Team Momentum and Community Outreach

May 4th, 2025

The team has been gradually gaining momentum! As several new recruits have been brought in, we've been working in parallel on different areas: editing our website, sending out emails to companies for fundraising, researching and CADing suspension, and filling out the parts list. We've also held a series of electrical lessons within our meetings, covering the propulsion and auxiliary systems.

On April 24th we were happy to bring La Vitesse to Escondido Elementary's science fair. Kids got to sit in a solar car and learn about solar energy, parents got to catch some pictures, and we got to see all their smiling faces! Since this project is at its core an educational venture, we love taking the time to teach and involve the younger community. This great opportunity for us and the kids wouldn't have been possible without the Escondido organizers'/parents' helping cover transportation costs and giving us hands as we moved the car, so thank you to them!

A patient line of kids at Escondido's science fair.

Just yesterday, a few of us went across the street and had the chance to visit the Stanford Solar Car Project in their workshop. We learned a ton about different issues that the Stanford team takes into consideration when designing their solar cars, such as a low center of mass to prevent the car from flipping and tipping over. Since Stanford's current car is made mostly from composite, we were also able to learn more about the process of constructing a light and sturdy exterior of our car, leading us to consider alternate ways of attaching the shell to our frame. Overall, it was great to see how more advanced teams function, and we learned a lot.

As for some specific work we've done, our main focus has been making overarching design choices as well as filling out the parts list. We'll be replacing the car's front and rear suspension/wheels/brakes with a more motorcycle-style set of systems, since that will be tougher than the previous bicycle parts (it's important that parts be sturdy since 2026 is a cross-country race). Motorcycle hub motors, custom-made suspension with a leading link geometry as seen in some motorcycles, motorcycle brakes: we decided on these parts with input from our first year car and from the Seattle Solar Car Team (thanks Atticus!).

A rough CAD of the leading link suspension system.

All in all, we are trying to make what progress we can amidst AP finals and currently ongoing AP exams. We plan to flesh out the parts list and order some time before summer break, at which point we'll start the physical work on the car. Go PASCAR!