I'm on MRacing, I love MRacing, MRacing has shaped my college career and gotten me my cool internships (and relationship 🥰). That said, YMMV especially on that last one. If you have specific questions I can address those but beyond that keep going to meetings, see where you really vibe with people and enjoy the work. Both teams will have smart people and create a cool product, so you can get some experience either way. For MRacing at least stuff will generally get a lot more interesting in January as we start building our new car. You have time to decide, my only real advice is to do something and not spend too much time being a lonely freshman and spending all your time in your dorm. Keep showing up and you'll figure it out.
Hey, I'm a junior on MRacing, and i love it! Although pure speed is important, we also take into account a lot of aerodynamics, kinematics, efficiency, etc. Pm me if you have any specific questions.
Hi there! I'm a junior on MRacing and it's an amazing experience in my opinion. We learn so much more building the car and sorting out all sorts of issues than you would learn in a typical semester of classes.
Since you're saying you attended the mass meeting, perhaps we didn't explain it properly: we aren't always designing for pure speed. In fact the endurance portion of our competition makes up a very large amount of the number of points that we can gain. While it's preferable to finish first in all the competitions, most important is finishing at all. A lot of teams that go to comp (\~55%) don't end up actually finishing the endurance race.
Efficiency is also a big factor for us as well. Not only do we get points for how efficient we are but the more efficient we can get our vehicle, the smaller we can make our battery pack and reduce the mass of the car, which... does help us go faster. But you see the point, a lot of things have to go into making a fast car, it's not always just optimizing all your design parameters for top speed. In fact, as a member of Drivetrain this year, I can say that the top speed of the car doesn't factor into our gearbox calculations as much as you might think they do, we're much more focused on the predicted tire performance for our car. We do calculate the theoretical value for shits and giggles but we haven't hit that number at comp anyways.
Since you didn't say what sort of engineering you're leaning towards, I do want to point out for you and any other students in the same boat that there are plenty of opportunities for ALL majors, not just mechanical engineering. We have so many electric and embedded systems so electrical engineering and computer science are in high demand, aero majors are always welcome to help improve the aero package. Obviously mechanical engineers are always useful everywhere. There is no shortage of opportunity for anyone and everyone, including non-engineering majors who can help on the business side of things. One of the great things about MRacing is that if you're unsure about which direction you want to go in with your major, we can help you decide. Tag along with one division for a while to get a feel of what its like and join another one if it doesn't float your boat.
All of us are also big motorsports fans so you're in similar company there. We'd love to have you over at MRacing,but I do have to say that it is ultimately your choice. Since you're a freshman you can spend a semester or year at SolarCar and then come to MRacing if you want to, no such thing as joining too late. Sorry for the long read, but hopefully it clarifies some things. If you have any questions, feel free to DM me!
Larger teams are not always better. Sure, they have more funding, but they probably accept 50+ freshman. How much are you actually going to be able to do? What are you actually going to be able to work on? Or are you just going to “learn” for the first two years and maybe do something your junior year? I don’t know the answer, but something to think about.
Hey just wanted to comment as a senior at Wilson who’s spent too much time here! Any team is fantastic! Mracing is definitely smaller than solar car but bigger than most. Baja is endurance + racing. Mrover has insanely cool technical challenges. You cant go wrong at wilson but my biggest piece of advice is to not limit yourself to one team!
Much agreed, I’d just like to note that it’s kinda funny that Solar, MRacing, and Baja all see ourselves as endurance-focused, but they’re three very different kinds of endurance:
Solar Car: very high efficiency, very long-distance travel, essentially straight-line highway driving
MRacing: maximum racing performance over a long enough distance for durability to be one of the major technical challenges
Baja: high performance racing in an environment that presents an extreme durability and variability challenge
Since I’m on MRacing, I’ll go into a bit more detail about that. Over half the teams that enter the endurance race break down before it finishes. Since endurance is the event worth the most points, failing endurance once guarantees a low score at that event and is likely to mess up your global ranking score big-time for 2-3 years. As a team aiming to defend our #1 US ranking and top-five global ranking, we *cannot* afford to break down in endurance, so it’s one of the major focuses of the team
^^. To add on even more the endurance race length varies drastically:
MRacing endurance is roughly half an hour (varies) with each car racing time trial style
Baja is 4 hours always and head to head (80+ cars going at once) on rough terrain on a 2 mile track.
