DeKALB | Imagine building a car entirely from scratch, part by part and competing with it against people from all over the world.

That’s what 40 students from NIU’s College of Engineering and Engineering Technology are doing.

The students are making a formula-style racecar, which looks like a medium-sized go-kart or dune buggy. They are competing in the Formula Society of Auto Engineers international competition in Detroit, Michigan, which runs May 16 – 20, 2007 at the Pontiac Silverdome. They are up against 120 to 140 other colleges and universities throughout the world.

Building from scratch

It all begins with the purchase of a motorcycle engine.

Every part of this formula-one vehicle is found around the shop by engineering students from the engineering school. It takes a year for the students to build.

“Engineering students work so tirelessly on the project for the same reasons that musicians, artists, writers, athletes and others spend countless hours on their craft,” said Brian Coller, associate mechanical engineering professor and advisor to the students participating in the FSAE competition.

There are some dedicated students putting in 30 to 40 hours of work, building parts and getting the vehicle in working order by March 1st.

This machine is built for turns, because the team competes in a series of events through the course. A skid competition looks for lateral performance of the vehicle. Other judged events include a drag race and an endurance race, which is 22 laps and lasts four to five hours.

It is important for the vehicle to have racing tires, said Erik Gotlund, a senior mechanical engineering major. The tires can heat up to between 120 and 140 degrees while racing. Gotlund worked on last year’s vehicle and is participating again this year.

Gaining a sense of pride

Promod Vohra, dean of the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology, is very proud to have NIU and the engineering school participating in the FSAE competition.

“Building the car takes teamwork and gets students to recognize their strengths and build off of them,” Vohra said. Even though they do not receive any academic credit for building the formula-one vehicle, it’s a learning experience, he said.

The students involved also get to deal with the automotive marketing aspect, working with their sponsors and getting the vehicle recognized by automotive companies. The students also analyze the total cost of how much each part of the vehicle would cost in the real world.

“For students who participate, building the car from scratch is one of the most challenging and intrinsically rewarding tasks they undertake at NIU,” Coller said. “The final culminating competition in May is a blast, but their great sense of accomplishment derives from a whole year of work on the car.”

The FSAE has been around for 15 years and Vohra said NIU has placed in the top 50th percentile in each year’s competition. Last year, the students finished in 18th place.

Once the vehicle is finished, the students will set up a test drive sometime in April or early May at the Convocation Center to see how well it performs and if any adjustments need to be done before they head to Detroit for the competition.

Matthew Rainwater is a Science and Technology beat reporter for the Northern Star.