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Final Product

Figure:  A picture of the cockpit for the Formula car without the steering wheel so it is possible to see the pedals

            The objective of this project was met by developing the cockpit ergonomics for SAE Mini-Baja and Formula SAE to meet certain requirements set by the SAE rulebook.  Last semester, we successfully chose or designed all the items included in the design, which are the steering wheels, shifters, pedal trays, seats, restraints, and gauges.  This semester, we have successfully built and tested all of our designs from last semester.

Working on our testing procedure to show that we successfully completed our final design product was very important to our project.  We put a lot of thought into this portion of this semester goals.  Our main idea was to make an evaluation form and have many differently sized and shaped people test out our products.  We had everyone fill out a form similar to a SUSAI form that students fill out about there teachers. 

 We were very pleased with our final cockpits for both the Formula and Baja car.  The other drivers in the club were asked to fill out a survey data sheet as part of our testing procedure.  The survey was very positive, receiving marks of eight or better in all of the categories and by all of the drivers that we could test.  Based on the people responses we made a few minor changes to our cockpit accordingly and created an ideal cockpit for any size or shape driver.

 Some of the basic requirements that we met are the car must be adaptable to a driver 6’ 3” tall and weighing 250 lbs down to a driver 5’ 2” and approximately 120 lbs.  The driver must be securely restrained and still be able to reach all of the controls without removing the harness.  The driver must also be able to exit the car from a “race ready” state in a maximum of five seconds.

 Both cockpits are sufficiently comfortable as to prevent driver fatigue during the endurance events and long testing sessions.  The steering wheel clears the driver’s legs and does not position the driver’s hands where they could be interfered with by any obstructions.  The shifter also is sufficiently clear of the driver to prevent obstructing the entrance or egress of the driver.  Any driver is able to comfortably reach the pedals without the need of any spacers or blocks attached to the feet or pedals because our adjustable pedal trays.  Also all drivers have the proper restraints in the seats as to prevent any movement while driving the vehicles.  Also, the harness and the seats themselves very secure and will not move while the vehicle is undergoing any dynamic loads.  Lastly, the shift light, gauges, and starter are clearly visible to the driver as well as any emergency kill switches.