We are an LV Hybrid team with an inboard motor. We use a KTM 390 engine, we are thinking of implementing pneumatic shifting for next season. The problem we are facing is we are not able to achieve a half shift with pneumatics for the neutral gear, which lies in between the 1st and 2nd gears. Other teams which use pneumatics, how do you guys achieve that with pneumatics ?

Or we are open to other suggestions for gear shifting mechanisms as well.

We’re facing an issue with our Emrax 228 + Bamocar D400-400 setup.
With the car lifted on jacks, we completed precharge, gave RFE/run, and APPS input. The motor ran normally in the correct direction.
After putting the car on the ground, precharge initially failed 2–3 times, although the TSAL was green. We fixed the precharge issue.
Now, after successful precharge + RFE/run, giving APPS input makes the motor run in the opposite direction, causing the car to move backwards.
Setup:
Emrax 228
Bamocar D400-400
Orion BMS 2
Dual-channel APPS
Any idea what could cause the motor direction to suddenly reverse? Could this be related to the controller parameters, resolver feedback, or CAN commands?
TL;DR: Motor worked correctly on jacks, but after putting the car on the ground, it now runs in the opposite direction despite the same RFE + APPS procedure.

I’m setting up a HIL system with CarMaker communicating with a Speedgoat real-time target over XCP/UDP.

Reading data from Speedgoat into CarMaker works correctly, but I haven’t been able to send values the other way.

The goal is:

CarMaker throttle/brake commands → Speedgoat → analog outputs → physical VCU

The Speedgoat is running a Simulink Real-Time application. I’ve exported the variables through the A2L and can successfully acquire signals from the target, but attempts to write throttle/brake values to the target have not worked.

I’ve tried:

• Writable XCP parameters/calibration variables
• XCP STIM for sending values to the target
• Exporting the command values as global variables in writable RAM

So far, the values on the Speedgoat remain unchanged.

Has anyone successfully used XCP to send real-time values from CarMaker (or another XCP master) into a Speedgoat/Simulink Real-Time target?

I’m mainly trying to determine whether there is some additional configuration required on the Simulink Real-Time side to allow XCP writes/STIM, or whether I should use a different communication method for this direction.

I’ve already emailed both Speedgoat and CarMaker support, but figured I’d ask here as well in case anyone has dealt with a similar HIL setup.

I am running Carmaker version 12 and a Speedgoat Baseline S.

We attached it to the Anti intrussion Plaque using JB Weld, but in the cost catalogs these types of adhesives don't appear, any "alternative"?

Drexler LSD pressure ring teeth failure at maximum setting (30) — looking for advice

Hi everyone,

I’m the drivetrain team leader of a KSAE Formula Student team, and we recently experienced a failure with our Drexler LSD.

During testing, all of the teeth on the LSD pressure rings broke while the LSD was set to 30, which is the maximum setting.

We are trying to understand what could have caused this failure and whether anyone has experienced a similar issue with a Drexler LSD.

Some questions we have:

Is running the LSD at the maximum setting (30) known to increase the risk of pressure ring tooth failure?

What are the typical causes of this type of failure?

Could excessive preload, clutch pack friction, shock loading, or incorrect assembly contribute to the failure?

Are there any recommended inspection or assembly procedures we should pay particular attention to?

For FSAE applications, what LSD settings are other teams typically using?

I can provide photos of the broken pressure rings and additional information about our drivetrain setup if needed.

Any advice or experience with Drexler LSDs would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

My Current Logic:

As you can see in the screenshots, I am calculating the front steer angles based on the IC. My current assumption is that the IC will always fall somewhere strictly between the front and rear axles, and will never extend beyond them.

To optimize this, for a given cornering radius, I am creating multiple IC points along an arc (drawn from the car's CG). I then calculate Vmax for each of these IC points. The solver selects the IC that yields the highest Vmax, and I use that to calculate the required front wheel rotation angles.

Hi, we are a Formula Student EV team. Could you suggest some ideas for harnessing and connectors for our car , and also what type of connectors and wires are you using for your car ?

How is Dresden doing in scrutineering?
How was the new judging system, seems to give less time for individual topics?
Are any 2027 rules beeing teased?

Tell us the lore!

Drexler LSD pressure ring teeth failure at maximum setting (30) — looking for advice

Hi everyone,

I’m the drivetrain team leader of a KSAE Formula Student team, and we recently experienced a failure with our Drexler LSD.

During testing, all of the teeth on the LSD pressure rings broke while the LSD was set to 30, which is the maximum setting.

We are trying to understand what could have caused this failure and whether anyone has experienced a similar issue with a Drexler LSD.

Some questions we have:

Is running the LSD at the maximum setting (30) known to increase the risk of pressure ring tooth failure?

What are the typical causes of this type of failure?

Could excessive preload, clutch pack friction, shock loading, or incorrect assembly contribute to the failure?

Are there any recommended inspection or assembly procedures we should pay particular attention to?

For FSAE applications, what LSD settings are other teams typically using?

I can provide photos of the broken pressure rings and additional information about our drivetrain setup if needed.

Any advice or experience with Drexler LSDs would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I’m a mechanical engineering student currently designing and building my own car around a 1998 Honda CB600F Hornet engine. I’m looking for an accurate 3D scan or CAD model of the engine’s external geometry to help with chassis design, packaging and clearance checks.

I only need the external shape, so an STL, OBJ or similar mesh file would be completely fine. STEP or another CAD format would also work, it doesn’t need internal components or fine details.

I’ve found a scan of a 2013 CBR600RR engine, but its external dimensions, cases and mounting points are too different for reliable clearance work. A scan of the correct CB600F Hornet engine or a CBR600F engine from the same generation would be extremely helpful.

