Date added: 2024-07-09
PGR-08 - PGRacing Team unveiled its latest car
The ceremonial presentation of the bolide took place last Friday, 5 July, in the Fahrenheit Courtyard. The event was attended by Prof. Krzysztof Wilde, Rector of PG, Prof. Barbara Wikieł, Vice-Rector for Student Affairs, Prof. Andrzej Seweryn, Dean of WIMIO, Prof. Mariusz Deja, Vice-Dean for Cooperation, Prof. Jacek Kropiwnicki, Vice-Dean for Development, Dr. Bogdan Ścibiorski, supervisor of the "Mechanik" Student Research Club, as well as students, families and friends of the team members, media representatives and others interested in the newly developed vehicle.
Prof. Krzysztof Wilde, Rector of PG congratulated the students from the PGRacing Team on their newly developed racing car and wished them success in the Formula Student competition.
PGR-08 is already the eighth vehicle designed and constructed by the PGRacing Team from the "Mechanik" Student Club at the PG Mechanical Engineering and Ship Technology Faculty. The upgraded version of the racing car will be used by the students in competitions held in Austria, Czech Republic, Croatia, and Poland as part of the Formula Student series – international engineering competitions where the racing efficiency of the car and its components are evaluated and assessed.
Changes, improvements and innovations
Eight student groups worked on the car, including Powertrain, Electronics, Chassis, Aerodynamics, Suspension, Electric Powertrain, Driverless, and Marketing. Each group had specific tasks to complete. The design phase of the new vehicle began in November and lasted until February. The execution phase followed, spanning three months from March to June.
To design and simulate the car, the team utilized tools such as Ansys, Optimum G, Solidworks, KiCAD, and RapidHarness. These advanced technologies enabled the introduction of many innovative solutions. For the first time, the team implemented a diffuser and used carbon fiber wishbones, which passed fatigue tests in the laboratories of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Ship Technology.
The team also managed to eliminate the main issue of previous models – overheating of the power unit. The new cooling system posed the biggest challenge in building PGR-08. The team dedicated a lot of energy and time to identify and eliminate the cause of the overheating issue. As a result, the new vehicle will be able to move faster and maintain a steady race pace.
Furthermore, by introducing new solutions in the powertrain and reducing weight, the acceleration test time was shortened by 5%, significantly improving the vehicle's competitiveness.
Formula Student competition
How will the new car perform during the competition? The PGR-08 constructors will have the opportunity to find out soon. The PGRacing Team will take part in four editions of the international Formula Student competition:
Austria (21-25 July)
Czech Republic (5-10 August)
Croatia (20-25 August)
Poland (27 August - 2 September)
Additional information about the team's activities can be found on the PGRacing Team website.
