Just added a bunch of stuff here (http://baja.olin.edu/?page_id=422). Take a look. More updates on how competition went coming soon!

Overall placements:

Hill Climb: 42nd
Suspension: 29th
Land Maneuverability: 29th
Acceleration: 43rd
Endurance: 50th

We’ve all safely arrived at the Travelodge in Opelika, AL! Tomorrow, we’re setting up shop at the National Center for Asphalt Technology and going through Engine Tech.

After a lot of work and preparation (and then some) we finally have our truck packed up and will be on our way momentarily. We’re more confident than ever in our vehicle and our drivers and we know it’ll be a great competition. I will be keeping this blog as well as our facebook page up to date with competition pictures, videos, and score.

Get excited!

Check out our new facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/OlinPhoenixRacing.

We’ll be posting updates, photos, and videos there, as well as on this blog.

Currently, we’re in the process of stripping down last year’s vehicle and finishing up fabrication of new components (mostly suspension). Check out our image gallery for pictures of disassembly and our sweet new suspension components. Tomorrow we’re planning on finishing up major fabrication operations, at which point we can start field testing our new suspension.

Wyatt and Robert inspecting a new front knuckle.

Just put the car back together and took it our for a spin in the snow.

More pictures here. Helmet Cam video here.

We are excited to announce that Boeing’s Propulsion Systems Division has decided to support the team with a $7000 donation. Boeing’s gift will be critical in allowing next year’s team to achieve their design objectives and goals for competition. Special Thanks go to Nasser M. Vaziri from Boeing’s Propulsion Systems Division!

Motorcycles of Manchester has been instrumental in helping the team find off-the-shelf components such as our half-shafts, tires, and rims. They also been giving us great discounts, which has helped us keep our project under budget.

With Bose’s most recent contribution of $3000, we have almost reached our fundraising target of $15,000 for the 2011/2012 season. At this point, we have raised over $13,000, a significant portion of which will be used to kick-start new projects next season. In addition, we’re using our funding to send as many students as possible to competition in April.

A few things to look forward to next season:

• A completely new drive train which will potentially include custom, hardened gearing, a chain drive, a new differential, and a more optimized CVT system
• More advanced use of composites such as fiberglass and carbon fiber
• A long-range, wireless data collection and vehicle monitoring system with driver alerts

We just got most of our National Instruments equipment in the mail, and we’re looking forward to getting something up and running over the next week or so. First order of business: Speedo and Tach.