What is Berkeley Formula Racing?

New goal of $15,000! Thank you all so much for your support! We're hoping to keep the momentum going, and raise $15,000 to help support the manufacturing of B26 and future endeavors.

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 120 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 17th Overall at Michigan Formula SAE. We're proud to have around 70 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 500 unique parts including our student-welded space frame chassis, custom carbon fiber aero package, and titanium exhaust system. 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 $85,000. Your support, now more critical than ever, is crucial to build our next season's car, B26. 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:

$4000 - Carbon Fiber Monococque Development

A monococque is a carbon fiber shell that would act as the frame of our car, replacing the current steel space frame chassis. Composites such as carbon fiber are difficult to model in software, so intense physical testing is required to accurately characterize the carbon fiber for a monococque that will not fail under extreme driving conditions. This is the first step for our two-year plan to integrate a monococque into our competition car for a massive decrease in mass and additional aerodynamic benefits.

$3000 - Carbon Fiber Wheel Shells

Our team's design philosophy is to build a lightweight car that handles exceptionally in tight corners. One of the largest steps our team can currently take to reduce mass is integrating carbon fiber wheel sheels. Carbon fiber wheel shells would save 9 lbs on our already light 370lbs car, allowing us to have the highest power-to-weight ratio any car produced by our team has had.

$2000 - Engine and Brake Dyno

A major focus for our team this year is design validation. An engine dyno allows us to run our KTM race engine on a test bench and optimally tune the power band of our engine for each dynamic event. For the brake package, a brake dyno would allow for a full characterization of the brake system and provide a method to optimize the temperature in the brakes for a larger braking force.

$1500 - Vehicle Dynamic Sensors

Using simulations to design our car is only the first step of a successful vehicle. Physical testing is required in order to validate simulations and ensure our car will not fail in our competition. In order to characterize the performance of our car, we developed an in-house data acquisition system called CANary, which is the central hub for all sensors measuring the car dynamically. By receiving more funds for sensors, we can purchase sensors such as IMU, wheel force transducers, and tire temp sensors, so we can optimize the setup of our car during our testing season and make the fastest car possible.

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 B26. 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 (@calformularacing).