Resembling a professional Motorsport team, the MSU Formula SAE team endures similar work without all the glory.
“It’s basically Motorsport we’re not getting paid to do,” mechanical engineering senior and project manager Nicholas Decker said. “It’s a little more small-scaled.”
According to the team’s website, MSU Formula SAE team challenges students to not only fund the building of a small car, but to manufacture and race it as well.
Andy Gryczan, the current chief calibration engineer for Ilmor Engineering, an IndyCar engineering company, said that the biggest similarity between MSU Formula SAE and IndyCar racing is the aspect of a team.
“Really, when you see a car cross the finish line, it’s a huge team effort,” Gryczan said. “It’s just one person crossing the finish line, but in reality the total amount of hours and manpower to get there is crazy in both formula SAE and in Motorsport.”
The overall process of building a car from scratch teaches students the ins and outs of Motorsport engineering while going further by giving them hands-on experience.
The design stage resembles that of many Motorsport engineers, in which their job is to design parts to be as light as possible while maintaining the ability to withstand the high-speed forces on the track.
Another similarity is working under a deadline. In Motorsport, teams are constantly rushing to fix a problem before their next race.
Decker said he probably puts in around 70 hours a week at the shop, while being a full-time student.
“Throughout the whole process everything is going really fast and you have to make decisions quickly,” Decker said.
But what is most glorifying for the MSU Formula SAE team is when the wheels hit the track, highlighting their successes and acting as their own Motorsport team.
“It’s a constant struggle of keeping the driver cool and telling him what he needs to do better,” Decker said. “We have to take feedback from drivers and what we can do to make it better and see what exactly is wrong with the car.”
Gryczan said the biggest thing the team can do for a student is allow them to network.
“Talking to people at design shows could make you stand out for a potential spot in the future,” Gryczan said. “It’s come full circle. Some of the people that judged me I work with now.”
