“We’ve now committed to a 2 year strategy for our cars” explained Olly, head of business and communication. “We used to build one car a year and it felt like the cars taken to competition were unknown quantities.” The team’s plan now is to build a Class 2 car and test a Class 1 car concurrently, with certain aspects of both cars being shared between the two to save time and development costs. “With the current strategy we have it now feels like we are running a complete project and can transfer the cars from Class 2 to Class 1 very easily.”
This approach has some additional benefits for the team. Unusually for most universities, Surrey’s students start their year in early October, meaning that by the time the team get round to joining Learn to Win in mid-October they have barely selected their team members for the year and are nearly two months behind others. By designing their Class 2 car earlier in this two year cycle, they not only hope show their progress with a nearly-built car in the Class 2 2018 competition but that they can graduate it more quickly to Class 1 and make up for lost time outside of their control.
“This year, we are planning to get a complete car with low voltage systems installed and ready for judging” said Matt Briggs, Year 3 team leader, who has high hopes for their entry. “Afterwards we will continue to work on the car and come September the new car will nearly be ready for testing and the Class 1 competition”. They can then retire their existing Class 1 car and concentrate on the next two-year cycle, iterating on the past Class 1 car for the next generation and creating repeatable and consistent results in the overall rankings.
This approach is helped in particular by modular electrical components and systems that are shared between both teams, meaning that components and spares can be made that fit both cars and any software updates for electrical systems can be updated in tandem. “We’ll also be able to retroactively upgrade older cars in the garage that use the same system architecture and standardising this will help in the future” said Tom Bates, Electronic engineer for the team.
Team SURTES' 2017 entry has pride of place in their workspace
Tom was also able to elaborate on the developments to their electrical systems this year. “One of the changes are the use of modular connectors for the electrical systems. In 2016 and 2017, we found that they weren’t as waterproof as we would have liked, so we’re now using RT series Amphenol connectors. We’re also using a CAN FD bus system for feedback sensors so we can measure and identify areas to improve.” This endeavour also underscores the data-driven approach to design validation that the team are working on, with physical testing to back up full CAE design. The challenge then is to make sure that the data they record is relevant and valuable – simply “bad data isn’t useful!”
The team also have a few more aces up their sleeves; given that the university are very supportive of the competition as an opportunity for practical work, postgraduate students are able to dedicate time on certain areas of the car as part of their studies, further contributing to the car’s performance. The team also receive support from an extensive list of new and existing sponsors:
- Physical Digital, who provided their expertise for free
- Henderson Bearings, who kindly supplied bearings for both cars this year
- Vector, a great supplier for electronics
- Gala Performance, who have provided a new team gazebo and pit accessories
- PromoteUK, who provide website and marketing support
- Bender, who keep their electrical systems safe
- Chris Isaacs Race Cars, who are completing the chassis build
- Castrol, who are providing lubricants and fluids
- Wixroyd, who supply fixtures and components
- Snapdragon, for use of their facilities for composite manufacture
Finally, they also benefit from a Managing Director in the form of Abhishek Shah, who is taking a sabbatical to work on the car and oversee production of both cars so that deadlines are met.
It’s not just electrical updates for this year, as Team SURTES have plenty of mechanical improvements on their new car too. A new planetary gear system has enabled the team to completely re-package the rear of the car. The new 3D printer in the machine lab next to their workspace means that designs can be realised in house at the touch of a button. But by far the biggest improvement this year is adding more time in for testing and by iterating on the standard set by their 2017 car, they hope to get this ready in time for their car presentation in May and can start testing immediately afterwards.
The 2018 Class 1 is currently in production, with plenty still to be added.
As for goals for the summer competition, the team are optimistic. “We used to have an IC entry and we got pretty good results with that” said Max Nalborczyk, suspension engineer and driver for the team. “However, the switch to an electric vehicle meant we took a points loss as we learned new techniques for EV’s.”
“In 2016 we didn’t pass scrutineering, but in 2017 we were one of the first UK teams to pass scrutineering. Now that we’re a few years in, we are in a much better position to have a winning car - provided that we finish endurance of course” continued Max. Accordingly, the team have their sights firmly set on a top 15 position for their new car (though top 10 would be amazing, adds Max), while Matt is confidently targeting 7th place or higher for their mostly finished Class 2 entry. In both classes they aim to be the top ranked UK EV team which would be a brilliant achievement and would put them in a great position to improve in the future.
Speaking of future plans, there’s plenty to talk about. Having a much more stable foundation with the two year cycle system, means that they can restart work on other projects that were on hiatus. “The team are looking at a wireless sensor system for car telemetry that will work reliably up to 1km, with the plan to livestream the data over the web” outlined Tom “plus we also want to look at some Regen technology for the cars. It turns out that we have the software written for last year’s car, but we’ve never been able to implement it properly and test it. Hopefully we can get this ready in time for 2018 testing, but being able to work on extra systems outside of developing the basic car will be a bonus.” Olly added that CFD is also on the table: “we also want to get more people involved in designing and developing a complete aero package for 2018/2019, which will be helped by new access to a wind tunnel on campus. 2019 is going to be a strong year provided that we put the ground work in for 2018.”
For some of the teams just starting their Formula Student journey, the team have some clear advice. “Everything takes longer than you think” laughed Max, “make a deadline for yourself and then add an extra month!” Olly and Tom emphasised the need for getting the team structure right and thinking longer term, as not everything you want to do can be achieved in one year of the competition. “Set incremental goals rather than big ones so you end up lots of little wins that you can demonstrate at the end of the year. Otherwise, justify every decision and make sure you enjoy it – Formula Student is the best thing we do all year!”
Team SURTES would like to thank all their sponsors, their university and their fans for their support this year!
With so much positivity around the table, it’s clear that the team have the plan, the focus and the means to make it happen. Thanks to the team for their time; we wish them the best of luck and will be keeping an eye open for Team SURTES’ car launch in May. In the meantime, check out the team on their website and Facebook and Twitter channels ahead of FS2018!
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