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| www.clarkson.edu | Clarkson SPEED | www.sae.org |
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What is Baja? |
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Baja is one of SAE's (Society of Automotive Engineers) design competitions. It consists of three competitions held across the US. Baja requires participants to use real-world engineering practices to conquer the challenges associated with designing and building an all-terrain vehicle.
The vehicles required to compete in a Baja event must be able to handle rocks, logs, jumps, drops, mud, and water in one of the competitions. To keep teams on a level playing field, each team is supplied a Briggs & Stratton 10 hp engine. The Baja team must take the engine and build or buy components to construct the rest of the vehicle. The construction could require using CNCs, lathes, hand mills, saws, drills, welders, and many more tools.
The competitions are broken into three separate categories: static events, dynamic events, and the famous endurance race.
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- Static Events (first day)
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Before you even arrive at the race site the competition is well underway. Teams are required to submit a design report and a cost report to the judges. The design report documents all the features of the design, including analysis and CAD drawings. The cost report is used to determine how much the car would cost to manufacture. Once on the race site, there are two more static events. A safety inspection of the car is performed by judges. They look for things including, frame within rules, no sharp edges, adequate guards, engine with specifications, gas cap does not leak, etc. The final static event is a design review. At this event, team members talk to judges about the features of the car. The judges give points based on suspension, steering, braking, ergonomics, manufacturability, etc. The car must also demonstrate the ability to brake and lock all four wheels. |
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- Dynamic Events (second day)
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After passing the static events, a team may participate in the four dynamic events. Past dynamic events have included a log pull, acceleration run, hill climb, rock crawl, suspension course, steering course, water maneuverability, and mud bog. For each event, teams are scored based on how well they do compared to the other teams. |
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- Endurance Race (final day)
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The endurance race is just what it sounds like, a long, grueling adventure. The event can last four hours or 75 miles and consist of obstacles that can easily destroy suspensions, tear the floatation apart, and send drive trains to the junk yard. Throughout the race, cars will be dragged back to the pits by ATVs for repairs. The teams that did their homework are the teams that shine in the endurance race. |
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