What is Berkeley Formula Racing?

Who We Are

Thank you for visiting our page! We are Berkeley Formula Racing, a dedicated team of students who design, build, and race a single-seat car each year, competing against over 100 universities from around the globe. Our mission is to give our members a chance to apply their classroom knowledge in real-world scenarios. We take pride in inspiring students and demonstrating our engineering skills, and we depend on the generous support of people like you to make our projects a reality. As we are a non-profit 501(c)(3) org, all donations to us are 100% tax-deductible.

Since the team’s founding in 2001, we have grown from a small group into one of the nation’s top teams. This past year, we are proud to have placed 3rd Overall at Michigan Formula SAE, earning the best score in our team’s history by a significant margin. This means that we are currently ranked the 3rd fastest in this nation and 1st in California. We're proud to have around 60 active members this year, all from a variety of majors and different backgrounds. Our team is made up of 9 subsystems: Aerodynamics, Brakes & Driver Interface, Business, Chassis, Drivetrain, Engine, Electrical, Suspension, and Vehicle Dynamics. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment on our team where everyone feels welcome, regardless of experience or background.

Throughout the Fall semester, our team engages in the Design Phase, where each subsystem undergoes rigorous design reviews with sponsors and alumni to ensure we are on track to meet our goals. Once design is finalized, we transition into the Manufacturing Phase. During these two months, our student machinists make over 300 unique parts, and our student welders weld the steel space frame chassis. The rest of our members assist by jigging and assembling steel tubes for chassis welding and fabricating foam molds and carbon fiber sheets for the aerodynamic devices. Once we assemble all these components, we move into the Testing Phase where we work to debug the car, validate our designs, and tune the car for optimal performance. At the end of Testing we will be to able to go to Competition fully prepared in May!

STEM education is a cornerstone of our team's values, as we strive to create opportunities for innovation and learning beyond the classroom. These experiences not only contribute to the success of our car in competition but also deepen our understanding of design, engineering, and project management. However, these achievements would not be possible without sufficient funding, and we are immensely grateful for your support.

Berkeley Formula Racing is currently in the midst of success, reaching unprecedented heights and achieving milestones like never before. With a little extra support, we believe we can strive for the title of #1 Formula SAE team in the nation. However, as we embark on this journey, we are faced with a total development cost of $75,000. Your support, now more critical than ever, is crucial to build our next season's car, B25. We invite you to join our journey in creating the fastest, lightest, and most innovative car we’ve ever built.

Where Your Donation Will Go

We need $10,000 to be able to complete our car. Below, you can see a rough estimate of our costs:

$3500 - Wheel Package Assembly

Our drivetrain team is working on optimizing our wheel centers and machining them using a 5 axis CNC. We need enough sets of wheel assemblies to comfortably test with and run at comp with a set of wets as well!

$4000 - Chassis Manufacturing

Manufacturing our chassis to our design specifications requires a lot of precisely cut tubes, jigging, and welding. A well made chassis is the foundation of a successful race car.

$1000 - Engine Exhaust System

We are focusing on improving our exhaust system to balance noise levels and system mass. We are exploring new Titanium manufacturing strategies to reduce noise while lowering the overall weight of the exhaust

$1500 - Vehicle Dynamic Sensors e.g. IR Rotor Temperature

Using simulations to design our car is only the first step of a successful vehicle. Validating that our designs work in the real world and behave how we expect is essential for safety. Sensors like a brake IR rotor temperature sensor also help to tune the car so we can optimize the performance of the car.

Actual expenditures may vary. This funding will not only support the manufacturing of our car but also enable us to attend outreach events that engage the wider community and inspire future engineers. Most importantly, it will help cover transportation and testing costs for B25. If we exceed our crowdfunding goal, additional funds will allow for extensive testing and event participation, providing crucial learning opportunities to ensure our team is competition-ready. Regardless of the amount raised, we remain committed to our objectives: we will build and race this car. 

We realize we would not be able to succeed without the generosity of our community, and we are thankful for anything you are willing and able to donate. Please reach out to us with any questions or comments. 

Thank you again for your time and support! 

For any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to us at calfsae@gmail.com. Check our website out at fsae.berkeley.edu, and follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/calracing) and Instagram (@calformulasae).