Category Archives: News

On a beautiful day at the racetrack marking Day 3 of Competition, we finally began the dynamic events component. Our team was ready bright and early, earning us the distinction of being the first car to run a competitive event on the brand new pavement at Michigan Speedway. We completed skidpad and acceleration early in the day with respectable relative times earned on both events despite the cooler weather.

Later on when the track and tires warmed up, we readied the car for the autocross course. After four attempts our best time was just over 63 seconds on a clean run, setting the standard for a good portion of the afternoon. Final preparations and tests were then carried out for the all-important endurance test tomorrow.

A successful second day of Competition has now been completed, with CMR 57 passing all three tech inspections (tech, tilt, brake) on the earliest finish day possible. The preliminary inspection was accepted on the first try with minimal negative feedback from the judges, while tilt, brake, and egress all went smoothly. Although our car was originally running a few decibels over the allowed limit during noise testing, a quick patch to the muffler allowed us to clear. We could then scrub our tires and prepare for dynamic events taking place on Friday.

In addition, the car underwent design judging today, in which the team presented and defended the engineering choices made concerning nearly every aspect of the car. Supplemented with several posters, the system leaders made a solid impression on the judges in a much improved demonstration.

Also accomplished today were the cost report and business presentations. Great work to all who helped make these well-written and delivered components of Competition that earned us significantly more points than last year.

Here are some pictures of the events:

After a year of planning and preparation, CMR 57 finally arrived at Michigan International Speedway today for Competition! We checked in bright and early and spent most of the day making final preparations for tech evaluations. After looking at various cars from across the country we are really proud of the great improvements made since last year’s experience, and our car certainly stands out as a solid competitor. Despite the miserable weather the team remains encouraged that the remaining three days will be rewarding.  Great thanks to everyone who worked extremely hard throughout the year to make this week possible. Many more pictures of our completed design and Competition will be posted in the next several days.

This week a torsion test was performed on the chassis to collect valuable data about frame stiffness for future years. With less than one week until Competition we are continuing to test every component to make sure CMR 57 is fully prepared for race day. Check out some images of the torsion test and some more shots from test driving.

After months of preparation and building, today marks the official first test drive of our car! Some light moving evaluations were done in the Morewood Parking Lot, and a few components have already been improved from the results. We will continue to test the vehicle for any malfunctions up until Competition to ensure that every aspect will work exactly as intended. Many more pictures and videos will be available shortly, so stay posted during the most exciting period of the year.

With the end of Carnival at CMU we are very excited to have every major system now installed on the car. Rolling evaluations of the finished design have begun and are very encouraging. Everyone has worked extremely hard to complete the car with ample time for testing, and we can’t wait to drive when the weather allows. Here are some pictures of the near complete car that will undergo many tests in the upcoming week.

Today we began the preliminary testing of the engine and exhaust to ensure all components were functioning properly. As Carnival arrives only a few systems remain to be installed, with the diff, pedals, and electrical assemblies now nearing completion. Look for more progress in the near future.

The parts that were sent out to be anodized have now been returned, and will be installed on the car soon. With these components ready several other systems have also been mounted, including additional wiring and intake assemblies. Here are some pictures of the newly anodized parts and our current chassis.

All components of the body have now either been completed or have entered the carbon fiber layup stage. Various electrical components have also been installed while many parts have been sent out to be anodized. In addition to the build progress, over the last several weeks much work has been put into developing detailed cost reports for each system, which have now been thoroughly completed and submitted with great improvement over last year. The team is working very hard to have a rolling car in the next few weeks so stay posted for more updates as competition nears.