NU Formula Racing is building its first drivable electric car

Since switching from an internal combustion engine to an all-electric car in 2023, Northwestern Formula Racing has not been able to develop a drivable vehicle, McCormick junior Stella Heo said. This year the team wants to change that.

Heo’s first year was the first time the club was fully electric. Since then, they’ve had to change their approach to building a car, she said.

“It’s definitely been a shift in thinking about how much time we can allocate to design rather than actual construction,” said Heo, Formula’s project manager.

Formula consists of 10 sub-teams – Vehicle Integration, Suspension, Powertrain Electronics, Power Distribution, Aerodynamics, DAQ, Accumulator, Chassis, Safety Electronics and Battery Management – ​​all of which have team leaders and general members.

In her first year of college Heo was part of the powertrain team working to generate electricity to power the car. She was also part of the chassis sub-team that designs and builds the car’s frame and structural components. In her second year, she served as a team leader.

The team’s work culminates in the Formula SAE competition. where his car is judged. Competitive events held in Michigan include technical inspections, technical design, high performance endurance, individual performance trials, cost and presentation.

For their latest car, NFR25, Heo said the team’s main goal is to “get this car ready to race by April”, the earliest ever. She said they may have to compromise on the design to make it work, but the team is willing to do that.

“It may not be the most epic design, but it will still work,” Heo said. “If things continue, hopefully this year’s car can serve as a basis. We know it can provide the bare minimum. How can we go beyond that?”

Last year’s car, the NFR24, passed the mechanical technical test but not the accumulator technical test, meaning it could not take part in racing.

The NFR22 was Formula’s last drivable car, manufactured in 2022, and its last internal combustion engine vehicle. It completed seven and a half laps before falling victim to an explosion in the cockpit due to an oil blockage. The NFR23, the team’s first fully electric car, failed the Formula SAE technical test.

McCormick sophomore Anton Walvoord, Formula’s power distribution manager, said he joined as a freshman and appreciated that the team could work with multiple disciplines on the same project.

“I learned a lot about electrical things, maybe even similar to what I learned in my courses,” said Walvoord, who is responsible for the car’s electrical wiring harness and low-voltage battery, as well as general power and data distribution throughout the car. “I also learned a lot about budgeting and some management topics.”

Formula is similar to a small business, so members learn about business and marketing, according to its website. The team also has to present its business case to a potential manufacturer, which involves a cost analysis.

Formula’s workshop is located at Ford Motor Company’s Engineering Design Center.

Chassis boss and McCormick junior Nathan Lee said the best thing about the formula is the community.

“And I just like having fun and doing cool stuff,” he said.

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