Open Throttle 360 – CMR

A few weeks ago a local news program called “Open Throttle 360” shot some footage of Carnegie Mellon Racing and CMR 67 for their weekly television program. This week’s episode aired featuring CMR at the 12:40 mark. Thank you to Open Throttle 360 and CMR for this great episode!

Competition 2013 Wrap-Up

Yesterday the team returned from Michigan International Speedway excited for next year after a Competition filled with highs and lows.

On the first two days, everything ran smoothly and as expected – we passed all technical inspections with only minor fixes needed for sound and the headrest, while our well executed Business and Cost Presentations landed us in the top 20 for Static events.

However we ran into trouble prior to our acceleration event, when an engine backfire broke our 3D printed intake, and a coolant line disconnected due to excess pressure. In trying to determine the cause, we found that a head gasket leak had developed in our engine. The excess heat and pressure that was be created propagated throughout the powertrain system and caused the failures.

With not enough time to properly fix this issue, we ended up missing the Skidpad, Autocross, and Acceleration events. Not discouraged though, we looked ahead to Endurance hoping our engine would hold without overheating.

The final day of Endurance began very promising. CMR 67 completed the first 12 laps in spectacular fashion – we passed several cars and put up the fastest track time in our heat. During the driver change though, we were forced by an official to discontinue Endurance due to excessive coolant loss through the catch can, even though we were confident the car could finish the race.

While this prevented us from finishing Endurance, and ultimately will lead to a much lower score than anticipated, Carnegie Mellon Racing is proud of our accomplishment in 67. It’s clearly demonstrated a high level or performance and build quality that reflects on the vast effort put into the car throughout the year.

Moving forward, work has already begun on converting Carnegie Mellon Racing electric, and the team has become even more committed to succeeding next year. We would like to thank our generous sponsors, alumni, advisors, and team members for making this all possible.

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Competition Day 1

We made it to Michigan! On a beautiful May day in Brooklyn, MI at the Michigan International Speedway, CMR made its glorious debut.

Much of the day was spent registering, getting settled, and completing technical inspection. We are extremely excited to move on to the point accumulating events tomorrow.

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Almost Done!

Competition is now less then 3 days away, and Carnegie Mellon Racing has been working nearly around the clock to polish up not only CMR 67, but the business and design presentations as well.

This weekend hours of driver training and testing was done with our friends at PittRace to identify any pressing issues. We also filmed a short bit with Open Throttle 360, a local public access show who wanted to check out our super-fast race car, so look out for some official team footage coming soon.

Our shiny new body has also returned from a world-class professional paint job thanks to PPG, and we were showing off a bit on campus in between testing.

The team is eager to pack up and take on Competition!

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Weekend Testing

With CMR 67 completed and fully running, we’ve begun extensively testing, tuning, and driver training in the Morewood parking lot to maximize our performance. Today we actually had 67 and 57 driving simultaneously, one of the first time CMR has had two running cars in many years.

Check out some sweet action shots:

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CMR 67 Running!

After a week packed with team members in the garage finishing the car, CMR 67 now officially runs! Tonight the car underwent its first dynamic testing under its own power and has started with great success. All components have been functioning as intended, and with time still left to fine tune the engine, the team is very optimistic for a great Competition!

The carbon-fiber body has also now been sent to our friends at PPG for finishing and painting after a heroic effort by the CMR composites team. This new, sleek and lightened design will really make 67 turn heads in a little over two weeks.

Stay tuned for more pictures and videos as testing continues.

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Weekend Push

This weekend dozens of man-hours were poured into CMR 67 to finalize installation. The cooling system, intake, and exhaust have been completed to nearly finish powertrain, and all suspension links have been connected. With only a few minor additions needed, 67 could be racing within days.

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Almost There!

Several more major components have been installed onto CMR 67, pushing us ever closer toward beginning dynamic shake downs.

Clearly visible are our hubs and outboard brake rotors that have together saved several pounds over last year. Our sweet anti-roll bars, bellcranks/dampers, and 3D printed intake have also been fully manufactured.

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Sub-Assemblies

With Competition little more than a month away, complete sub-assemblies have been pouring into the garage after final protective treatments. Check out our shiny exhaust tubes, the newly arrived anodized aluminum parts, and our colorful, innovative differential.

Along with ongoing body work, CMR has reached the stage of full implementation, with all systems working to piece their components together on the chassis so testing can begin.

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