College name: MCKV Institute of Engineering, Liluah, Howrah, West Bengal

1. Team name: McVIANS (only team participating in the event from West Bengal)

2. University: West Bengal University of Technology

Captain: Ananda Sur Roy

Vice captain : Ratul Raychoudhury

Faculty advisor: Dr.Parasar Bandyopadhyay

Driver: Amartya Ghosh

Amartya on the driver's seat

3.

All members belong to AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING department.

The MCKV Team

4.CAR SPECIFICATION:

Suspension:

Front Suspension

The front suspension is a short-and-long control arm/A-arm wishbone arrangement. The upper control arm is 13 in. long and the lower length is 15”.

Rear Suspension

The rear suspension is a widely used independent suspension system, McPherson strut.

The strut itself is the load-bearing member within the assembly, with the spring and shock absorber performing their duty as oppose to actually holding the car up.

For bouncy track like the Natrax facility track, it’s a specially designed combination so as to provide better balance and road holding during bounce at good speeds.

Brakes:

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We have used Drum brakes in both front and rear. Reasons behind are:

Drum brakes have a natural “self-applying” characteristic. The rotation of the drum can drag either or both of the shoes into the friction surface, causing the brakes to bite harder, which increases the force holding them together.

Tires:

In this case also we didn’t compromise. We used ATV tires, (all terrain vehicle) suitable for BAJA vehicles. The tire configuration for front and rear are 21*7-10 & 22*8-10 respectively. The lightweight ATV tires have aggressive tread to perform well in loose dirt, dry as well as muddy conditions by offering higher traction. With a sporty look it has enough rim size to accommodate the brake assembly. But this is a rare combination, and so we had to face problems in designing the wheel hub. But we did it at last. Proper camber angle and toe in and toe out were provided.

For this, the whole brake assembly, with hubs and knuckle needed to be worked upon and we did it.

Steering:

Steering assembly was provided by ZF India ltd. We applied a proper steering wheel. It has been tried to achieve a lower steering ratio and as smaller turning radius as possible to perform well in maneuverability competition. Moreover, design aims at eliminating the bump steer as much as possible. Also tie rod has been worked upon for feasibility.

Sponsored items:

Engine from Lombardini India,

Transmission from M&M,

Seat belts from M/s Autoliv

Steering from ZF India

5. Steps taken towards weight reduction:

It was a deep drawn difficulty faced by team McVIANS to get steel tube as mentioned, i.e. 1018 steel or IS (Indian Standard) 1875 in the local market. After a lot of search we came up with the material we used:

DIN 2391 (DIN 2391/C ST.37.4/NBK) seamless pipe and it was beneficial for us.

We used less number of members, with our high-end design. Eliminating the non-necessary chassis linkages/flanges and clinically tailored parts has led us limit the weight of the vehicle low.

6. McVIANS rules!!

High end torque along with improved acceleration, with full use of gear ratios, suspension as smooth and flexible as see-saw, light weight of vehicle, proper racing seat, four point harness seat belt, safety equipments, minimum braking distance, improved maneuverability and last but not the least updated safety equipments are some of the features of the vehicle which give the McVIANS buggy an edge over the others.

7. Marketing wizardry

We started our marketing long days back. But as days went on we understood the condition of the market, especially due to recession. But being McVIANS, we never say die. We made stronger groups, with selected members according to their ability. Though we aren’t sponsored, but we are satisfied with our tries:

• We made a proper acceptable brochure for sponsorship.
• Distributed letters on behalf of college along with BAJA dvd-s.
• Approached almost 30 ACMA listed, and around 5 other selected companies within and outside West Bengal.
• We have our own team email address: mcvians.mckv@bajasaeindia.org
• We also have our team community. http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#Community.aspx?cmm=58596546
• Team jersey with name of each student, enhances our team spirit.
• The innovations on our part helped us to convince people.
• Our trial run video -

o As the fabrication is almost over we are trying to publicize our vehicle through different media like television, radio and newspaper. The search is on.

8. For other teams:

Regarding this, we would like to wish best of luck to all teams participating in BAJA SAE India 2009 and make the event successful. Safety is a big issue in an event like this especially for the drivers. So we would like to say, ‘whatever may be the reason, there’s nothing larger than life’. So guys and girls keep the competition healthy and keep your sportsmanship spirit high.

Remember:

McVIANS- never say die

Acknowledgement:

We are really grateful to BAJA SAE INDIA 2009 for giving us such a great opportunity to involve our mind and body and explore this vast automotive field. It has been a lifetime experience working in a team, mixing with various people and gathering theoretical and practical knowledge. Thanks to our college, and all other people without whom this project wouldn’t have been possible.

THANK YOU