Research On Vehicle Arrangement And Weight Reduc- Tion Of FSE Race Car

Weight reduction, electrification, intelligentization and networking are the future trend of vehicles, posing new demands for the research of electric formula race cars. Cars that are more compatible and lighter would have lower air resistance and less body roll-ing, which will enhance the car’s acceleration ability and handling stability, rendering it more possible to get higher scores in racing events. Therefore, it is of great significance to carry out research on vehicle arrangement and weight reduction of electric formula race cars.This paper is based on Guangdong University of Technology’s FSEC project, opti-mally designed the vehicle arrangement including:relocated the batteries from both sides to the back of driver’s cell, designed a new one-stage chain transmission powertrain sys-tem, designed an arrangement plan for the braking system.In this paper, materials, structure and manufacture process are all synthetically in-volved. The battery box’s structure is designed for the new arrangement plan, together with the newly selected drive motor, the weight reduction design of drivetrain system is done. Also, the weight reduction of powertrain system is achieved by designing a new structure of integrated hub and optimizing the sprocket and the differential housing. Furthermore, a new quick release type adjustable paddle assembly is designed for the weight reduction of ergonomic parts. Finally, the frame is both strengthened and light-ened under the direction of weight reduction designing.The newly designed race car is 64kg lighter than that of the 2014 car, realizing the goal made in the early stage of research and development. The performance of the new race car did 4.70s,5.19s and 71.70s in acceleration event, skid-pad event and autocross event respectively. All the performance indicators have met the expectations, rendering the car more competitive on the track.