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I noticed that many of you are Univesity students and was wondering if you could tell me the best Universities that do a Motorsport Engineering course as I will be preparing to leave school this time next year.
They do not have to be in Britain although it would be better because stupidly I didn't bother to learn any languages.
Any comments greatly appreciated.
Tom
Murphy's 9th Law of Technology:
Tell a man there are 300 million stars in the universe and he'll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint on it and he'll have to touch to be sure.
Bristol, Brunel, Bath, UCL & Imperial are all great uni's in England for Engineering.
I study at Kingston Uni, and their Engineering faculty is among the top ten in the country, their Motorsport & Aerospace degrees are particularly good. Also the student union is great!
Silence is golden when you don't know a good answer.
Over the next couple of years you have several decisions to make, but the first is very simple. In order to get into a motorsport organisation you need to get the best A levels you can in Maths, Physics and any associate subjects such as IT that you can. Motorsport today is very numerate, and you will need all the maths and physics you can get.
Once you have your good ‘A’ levels, you can think about what degree to take. This is dependent upon area of your interest with in Motorsport – do you want to be an Aerodynamicist, a race engineer, work on the manufacture of racing cars or components, be a data engineer, or pursue one of the dozens of other specialities with in Motorsport engineering.
There are specialist first degrees (BSc’s) in motorsport, such as those at the Swansea Institute of Higher Education and the University of Central Lancashire. Despite their attractions, it may be advantageous to take a first degree in Mechanical, Automotive or Aerospace Engineering (BEng), at a good University (one which is well established in the subject area – check where current motorsport staff went to get their degrees). This will leave many more career options open later, and will often provide a better level of training in engineering basics which are vital to working in the industry.
Where you go from there depends on what you want to do. If you want to be an aerodynamicist, there are specialised MSc or PhD options available.
At the same time, you need to develop motorsport experience. Find a local race team, work with in them and gain experience (Unpaid may be!) This will enable you to decide what aspects of motorsport interest you, and with which formulae you want to work. It will give you a practical experience in the preparation of race cars, and the procedures to be carried out at race meetings. Keep a diary of what you do, and make up a portfolio of pictures and the like to describe motorsport experience. This will be invaluable when applying for university places, and more importantly, jobs with in the industry. Try to get into this as soon as possible so that you maximise your experience.
As you develop your experience, read the appropriate literature so that you understand what you are doing, Read the specialist magazines such as RaceTech and Racecar Engineering. Read the books by Carrol Smith, Simon McBeath and Alan Stainiforth, among others, on competition vehicle engineering, systems and materials.
This may seem a formidable programme, but remember that motorsport attracts a very large number of applicants for jobs and you must put your self in a competitive position. You need luck to succeed in motorsport, but in the words of a famous golfer, ‘the harder you work, the luckier you get’.
In any case, although there is a lot to do, you’re supposed to enjoy it.
As you go through schoool, I would recommend that getting personal experience in maintaining, modifying, and racing a car is also very valuable. I personally do Autocross in the states, and am currently building an engine, and modifying the chassis around the dynamics of Autocross (low end torque, excellent turn-in, etc). Hand's on experience is not only fun, but lets you apply your engineering skills to solve real-world problems. As you develop your engineering skills you'll find yourself using them to solve everyday problems, or better understand the physical laws that govern us and the machines we use on a day-to-day basis.
For me, engineering has changed the way I look at every object I use and see, and this helps excercise those skills which can seem very abstract sometimes. I have a very different perspective on something like bicycling since becoming an engineering student.
I can suggest the University of Hertfordshire. I did Automotive Engineering (BEng) there and graduate in 1999. At the time, the motorsport courses were just starting so I missed out. I did however get to do Formula Student. You design and build a 600cc racecar for use in national and international competitions against other uni's. Your final year project can be dedicated to a particular part of this. i.e. chassis, engine, aero etc... No better way to learn about racecar engineering than actually building and maybe getting to drive one!
Hertfordshire has a good history of aeronautics and aerodynamics as it was built to support DeHaviland in years gone by.
Try this link:- http://perseus.herts.ac.uk/uhinfo/schoo ... e_home.cfm
Other points:- Its in Hatfield near St Albans which is about 30mins from London on the train.
Close to Silverstone for watching testing etc...
There is a wide spread of other courses also there including nursing and physiotherapy (If you know what I mean )
I agree what you are saying here. The Automotive Engineering is quite good there but to be honest the Motorsport side is not that attractive since it is being taught by a dick. Honestly he keeps on talking about his boss and how he fired him etc etc. He is one shallow loser, teaches you how to use Excel to draw graphs for defining suspension performance which is totally useless. If you find a way to kiss his ass then you get good marks other wise no way. This is disapointing though. In fact I suggest skipping the Motorsport Module and selecting something useful instead. I mean in the final year. The rest is just fine.
A part from that its up to you. There are are several people there who has got previous F1 experience and they are not doing the general Motorsport degree, they are into Aerodynamics etc.
I don't think using Excel to graph suspension movement is a bad idea. It gives a basic look at what it is doing as well as being easy to use. We used excel all the time to graph refrigeration and other types of thermal heat transfer. Even though it was basic, it allowed a simple analysis of what was going on in the machinery we were studying.
Otherwise, if the professor is talking about his boss all the time... he probably won't grade easy as well as be annoying.
Bring back wider rear wings, V10s, and tobacco advertisements
Thanks everyone, I'll get in touch with the unies.
Murphy's 9th Law of Technology:
Tell a man there are 300 million stars in the universe and he'll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint on it and he'll have to touch to be sure.
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