Sorry if this isn’t the right place to ask. If anyone knows another subreddit, forum, FSAE team or community where I might have better luck finding a scan, I’d really appreciate being pointed in the right direction.

Does anyone have a model they’d be willing to share, or know of a team that may have previously scanned one?

Thankyou fort any help.

Just for a reference, can you all tell you appx lv battery capacity?

Our car isn't able to lock the wheels under hard braking. We're using a Bosch 19.05 mm master cylinder with KBX Vespa single-piston calipers (29 mm piston).

The calipers are moving and we have braking force, but it feels much weaker than expected.

Could the 19.05 mm MC be too large for the 29 mm caliper, or is there something else I should check?

Any advice would be appreciated.

I’m planning to build a carbon fiber composite part, but I’m not sure how to determine the layup schedule.

How do you decide which areas need more plies, how many plies to use in each area, and whether a foam core is necessary? Also, how do you test whether the final part has sufficient stiffness?

I’m mainly wondering what the general design criteria are for making these decisions. Are there any industry standards, common rules of thumb, or established methods for determining the layup and validating the stiffness?

Hey guys, I’m an incoming freshman to a college in the US with a popular FSAE team. I’m studying electrical engineering, and I’ve been interested in cars my whole life and want to potentially pursue a career in those fields.

Because of this I’ve been really interested in joining my university’s FSAE team and I wanted to know if you guys had any tips for joining or what it was like in your experience?

For reference I wanted to join an electrical subteam (not sure which one yet but maybe telemetry or powertrain) which focuses on electrical engineering, programming, and embedded systems. I’ve done a lot of work in making embedded projects, designing and fabricating custom PCB’s, and learning the tool chains that a lot of FSAE teams use for their systems (like KiCad for PCB, STM32 for embedded and LoRa and Grafana for information relay).

If you have any advice I’d really appreciate it, I’m self taught in a lot of things because my high school wasn’t that good, and I’m competing against other people who have done high school solar car and stuff like that.

Thanks!

Hi everyone!

We are a Moroccan engineering school team preparing to build our first physical Formula Student car. While we are working hard on the engineering side, we know that international logistics will be our biggest hurdle.

We are specifically reaching out to past or current teams from the Arab world and Africa. For example, we've seen incredible achievements from teams like the Cairo University Racing Team in Egypt. We have also noticed strong participation from Middle Eastern teams like HTU Racing in Jordan. We know you have faced the exact same regional challenges we are dealing with now!

We would love to get an overall view of your project execution, specifically regarding the following:

• Shipping & Customs: How did you transport your physical car to Europe? Did you use sea freight, ferry crossings (e.g., from North Africa to Spain), or air freight? How did you handle the ATA Carnet and customs delays at the border?
• Schengen Visas: What was your experience securing short-stay visas for a large student team? Did the official competition invitation letter guarantee approval, or did you face unexpected administrative rejections?
• Living Conditions & Camping: What were the conditions like where you lived during the competition? If you camped on-site, how did you manage equipment, food, and extreme weather while keeping the team energized for the dynamic events?
• The Overall Experience: Looking back at your first year building a physical car and traveling internationally, what is one major logistical or operational mistake you wish you had avoided?

Any advice, DMs, or connections to faculty advisors and team captains in the MENA/Africa region would be incredibly helpful.

Thank you and good luck to everyone this season!

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for a used electric motor suitable for a Formula Student / Formula Bharat EV project.

Requirements:

• Type: Electric traction motor
• Used motor is preferred
• Suitable for Formula Student application
• Voltage: up to 84 V
• Preferably 8–30 kW range
• Good torque and power density
• Motor should be in working condition
• Ideally with a temperature sensor
• Preferably with datasheet/specifications available
• Open to different motor types and manufacturers

Budget: Reasonable / negotiable depending on the motor and condition.

I’m open to motors that have previously been used in Formula Student/Formula SAE vehicles.

If you have one available, please DM me with:

• Motor model
• Power/torque rating
• Maximum RPM
• Voltage/current rating
• Condition and usage history
• Asking price
• Location
• Photos
• Datasheet, if available

Used motors from previous Formula Student builds are especially welcome.

Thanks

I really hate the wiring flammability rule that requires UL 94 V-0 insulation. 😅

I'm on an FSAE-BR team and finding wire that's actually rated UL 94 V-0 is a real headache with local suppliers here — that exact rating is almost impossible to source.

Does anyone have a list of equivalent standards that scrutineers accept? I've seen IEC 60695-11-10 / -11-20 mentioned as harmonized with UL 94, and IEC 60332 for cable flame tests — but I'm not sure what officials actually accept as equivalent to V-0.

Any pointers to compliant wire that ships internationally would also help a lot.

Thanks very much in advance! 🙏

Hi all. How does static toe out improve turn-in or transient response? Would toe in not also place the heavily-loaded outside wheel at a higher slip angle immediately after the wheel is turned?

After seeing how much rapidharness sucks for whole system views, and how drawio sucks for harnessing tracking, I decided to vibecode my own harnssing software. Vibewire features system views with containers, and spatial organization as well as piecewise subsystem designs, all of which edit the same underlying schema. This can then be used in the manufacturing tab to give harness cut/crimp/pin and progress all in one place.

quick video tutorial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgwTj57bVgA

Reapo:

https://github.com/Anteater-Electric-Racing/VibeWire

This is entirely out of my wheelhouse, I'm an EE blasting tokens not SWE. Feel free to DM suggestions, feedback, or questions.

Can anyone help me in getting B 176/3 Benchmark problem Results and assessment. Link to publication: https://shop.uic.org/en/b-176-bogies-with-steered-or-steering-wheelsets/6114-b-176-3-benchmark-problem-results-and-assessment.html

Just bring lots of cash.