Baja NOW Weekly Update: Week of February 4, 2018
With MTU Blizzard Baja right around the corner, it was all hands on deck at the Baja Laboratory.
Mitch Evens and Rob Pohren began to assemble the components for of Car #33's prototype rear suspension. Benefits of the new setup will include improved ground clearance when on rough terrain, improved suspension travel to mitigate jump impact, and a more precise geometry to aid in vehicle durability.
From Left: Kayla Denson, Mitch Evens, Rob Pohren and Liam Sharkey assembling the prototype suspension setup.
“Our new design should work better with our new drive system, and reduce stress on all of the components of the car.”
Meanwhile, on Car #88, Ben Atzen and Eric Jones set to work fabricating new A-Arms for Cars #88 & #48. The existing A-Arms were damaged during testing. It is essential for the A-Arms to be in optimal condition for upcoming races. The New A-Arms, which are a part of the front suspension system, will be stronger than the previous design and will undergo brute force testing when the vehicles compete at Blizzard Baja.
From Left: Eric Jones, Zack Atzen, Liam Sharkey & Ben Atzen fabricating the new A-Arms
“The new A-Arms will replace our old design which was damaged during testing. It needed to be replaced before Michigan Tech as it could have failed during the race.”
Finally, bolts were checked for tightness on both Cars #48 & #88. All of the Baja vehicles have their bolts tightened, especially after trips to the Baja Off-Site Testing Facility. Bolt tightening is done as a safety precaution before and after each time the car is tested or raced. This ensures not only are the bolts always secure, but the team can monitor specific bolts which constantly become loose, and take corrective action.
Spencer Van Dorn and Jacob Koke tightening bolts on Car #88
Spencer Van Dorn tightening bolts on Car #88