UCLA Mini-Baja Team Passes Endurance Test in Car Design Competition

Under slate gray skies and near freezing temperatures, UCLA student James Sharp had only one worry as he sat behind the wheel of his off-road vehicle: to keep the mud out of his goggles.

Sharp and six other UCLA students braved rain, mud and cold temperatures to participate in this year's regional Mini-Baja car design competition, staged in Logan, Utah. The three-day event, organized by the Society of Automotive Engineers and hosted by Utah State University, challenged student teams from more than 100 colleges to design, build and race vehicles in order to win a contract from a fictitious manufacturing firm.

Teams were given a ten-horsepower Briggs & Stratton Intek Model 20 engine and one year to design an off-road vehicle that could survive the punishment of Utah's rugged terrain. At the competition, judges first assessed each team's car design, safety features, promotional plan and budget. The second day consisted of road trials in maneuverability, acceleration, hill climbing and endurance.

"Our primary goal this year was to perform better in the endurance event," said Greg Glenn, one of the group's project leaders. "It was a real challenge considering about 25 percent of the cars last year didn't even complete a single lap."

This year proved even more difficult for many drivers who had to contend with a course that had been transformed into a field of mud by days of rain. "I spent the first lap stuck in traffic jams as they removed cars from the track," said Sharp, the other project leader and driver of the car. The UCLA team completed 10 laps during the four-hour event. Their strong performance in the endurance event helped them rise to 53rd place, better than last year.

To prepare for the Mini-Baja competition, the group divided into teams with specific design responsibilities -- the front and rear suspensions, the drive train, the electrical equipment and controls such as steering, throttle and braking.

Glenn, a third year mechanical engineering major, led the front suspension team, which used an uneven a-arm system that would help produce about 16" of vertical wheel travel, which is especially important in off-road conditions, with its large potholes and mounds of dirt.

Sharp, who is also a third-year mechanical engineering student, chose a rear suspension with a semi-trailing arm setup. "This design is widely used in the dune buggy industry," explained Sharp. "It replaced last year's swing axle rear suspension, which was one of the weak links in last year's competition."

The new rear suspension improved the car in a number of ways. It too allowed for greater wheel travel, and with the new suspension they were able to better define the camber of the tire during travel. Camber is the inclination of a tire in relation to the mid-plane of the car -- measured in degrees, a high positive camber results in more wear on the wheel. This was a problem with last year's car -- the camber reached up to positive 15 degrees during last year's competition, causing a great amount of stress on the wheels. Designers wanted camber of roughly negative one degree and the new suspension helped them achieve that, limiting the amount of force on the sidewalls and avoiding a blown tire. UCLA outlasted most of the other vehicles during the endurance event.

Once the car was built, off-road testing was a must. "Our school's machine shop supervisor, Grady Columbia, invited us to test drive the car on a few acres of open land he owns outside Palmdale," said Sharp. "We were able to get some valuable practice before the competition."

Seven students traveled to Utah to compete, though 25 people from engineering, biology, English and other disciplines are part of the team. "Most of our members are engineering students, but we try to get any auto enthusiasts involved," said Sharp.

According to SAE's UCLA Chapter President, Peter Jeziorek, the organization works best with a diverse membership. "The strength of SAE lies in its wide appeal," said Jeziorek. "It appeals to those who appreciate the beauty in sleek design, and those who enjoy mechanical metalwork. SAE encourages individuals to see the other side of automotive production." In previous years, business majors have solicited sponsorships and managed the budget, English majors have written project reports and computer science majors have worked on the group's web site. According to Jeziorek, the club's inclusiveness has helped its membership grow by roughly thirty percent each year.

This was the third straight year UCLA has entered a car in the Mini-Baja competition and Sharp has participated every year. "This time I had to hold my gloves up to the car's exhaust pipe to keep my hands warm," said Sharp, "but we all had a great experience."

-Chris Sutton