Design, Material Selection and Fabrication of a Race Car Body Panel

This paper aims at the development of FRP body panel for FSAE race car. The student formula competitions challenges teams of university undergraduate and graduate students to conceive, design, fabricate, develop and compete with small, formula style, vehicles [1]. Various rules and regulations such as the use of an air restrictor limits the power of the engine. Hence to compensate for the loss of power, the objective shifts towards losing weight without compromising the strength of the vehicle in order to achieve high Power: Weight ratio. The body panel is an integral part of the vehicle as it incorporates aerodynamics and improves the aesthetic look of the vehicle. Weight reduction in this area also becomes easier as high strength is not required. Hence at a low cost, we get an elegant body panel with adequate strength and flexibility. This paper elaborates the design and fabrication of the body panel of team GSRacers Formula segment's 2015 race car; Aarjav which participated in SAE SUPRA 2015.