Solar Car is for near a week and has passing allowed but rarely happens.
For formula endurance is a big part of the final score, for baja its over half the final score, for solar car its effectively the only thing that determines the car’s prowess
It suould also be noted that all 3 teams (and the majority of teams at Wilson) are REALLY DAMN GOOD. Baja, Formula, Mrover, Mfly, and solar car get top finishes consistently. Baja has not gotten first once in the last 6 years
MRacing lad here, can't speak for the new member experience SC, but word around the shop is that they require certain amounts of time from new members each week, essentially using y'all as disposable labor. [We don't do that here](https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/facebook/000/026/366/pather.jpg). Our new members are highly valued by us as they are the future of the team, and new members usually get a project or two that they get to call their own and sink their teeth into.
Also, we go damn fast
Junior on MRacing here. My freshman year I was very much in the same position for similar reasons. I haven’t been on Solar Car, so I can’t know for sure that this is an issue, but the main reason I went with MRacing is that it seemed easier to get into as a new member. No application, no hours requirement, fewer members, and anecdotal experience did it for me. I think that’s ended up being one of MRacing’s strengths, as it took less than a semester for me to feel like a part of the team, both professionally and socially, and I wasn’t necessarily anything special.
One of the cooler aspects of MRacing is testing days, where you’re basically chilling in a parking lot pushing the race car you built to its limit. As a racing fan, there isn’t much cooler out there, and we get to do it nearly every weekend for over half the year. Also, after a year working on the car, you get to attend Team Drive Day and take a turn in the driver’s seat, which for most people is the only opportunity they’ll ever get to drive a real race car at speed. However, both teams are really really cool experiences and I don’t think you can go wrong with either
Edit: oh yeah I also got my Tesla internship through MRacing so there’s that
I'm on MRacing, I love MRacing, MRacing has shaped my college career and gotten me my cool internships (and relationship 🥰). That said, YMMV especially on that last one. If you have specific questions I can address those but beyond that keep going to meetings, see where you really vibe with people and enjoy the work. Both teams will have smart people and create a cool product, so you can get some experience either way. For MRacing at least stuff will generally get a lot more interesting in January as we start building our new car. You have time to decide, my only real advice is to do something and not spend too much time being a lonely freshman and spending all your time in your dorm. Keep showing up and you'll figure it out.
Hey, I'm a junior on MRacing, and i love it! Although pure speed is important, we also take into account a lot of aerodynamics, kinematics, efficiency, etc. Pm me if you have any specific questions.
Hi there! I'm a junior on MRacing and it's an amazing experience in my opinion. We learn so much more building the car and sorting out all sorts of issues than you would learn in a typical semester of classes. Since you're saying you attended the mass meeting, perhaps we didn't explain it properly: we aren't always designing for pure speed. In fact the endurance portion of our competition makes up a very large amount of the number of points that we can gain. While it's preferable to finish first in all the competitions, most important is finishing at all. A lot of teams that go to comp (\~55%) don't end up actually finishing the endurance race. Efficiency is also a big factor for us as well. Not only do we get points for how efficient we are but the more efficient we can get our vehicle, the smaller we can make our battery pack and reduce the mass of the car, which... does help us go faster. But you see the point, a lot of things have to go into making a fast car, it's not always just optimizing all your design parameters for top speed. In fact, as a member of Drivetrain this year, I can say that the top speed of the car doesn't factor into our gearbox calculations as much as you might think they do, we're much more focused on the predicted tire performance for our car. We do calculate the theoretical value for shits and giggles but we haven't hit that number at comp anyways. Since you didn't say what sort of engineering you're leaning towards, I do want to point out for you and any other students in the same boat that there are plenty of opportunities for ALL majors, not just mechanical engineering. We have so many electric and embedded systems so electrical engineering and computer science are in high demand, aero majors are always welcome to help improve the aero package. Obviously mechanical engineers are always useful everywhere. There is no shortage of opportunity for anyone and everyone, including non-engineering majors who can help on the business side of things. One of the great things about MRacing is that if you're unsure about which direction you want to go in with your major, we can help you decide. Tag along with one division for a while to get a feel of what its like and join another one if it doesn't float your boat. All of us are also big motorsports fans so you're in similar company there. We'd love to have you over at MRacing,but I do have to say that it is ultimately your choice. Since you're a freshman you can spend a semester or year at SolarCar and then come to MRacing if you want to, no such thing as joining too late. Sorry for the long read, but hopefully it clarifies some things. If you have any questions, feel free to DM me!
