1. A TECHNICAL INSPECTOR’S GUIDE TO THE 2015 FSAE RULES REMINDERS AND RECENT TOPICS

2. -- The students are our customers –
Perspective
Each team paid $2,100 to enter the competition.
And even if they win outright, cash awards don’t come close to the cost of fielding a car.
For most teams, this will be their only competition.
Students spend up to 1,500hr of labor (per person!) per year, building a car that will only compete for 3 days.
-- The students are our customers –
As Technical Inspectors, our role is to provide:
A baseline safety standard
A level playing field
…not our “kids”…

3. Use ‘Quick Jack’ in Tech
T6.6 Jacking Point :
A Quick Jack will be present in the Tech garage- try to use it to lift the rear wheels off the ground, if concerned about the jacking point.
Jacking point

4. Be gentle with brake pedal, unless…
T The brake pedal shall be designed to withstand a force of 2000 N without any failure of the brake system or pedal box.
This is a design requirement, but was not intended to be a ‘test’ during Technical Inspection.
Please do not get into each car to test this. This check can be requested if you have a specific concern about a brake system (ie: composites or plastic in the support structure.)
Come get (Mark, Matt, or Jeff) before doing this- this check often damages the vehicle, and we need to explain the situation to the team first. (They can choose to fix it based on a discussion; or see what happens when Mark applies 400lb to the pedal.)

5. Be gentle with wings, unless…
T9.7.1: Aerodynamic Device Stability
If any deflection is significant, a force of approximately 200N can be applied and the resulting deflection should not be more than 25mm and any permanent deflection less than 5mm.
This is a new requirement for 2015, intended to reduce the occurrence of wings coming loose during dynamic events.
In non-structural parts of the wings (end plates, outermost edges) single-finger-type forces can certainly damage the vehicle. But this is not what we’re interested in- instead we want to evaluate the robustness of the mounting system between the wing and the frame.
If the wing systems seem flimsy, come get (Mark, Matt, or Jeff) before doing this- we need to explain the situation to the team first.

6. Impact Attenuator
“Standard Attenuator” must be glued together if made up of multiple sheets of foam.
Standard Attenuator
If the attenuator is made of more than one piece of foam those pieces must be glued together using a structural adhesive that is compatible with the Impax foam.  Segments may not be stacked without glue.
- Requirements found at

7. Fuel tank can’t stick out (duh?)
In side view no portion of the fuel system can project below the lower surface of the frame or the monocoque, whichever is applicable.
Previous years had a few cars where the fuel tank protruded out beneath the lowest frame tubes (we required teams to fix it.)
Design OK: fuel tank completely inside frame structure.

8. Radiator ducts behind driver
When the radiator duct is positioned behind the driver, ensure there is not line-of-sight between any part of the radiator and the driver (below midpoint on helmet).
T4.5.1 …any point less than 100 mm (4 ins.) above the bottom of the helmet of the tallest driver shall not be in direct line of sight with any part of the fuel system, the cooling system or the engine oil system.
Inspect line-of-sight to radiator, even inside duct.

9. Bellypan diapers
IC2.7.3 Belly pans must be vented to prevent accumulation of fuel.
We need to avoid accumulation of oils also, which become a fire hazard especially near the exhaust headers.
For teams that have an undertray or under-engine bodywork panels, there should not be any absorbant or fibrous materials directly under the engine compartment.
Installing absorbent pads underneath the engine is appealing to teams because it reduces the visibility of oil leaks and associated DNF’s during Endurance. These pads are not acceptable, please look for them and reject them when found.

10. Seat Mounting
Any rigid structures used to mount the driver’s seat must be designed to avoid piercing the seat in a collision.
For example, go-kart style seat shells should not be mounted with steel tubes, especially if the tube centerlines point in the direction of the driver’s torso.

11. Driver Suits optional for Egress
(Past years have caused dilemmas regarding if suits are necessary or not...)
For 2015, please follow the policy below when performing egress checks:
Must wear long pants. (Driver suits not required.)
Must wear tennis shoes or similar. (Driver shoes not required, but no sandals allowed.)
Must wear approved gloves, helmet, and wrist restraints. (No exceptions.)
Most commonly, street shoes and pants are more difficult to egress in than driver’s gear. You might choose to point this out to a struggling driver, and they could retry egress in a driver’s suit.

12. Consistency during Tech
Inconsistency is the #1 complaint among FSAE teams.
Please be constructive in noticing the differences between your inspection bay and those around you, and take a moment to discuss with us or your peers if you notice things done differently.
This example is OK:
Inspection bay A doesn’t notice an issue with steering wheel height above front roll hoop. Issue is caught later in template check area, and team is angry they weren’t told earlier.
To err is human, this is inevitable, don’t despair.
This example could be improved:
Inspection bay B takes 45 minutes with a team, completes inspection, finds 4 problems, and sends the team away to fix them.
Inspection bay C takes 120 minutes with a team, completes inspection, finds 4 problems, and sends the team away to fix them.
Bay C should consider what they can do to give the same information in less time, as they are interacting with the teams.

13. Questions?