Pacific Senior Design Sand Car Project

Our design team us made up of four students, Zach Wiberg, Raffy Escalona, Vinh Hoang, and Mike Baron.  We are Seniors in the Mechanical Engineering Bachelor of Science Program at the University of the Pacific.  As part of our curriculum we are required to complete a senior design project. 

For our senior project we have chosen to take an existing single seat sand car frame and modify it to accommodate a 6-link independent rear suspension, drive components, and new street bike engine.  A sand car is a recreational vehicle often used in off-road racing.   Our purpose in completing this project is to fulfill the course requirement of both designing and building our project using the engineering skills we have obtained during our studies here at Pacific.  Our design will improve the sand car's performance, allowing for faster acceleration, greater top speed, improved vehicle stability, increased ground clearance, improved ride, and reduced weight.  In addition, our design allows the suspension to be adjusted based on the driver's style.  As mechanical engineers, we are interested in the research and manufacturing of automotive parts and their application.   Through this project we hope to become more familiar with and improve upon the parts used in this vehicle.  Ultimately our goal is to make a career of designing and manufacturing automotive parts.

At this stage we have completed the conceptual design of our project and are ready to begin the building phase.  After extensive research, we have compiled a list of parts and materials necessary to complete the project.  Our preliminary estimate for the cost of the project totals $7,000, which we need to raise as a team.  We are looking for donations to sponsor our project and would like to ask you to contribute.  In return, sponsors will be given recognition during the Senior Design Display Day, where members of the community judge the projects.  In addition, the names of contributors and their business if applicable, will be placed on our project display board in a special thanks section and on this website in the updates section.  

Thank you for your interest and consideration in supporting our project.  We appreciate the opportunity to complete the project and learn from the experience.  If you have any questions regarding the project and/or would like to see our budget, design, etc. please feel free to contact our team at [email redacted]ific.edu.