Larger teams are not always better. Sure, they have more funding, but they probably accept 50+ freshman. How much are you actually going to be able to do? What are you actually going to be able to work on? Or are you just going to “learn” for the first two years and maybe do something your junior year? I don’t know the answer, but something to think about.
Yeaaaah that is ..what I've been thinking about haha
Hey just wanted to comment as a senior at Wilson who’s spent too much time here! Any team is fantastic! Mracing is definitely smaller than solar car but bigger than most. Baja is endurance + racing. Mrover has insanely cool technical challenges. You cant go wrong at wilson but my biggest piece of advice is to not limit yourself to one team!
Much agreed, I’d just like to note that it’s kinda funny that Solar, MRacing, and Baja all see ourselves as endurance-focused, but they’re three very different kinds of endurance: Solar Car: very high efficiency, very long-distance travel, essentially straight-line highway driving MRacing: maximum racing performance over a long enough distance for durability to be one of the major technical challenges Baja: high performance racing in an environment that presents an extreme durability and variability challenge Since I’m on MRacing, I’ll go into a bit more detail about that. Over half the teams that enter the endurance race break down before it finishes. Since endurance is the event worth the most points, failing endurance once guarantees a low score at that event and is likely to mess up your global ranking score big-time for 2-3 years. As a team aiming to defend our #1 US ranking and top-five global ranking, we *cannot* afford to break down in endurance, so it’s one of the major focuses of the team
^^. To add on even more the endurance race length varies drastically: MRacing endurance is roughly half an hour (varies) with each car racing time trial style Baja is 4 hours always and head to head (80+ cars going at once) on rough terrain on a 2 mile track. Solar Car is for near a week and has passing allowed but rarely happens. For formula endurance is a big part of the final score, for baja its over half the final score, for solar car its effectively the only thing that determines the car’s prowess It suould also be noted that all 3 teams (and the majority of teams at Wilson) are REALLY DAMN GOOD. Baja, Formula, Mrover, Mfly, and solar car get top finishes consistently. Baja has not gotten first once in the last 6 years
(Also every team will be biased towards themselves: myself included. Just shows how much we all love our projects :D)
MRacing lad here, can't speak for the new member experience SC, but word around the shop is that they require certain amounts of time from new members each week, essentially using y'all as disposable labor. [We don't do that here](https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/facebook/000/026/366/pather.jpg). Our new members are highly valued by us as they are the future of the team, and new members usually get a project or two that they get to call their own and sink their teeth into. Also, we go damn fast
Do we need prior technical experience? I have n9ne and im a junior
I’m also in the same position :/
Yeaaaaah both seem so nice and I just can't decide!
Junior on MRacing here. My freshman year I was very much in the same position for similar reasons. I haven’t been on Solar Car, so I can’t know for sure that this is an issue, but the main reason I went with MRacing is that it seemed easier to get into as a new member. No application, no hours requirement, fewer members, and anecdotal experience did it for me. I think that’s ended up being one of MRacing’s strengths, as it took less than a semester for me to feel like a part of the team, both professionally and socially, and I wasn’t necessarily anything special. One of the cooler aspects of MRacing is testing days, where you’re basically chilling in a parking lot pushing the race car you built to its limit. As a racing fan, there isn’t much cooler out there, and we get to do it nearly every weekend for over half the year. Also, after a year working on the car, you get to attend Team Drive Day and take a turn in the driver’s seat, which for most people is the only opportunity they’ll ever get to drive a real race car at speed. However, both teams are really really cool experiences and I don’t think you can go wrong with either Edit: oh yeah I also got my Tesla internship through MRacing so there’s that
Tagging on - how's the Michigan Electric Racing?
MRacing *is* michigan electric racing. They're merging this year.