Formula Manipal : “Engineered with passion”

April 20, 2012 | Filed under: Cars,College Life | Posted by: Abhay Maheshwari

LATE NIGHT, 0300 HOURS :: APRIL, 2012

“Crank, cam and TPS sensors connected hai ??; Anderson- ghusa do andar ; EGT, IAT ; ECT – perfect …. Gaadi neutral mein hai naa? – Yup.

Fuel pump and the fan switched on. Fire extinguisher on standby. Shift light blinks 6 times (good sign).Abey exhaust muffler ke saamne se hut!! Perfect! We good to go.

Tushar, (our electronics guy), grabs the throttle behind with one and pushes the ignition with the other hand. Fingers crossed. Its dead silence.”

The engine cranks and roars louder at each stroke. At 11000 RPM, the exhaust down pipe is a smoking babe screaming as if it’s her nightmare and I don’t want to get any closer to this engine. It’s the HONDA CBR 600 RR engine and that’s why the car is so fast. It accelerates from 0-100 in 4.8s with max engine power -72 BHP at 12000RPM that too because of the20mm restrictor.

“On the race track, warm up everything properly and then you just floor it and hang on.”

Formula Manipal, a team of 40 undergraduates who design, manufacture, test and race a Formula style open wheel race car that participates in events hosted by Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (FSAE) where world class teams flock to ,every. As mentioned earlier, we are proud to be one of them. Formula SAE (FSAE) is a student design competition organized by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). The different cars competing at the event are evaluated on quality of design and good engineering practice. The competitions are held in 9 different zones around the globe with more than 2000 participating engineering students.

“Perfect is not just enough.”

Since its inception in 2008, and with the every new season, the team has grown not only in size, but also in technical ability. The team has been to Italy, UK and Austria, to participate in the FSAE event, for the past four years, and every venture has been better than the previous one and successful too. The competition gives us an opportunity of applying classroom principles in real life by designing, fabricating and racing a car. With the larger picture in mind, it is not just the Manipal University we represent at the racetracks abroad but in a way, it is India, as a whole that we represent.

“Engineered with passion”

Phrase that was coined especially for the team, stands true to the hilt. Every workshop meeting, every sleepless night added to the list, every lecture bunked, showcases the amount of hard work, commitment and determination that goes into each and every aspect of building the car, from making designs to testing the engine, making iterations, and test driving the completed masterpiece.

For us, college life is largely dedicated to the roaring of the engine, to every Sunday meeting, to the teamwork and to the immense bliss associated in the making of our dream car. We efficiently utilize all the limited means available and focus on making the most of it, to using every opportunity to the maximum, even if it involves travelling to various parts of the country to do so.

For us, Formula Manipal is not merely a team- It is a culture.

Formula Manipal Official Website : http://www.formulamanipal.in/
Formula Manipal Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/FormulaManipal

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