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Formula SAE at UNM

Learn Everything You Will Need to Design a Racecar, From Simple Straight Line Performance to Complex Suspension Design.

Fabricate and Assemble the Racecar You Have Designed in SolidWorks, MODEfrontier, Ricardo WAVE, WinGeo, STARCCM+, Matlab, and more.

Test To Verify and Validate the Racecar You Built Performs As It Was Designed Before Taking It to Competition. Collect Data Using High-Tech Sensors and Data Systems To Show the Design Judges That Your Racecar Performs as Designed.

ME 407

Racecar Build Lab
(3 Credits)

ME 406L

Racecar Design & Dynamics
(4 Credits)

ME 408

Racecar Test Lab
(3 Credits)

Formula SAE is an International engineering-design competition where teams from universities design and build a Formula-1/Indycar style racecar to compete against other universities. The cars are judged in many aspects, including Design, Cost, Acceleration, Autocross, and Endurance.

Formula SAE at UNM started in 1997 and is now in its 28th year. The program is run by Dr. John Russell of the UNM Department of Mechanical Engineering. The program is now a 3-semester program that begins in the Spring of each year and is offered as one of the senior-design projects available for Mechanical Engineers to take to fulfill their graduation requirements.

In the spring semester, students take ME406L, where they learn about racecar design and begin to set design parameters for their car. Over the summer, most of the computer design and calculations are done, so the team is prepared to present their design for build approval at the beginning of the fall semester in ME407. The car is fabricated during this fall semester, over winter break, and into the beginning of the spring semester. In the spring, students take ME408, where the vehicle is tested and data is collected for verification and validation, in preparation for competition in June.

The team usually consists of around 35 Mechanical Engineering and 10 ECE and Computer Science students, though students from other disciplines who share a common interest in racecar design have joined in the past. The team divides into smaller sub-teams to focus on designing and building a specific system on the car, such as Chassis, Suspension and Steering, Brakes, Aerodynamics, Powertrain, and Data Acquisition.

Students gain valuable skills from translating working in small groups to working with a larger team, skills in systems engineering, and the experience of applying their knowledge from the classroom to a real and tangible project, where they will see if what they designed works. These skills and experiences are valued in industry, where many FSAE alums get job offers before graduating from companies such as Formula 1, Ford, GM, Chrysler, Honda, Sandia National Laboratories, Boeing, and more!