Tag Archives: JSAE2009

JSAE2009 – Day 3.1 Beat the clock

The real test actually started today. The main events were due to begin in the morning and we could not participate because we had not passed the technical inspection. Time was short and many things still unfinished.

After very little sleep, our team arrived at the pit at 0630 to fix the remaining parts of the car and to be the first to get inspection in the morning. Bumper OK, screws OK, just the oil hose ring clamps that were still questionable. We finally managed to borrow the parts from our competitors (or allies, whatever). Finally, around 10 am we managed to satisfy the technical inspectors and got the first part of the inspection on the board. Time was running out. The first dynamic event, drag race and skid pad tests, had already begun.

We quickly moved our car to the next inspection stations for the weight, fueling and tilt tests. All went well, we might manage to queue up for the drag race before it closed at 11.30.

Disaster struck again. At the noise test station, our exhaust pipe pumped out 113dB and the regulation wanted it to be below 110dB. Oh dear, another setback. We were sent back to the pit and it was nearly 11am. There was no way we could make and install a new muffler in time to enter our car in the acceleration competion.

JSAE2009 – Day 2.5 Sportsmanship at its highest

Things seemed to be looking up after we completed the design inspection with very few negative comments. Then, reality struck again. The technical inspector came knocking at our pit and made another round of thorough checks.

Verdict: the front bumper was not properly attached to the frame, the front rack needed adjustment and the fuel hose pipe rings were not of the right specification – Failure yet again.

Our boys felt some cold sweat. How would we fix all these problems over night with such limited tools we carried with us?! This is going from bad to worse.

As they say, heroes would emerge during the difficult times and ours came at the time of greatest needs. The team from Shizuoka Institute of Science and Technology, who were stationed at a pit a couple of tents away from ours came asking and generously and selflessly offered their sincere help.

Not much needed to be said. With the help from the boys in blue, our car got loaded up into the back of their truck. Then, off we went to their university workshop.

JSAE2009 – Day 2.4 Guests of honour

It was a great honour for the team to welcome the Privy Councillor ACM Kamthorn Sindhavananda (ฯพณฯ  พล.อ.ต. กำธร  สินธวานนท์  องคมนตรี) and the executives from the Thailand SAE.

They observed us during the DESIGN inspection, which we performed OK. Most questions the judges aimed at us were well responded with sound engineering explanations.

His excellency gave us his blessings before leaving and promised to return to watch our car in action on the third day.

JSAE2009 – Day 2.3 KMUTT racing proudly presents ‘The Black Pearl’

Let us forget the race, the circuit, the engine noise, the pit lane, the burning rubber for a second here. Swap the mechanic’s uniform with suits and ties. Swap spanners with a race car company portfolio. This was now our next arena – the PRESENTATION competition.

A panel of judges from recognised automotive industry was present to listen to what we had to offer. We gave a run down of our car’s technical attributes, cost breakdown, manufacturing capabilities, selling price and targeted market.

We gave it a good go and the judges seemed satisfied. However, there were things we could have improved further, especially about consumers’ perception and market demands.

It wasn’t perfect, but far from disastrous. Bring on next challenges!

JSAE2009 – Day 2.2 Failure

After completing the cost inspection, we queued up for the next part, the TECHNICAL inspection. This was easily the single most important and difficult part of the competition. Every car had to pass the technical inspection, otherwise the team would not even be allowed to start the car engine because it would be deemed unsafe. Our judges were absolutely thorough with their job. Every single detail was checked and rechecked according to the rules.

Verdict: Failed.

We had to go back to the pit and modified parts that were not of the correct specifications, and installed new parts to make the car compatible with the regulations. Problem was, we only had a handful of equipment available and some of these parts were hard to find, let alone being in a foreign country.

We could fix our car and re-entered the technical inspection as many times as we liked. However, other events would commence soon and if we could not pass the inspection we would have to give up on those upcoming events. Time was running out.

JSAE2009 – Day 2.1 Down but not out

Refreshed and replenished, our team tackled the first hurdle of the competition. Today was actually the first official competition day and the first stop was the COST inspection where JSAE judges would mark our car according to the manufacturing cost report we had sent two months earlier.
Admittedly, we did not perform well. There were quite a number of major mistakes in our initial cost report which the team failed to identify. Most questions the judged aimed at us involved approximate costs of parts we had not obtained during the time the report was written. Moreover, we also failed to submit a list of additional parts and changes to the original costs during registration. We were heavily penalised for this mistake.

Fair to say it was not the best start one would hope for.


JSAE2009 – Day 1.4 I am a race car, get me out of here!

A race car in a box is not of much use, is it? The team members could hardly wait to take the car out of the wooden cargo cage so she could breathe the foreign air and bathe in the Japanese sun for the first time. We spent the rest of the day setting up the car and inspecting damages sustained during the sea voyage. Luckily there was nothing to worry about. We were primed and roaring to go.

JSAE2009 – Day 1.3 Be safe

Our arrival would not be official until the registration was complete. In fact, this proved harder than it sounded. Copies of team member identification documents and other paper works were thoroughly checked before they issued us with team passes. Race car drivers were given special attention at this point. They must have racing accident insurance covers otherwise their passes would not be granted. These guys also received nametag wristbands with their blood group information which must be kept on at all times. Safety is of paramount importance here.