SAE Baja Project Description
The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Baja Collegiate Design Series is an engineering challenge in which university students design and build a single-seat, all-terrain vehicle to compete against other schools’ designs and vehicles. In this competition, our Northern Arizona University team is competing against over one hundred school teams from across the nation. The competition will include a series of challenges including design, acceleration, maneuverability, sled pull, and suspension tests/races.
The NAU team strives to be competitive at the SAE Baja Competition in Gorman, California in April 2024. More specifically, the team's highest goal is to be in the top 5 programs overall. To achieve this goal, the team is dedicated to continuous innovation and collaboration . Our team is composed of 13 mechanical engineering students, divided into four sub teams including drivetrain, frame, front end, and rear suspension. Meet the team engineers here.
In order to build a competitive vehicle, the project requires extensive funding. We look forward to partnering with successful companies and valuable donors in this process. The team would appreciate your help to generate fundraising. Please visit the
Fundraising
page to contribute and invest in the success of this project.
Team Descriptions
Front End
The front end team consists of three members who are
responsible for the suspension, steering, and braking design of the front half
of the vehicle. The geometric design of this region is highly iterative and
requires substantial integration with other sub-teams in the group. The front
end team hopes to design a system that will allow the vehicle to place amongst
the top teams in the maneuverability aspect of the SAE Baja competition in
Gorman, CA.
Rear Suspension
The rear suspension team has three team members who are
responsible for team finances, website development, as well as the suspension
system in the rear. Finding the rear suspension geometry, like the front end,
can require a very iterative process to find a strong suspension system. The
team’s focus is creating a system that is lightweight and maximizes the amount
of power coming out of the axles to the wheels. This also requires intense
integration with other sub teams to ensure a competitive vehicle.
Frame
The frame team is composed of three team members who are
responsible for designing and fabricating the Baja vehicle frame. In the design
phase, the frame team must meet SAE Baja Technical Rules and integrate each
sub-system onto the frame. In the manufacturing phase, the frame team will
fabricate the frame and coordinate the sub-system integration necessary to
build a competitive Baja vehicle. By completing these tasks, the frame team
will optimally enable the performance of the other sub-teams, which will result
in a high placement at the 2024 SAE Baja event in Gorman, California.
Drivetrain
The drivetrain team is made up of four members who are
responsible for the propulsion of the vehicle. This system consists of the
transmission, gearboxes and 4WD integration. Our goal is to make this car as
fast as possible in the acceleration event and be able to sustain high speeds
in all the other events at the SAE Baja Competition in Gorman, California.
