Raceday 2011 open questions

[shafeeq]

Since Sam is trying to catch up on all the real work he'd been putting off for buggy, I'll throw out a few topics that came up in conversations in different sets of alumni over Carnival. Maybe those who couldn't be present have their 2 cents to add.

PiKA has shown they can build a standard trike that's as fast downhill as their reverse trikes. I can't recall another team in the modern era that has been able to compare good buggies of both types head-to-head. Will they find the answer to the age-old question of which configuration is better for going uphill?

SigEp, for whatever reason, had the hatch on one of their buggies open during design. In years past there would've been a crowd of other mechanics staring at any uncovered buggy, but I didn't see many non-alumni taking a look. Are people just not curious what other teams came up with? Or do they already know everything SigEp could be doing? Or did I just miss the crowd?

What did Fringe get right with Bonsai to get such an improvement with a buggy that looks similar to its predecessor? (or perhaps, what did they get wrong with Borealis?).

Is the SN driver's head injuries something peculiar to that buggy, or is it something that could happen in any buggy that crashes the same way? If so, are people comfortable with that?

We've gotten used to seeing oversteer spins. We never see its understeer counterpart, except perhaps when PiKA goes mysteriously sliding into the outer bales while trying to turn. Maybe it happens more often but we never notice because the wheels are hidden in fairings?

[Barnaby]

What were the SigNu driver's injuries, I never heard anything official, just rumors? I don't think you can fully eliminate danger from buggy, but we need to keep it safe enough that the school doesn't come down on it like they have booth the last couple of years.

Understeer is always harder to see, particularly since most org's lines don't take them very close to the outer bales so they just scrub off speed till they can make the turn. It wouldn't surprise me if some buggies do understeer and thats why they don't make it through the chute as well as others, but i doubt it will ever be as visibly commonplace as the oversteer slides are right now.

[Carl Nott]

What did Fringe get right with Bonsai to get such an improvement with a buggy that looks similar to its predecessor? (or perhaps, what did they get wrong with Borealis?).

Well, a snarky prick would say that Fringe probably realized that they could not possibly compete with CIA in design and settled by building a fast buggy that could win the race. Hopefully the men's trophy is large enough to catch the combined tears of the Fringe mechanics as they lament their failure.

I might propose that the Fringe head mechanic carry the men's trophy (and perhaps a plaque engraved with '49.7 - 2nd Place Design') everywhere with him, as a constant reminder of his shame.

[Zatchmo]

SigEp, for whatever reason, had the hatch on one of their buggies open during design. In years past there would've been a crowd of other mechanics staring at any uncovered buggy, but I didn't see many non-alumni taking a look. Are people just not curious what other teams came up with? Or do they already know everything SigEp could be doing? Or did I just miss the crowd?

Mechanics walk by, snap a few photos, and move to the next group hoping to get a glimpse of something interesting now. Or maybe even just naturally expect the dirt to appear on CMU Buggy later.

[danjben]

The past four Fringe head mechanics before me were each head mechanic for three years. 4 head mechanics X 3 years each = the 12 straight years of 1st in design comp.
I will only be head mechanic for one year (graduating) so I'll be breaking another streak there also.

I might propose that the Fringe head mechanic carry the men's trophy (and perhaps a plaque engraved with '49.7 - 2nd Place Design') everywhere with him, as a constant reminder of his shame.

But this I think I can handle...

[jixson]

Well, a snarky prick would say that Fringe probably realized that they could not possibly compete with CIA in design and settled by building a fast buggy that could win the race. Hopefully the men's trophy is large enough to catch the combined tears of the Fringe mechanics as they lament their failure.

We shifted our efforts from making sure we win 1st place in design to making sure we win the T-Shirt award. I mean, come on, in 20 years, who's gonna remember who won 1st in design comp in 2011? Now the T-Shirt award, however, there's where immortality's at.

[blue]

And here I was thinking we decided to be nice and share the design comp trophy love--take a year off between collecting Design Comp Pong sets and all. Might as well shift our efforts over towards a Championship Plate Pong set, and all that.


PS: I'm trying to be funny, not a complete a**. If I fail miserably at that, sorry for hurting your very sensitive feelings.

[rlbrowne]

We shifted our efforts from making sure we win 1st place in design to making sure we win the T-Shirt award. I mean, come on, in 20 years, who's gonna remember who won 1st in design comp in 2011? Now the T-Shirt award, however, there's where immortality's at.

I have to say, I think the CIA shirts from last year were the prettiest of all. We've got to get a picture of that one up here sometime...I'll work on that.

[Carl Nott]

Gotta say, I'm having trouble fighting the temptation to make a massive donation to buggy for the purpose of providing a gigantic trophy to the t-shirt design winner.

[jixson]

Gotta say, I'm having trouble fighting the temptation to make a massive donation to buggy for the purpose of providing a gigantic trophy to the t-shirt design winner.

DO WANT, between that and the 1st place Men's trophy, I think all of our tears can be caught