Bulldog Baja goes north

The Kettering Baja team battled the cold and engine woes in February at Michigan Technological University’s Winter Baja in Houghton, Mich., where the temperature was a balmy 16 degrees F. The team made the 500-mile journey to test some of the modifications they have made since the Baja SAE competition in April 2008.

Kettering’s Baja car pulls ahead of the pack (far right) during one of the laps.
Their modifications help them place 25th in a field of 42, a “huge accomplishment for Kettering’s Baja team,” according to Karen Dernar of North Royalton, Ohio, co-captain of the A-Section team with Mike Tebbe of Holly, Mich.

Overall, the team gained 69 laps during the endurance race, putting them in 25th place out of 42 vehicles.

The team introduced their current Baja car at competition in April 2008 in Peoria, Ill. Unfortunately, they were unable to finish the endurance race due to failed components resulting from rough conditions, according to Dernar.

Since then the team has focused on designing and building a better vehicle. Improvements included modified lower control arms and mounts for increased strength, a new 90-degree steering box for tighter turns and modified rear hub design to prevent the failure they experienced in April. To help with handling on the snow and ice during the winter competition, the team was sponsored by Super Sports Inc. in Waterford, Mich., who donated deep tread winter race tires for the car.

“I am so proud of all that we have accomplished with this car. The team learned how solid and rigid our car is, and with that in mind, our goal is to greatly reduce weight in the 2009 car,” Dernar said.

The average competitive weight for a Baja vehicle is between 400-500 pounds. The Kettering Baja vehicle currently weighs just under 600 pounds. “We will attempt to reduce the weight to about 500 pounds including the driver,” said Dernar, “and also improve our steering and handling, and CVT efficiency.”

Kettering’s SAE Baja Team at the 2009 Winter Baja competition at Michigan Tech.
Kettering’s Baja team consists of Dernar and Tebbe, B-section captain Nick Ward, and faculty adviser Dr. Janet Brelin-Fornari, professor of Mechanical Engineering. Joe Gibes of Janesville, Wis., and Brandan Wade of Brighton, Mich., helped the team prepare for and run the 2009 Winter Baja competition. The team had additional help from graduate assistant Adam Firestone and members of the Kettering SAE Formula team, including Quinn Griesdale, Will Carter and Louis Post.

Baja SAE consists of three regional competitions that simulate real engineering design projects and their related challenges. Engineering students design and build an off-road vehicle that will survive the severe punishment of rough terrain and sometimes even water.

The object of the competition is to provide SAE student members with a challenging project that involves the planning and manufacturing tasks found when introducing a new product to the consumer industrial market. All vehicles are powered by a 10-horsepower Intek Model 20 engine donated by Briggs & Stratton Corporation. Use of the same engine by all the teams creates a more challenging engineering design test.

For more information about SAE International’s Collegiate Design Series, visit http://students.sae.org/competitions/

For more information about 2009 Winter Baja, visit http://www.baja.mtu.edu/winter_baja.html

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