAE's technical inspection and judging; a car may not race until all safety inspections are passed. Small engine manufacturer Briggs & Stratton
Briggs & Stratton
Briggs & Stratton is the world's largest manufacturer of air-cooled gasoline engines primarily for outdoor power equipment. Current production averages 11 million engines per year.-History:...
sponsors Baja SAE teams by providing the SAE sanctioned engine free of charge, at a replacement rate of one engine for every two years in competition.
There are multiple dynamic events, usually four per event, as well as a single four-hour endurance race. The dynamic events include hill climbs
Hill climbing
In computer science, hill climbing is a mathematical optimization technique which belongs to the family of local search. It is an iterative algorithm that starts with an arbitrary solution to a problem, then attempts to find a better solution by incrementally changing a single element of the solution...
, chain pulls, maneuverability events, rock crawls
Rock crawling
Rock crawling is an extreme form of off road driving using vehicles anywhere from stock to highly modified to overcome obstacles. In rock crawling, drivers drive highly modified four-wheel-drive vehicles such as trucks, Jeeps, and "buggies" over very harsh terrain...
, and suspension & traction events. At one of the American SAE sanction events, (formally the East event) the car has to be able to float and propel itself on water under its own power.
Static events, such as written reports, presentations and design evaluations are provided by participating teams. This is when the teams are judged on ergonomics, functionality, and producibility of their cars; ensuring that the final placement of the team does not rest solely on the vehicle's performance but rather on a combination of static and dynamic events. Required reports detail the engineering and design process that was used in developing each system of the team’s vehicle, supported with sound engineering principles. Also, a cost report that provides all the background information necessary to verify the vehicle’s actual cost is used to rate the most economically feasible for production. These reports are submitted weeks in advance of each event, where the presentations and design evaluations are given on site in the presence of SAE design judges.
Origins
The Baja SAE Competition originated at the University of South CarolinaUniversity of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
in 1976, under the supervision of Dr. J. F. Stevens. Since that time, the competition has grown to become a premier engineering design series for university teams.
Objectives
Baja SAE is an intercollegiate engineering design competition for undergraduate and graduate engineering students. The object of the competition is to simulate real-world engineering design projects and their related challenges. Each team is competing to have its design accepted for manufacture by a fictitious firm. The students must function as a team to design, build, test, promote and compete a vehicle within the limits of the rules, also to generate financial support for their project and manage their educational priorities.Each team's goal is to design and build a prototype of a rugged, single seat, off-road recreational vehicle intended for sale to the non-professional weekend off-road enthusiast. The vehicle must be safe, easily transported, easily maintained and fun to drive. It should be able to negotiate rough terrain without damage. As of 2010, the SAE Baja Series consisted of three competitions, though in the past there have been as many as seven sanctioned events. A Baja SAE competition event consists of three to four days.
See also
- Formula SAEFormula SAEFormula SAE is a student design competition organized by the Society of Automotive Engineers . The competition was started back in 1978 and was originally called SAE Mini Indy.-Concept:...
- Basic Utility Vehicle CompetitionBasic Utility VehicleBasic Utility Vehicle is a simple rugged vehicle designed for use in the developing world. The Institute for Affordable Transportation is the promoter of this type of vehicles and the main sponsor...
- Off-roadingOff-roadingOff-roading is a term for driving a vehicle on unsurfaced roads or tracks, made of materials such as sand, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, and other natural terrain.-Off-road vehicle:...
- Student design competitionStudent design competitionA student design competition is a specific form of a student competition relating to design. Design competitions can be technical or purely aesthetic. The objective of technical competitions is to introduce students to real-world engineering situations and to teach students project-management and...
- Society of Automotive Engineers