Sunday, 28 October 2012
Après la Pluie
Well, everyone had their way to enjoy monsoons . I have my own too.. and so do the team here at Formula Manipal.
Here are a few words by Heerak Thakar, Vehicle Dynamics on his first stay in summers at Manipal.
After six months of "Engineering" , vacations are only thing worth waiting for.

Summers began with trips to Bangalore
for manufacturing . The
geometries were still being iterated ,with chassis team facing difficulty with
the mounting of the engine and differential. That was surely a tough task.

Summers also welcome the
upcoming batches in MIT for their counselling. Since our workshop was in the vicinity of the
counseling venue, it made most of the freshmen to drop in with their umbrellas and off course their parents.
This meant keeping workshop
cleaned at all points of time and making sure that we maintain the name of FM.
As the saying goes, that ‘All work and no play, makes one a dull boy’, we took our time off to relax and recuperate, so that our minds don't get coagulated. This called for new ways of relaxing and team building, which were found in playing games such as Cricket and Soccer. And of course a couple of parties to drown into. To make sure we deserve the free time, we used to slog the whole week, kept up with the deadlines and made sure work was efficient.
As the saying goes, that ‘All work and no play, makes one a dull boy’, we took our time off to relax and recuperate, so that our minds don't get coagulated. This called for new ways of relaxing and team building, which were found in playing games such as Cricket and Soccer. And of course a couple of parties to drown into. To make sure we deserve the free time, we used to slog the whole week, kept up with the deadlines and made sure work was efficient.
All in all, the Summers 2012 surely was an amazing time
spent at Formula Manipal. The rain drops falling in front of the workshop made
working even more pleasing. And as we say, work doesn’t remain just work at
Formula Manipal, it becomes a part of you. You do it as you feel like doing it.
Heerak Thakkar
Vehicle Dynamics
Vehicle Dynamics
…
Friday, 26 October 2012
Monday, 22 October 2012
Saturday, 20 October 2012
The Paint Job
Inspired by NISHANT JAIN, one of the founding members of Formula Manipal and owner of The Testimonial Comics.
P.S : i know any class three child can beat me ...but still i am who i am..:D
Sunday, 14 October 2012
Alumni Affairs
KINSHUK PANDA (Head of Engine operations) , alumni of FM and one of the founding members of Team 2013 along with Wasim Afzal (Structure) shares his experience and memories at Formula Manipal. Any efforts to type it or edit it would have tampered the emotions and feelings thus, i prefered not to edit it.
So, directly from my mailbox, here is it:
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Kinshuk Panda- when he is serious |
Starting out in Formula Manipal wasn't exactly easy. It was unlike any club in manipal. It was a project. There were strict deadlines that had to be met, a canon of research to be understood and learn different software, the names of which sound alien. We clocked long hours late in to the night but just getting enough sleep to wake up in time for the class the subsequent morning. One month into the team only a few recruits had left, the majority stayed. It was because we like doing what we did. We got to design components, learn concepts not only in design but even manufacturing that were not even the part of our curriculum. Put things into perspective, only a handful of the large number of people out there will ever get such an intimate chance to build a car in their lives.
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Recreation time |
We had no option but to ship it to racedynamics bangalore where a fault was found in the electrical system (electronics team, I really detested you at this point of time) finally the engine coughed up and ran. What a joyous occasion was that.
The car came back and we started with the manufacturing phase. We saw a few vehicle runs during this time and different components had been sent for manufacturing. And we finally got a dyno run in late april early may. The car clocked a 71.4 bhp rating on the dyno and we couldn't have been happier. That month also saw me stranded in Pune 4 days before my end semester examination. Fortunately I got back just in time to attend all the papers.
The summer holidays after the end sem exams saw the maximum activity. The engine team had been reduced to two people, shubham and me. The new intake manifold had arrived and the exhaust system was built in coimbatore. Now coimbatore lies in Tamil Nadu. Its a funny little palce. The people there for some particular reason refuse to understand english, forget hindi. Even the mosty dingy hotel will charge you 600 a night and for some particular reason I saw a lot of drunk and stoned people. One had been a bit too adventurous. He was lying in a drain upside down. I don't know what he was doing.
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With Nagamalla Thrilok |
I finally went for testing to hyderabad and saw the car running at its full potential. However by the july the car had developed a major snag that seriously marred the reliability. It wasn't a good time for me either. I met with an accident and lost a tooth (I know of all the things).
Come august end it was time for europe! I was excited because I had never been there. We first went to paris and varano de melegari. Staying at the campsite was major fun. We played several beer games (and I outperformed several germans as well in drinking beer), sang songs and danced. It was a great experience.
We came back from italy and decided to build a car for 2013 so that we have plenty of time in the process to ensure reliabilty. The car is in the works right now and the juniors have taken over the reins. We shall see if it pays off or not by next year.
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Orientation 2013 with Divya, Divesh, Aditya and Wasim |
Thursday, 11 October 2012
HACHIKO ..
"Animals are such agreeable friends- they ask no questions ; they pass no criticisms"
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Sleeping |
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Awake.. :D |
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Sleeping again |
The very sight of it's bright eyes and wagging tail brightened up our day. Despite being playful and friendly, it is very obedient and took all our instructions without any complaints. He used to bark off bravely , the campus dogs( since he had us all to back him up). Chaudh thi bhai uski.!
Season 2013
Well, the 2013 season is on and now you must be wondering i am late to mention about them. Well its not that late, the FM 13 team is about to complete one year of their journey in building a race car. An year that was full of masti, sleepless nights, and hard work.A team that matured with time ,equally in their personal and professional lives.
In the words of the famous John Buchan;
"The task of leadership is not to put greatness into people, but to elicit it, for the greatness is there already"
Lead by Arjun Subramanian a.k.a Subbu , one of the most technically sound person in the college and Team manager, Jimmy Cherian- undoubtedly the smartest person i have ever met, both have their unique way of teaching and trust me ,they teach you really well.
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SUBBU |
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JIMMY CHERIAN |
With great power, comes great responsibility and our seniors made sure that we never fail to realize it every time we step into the workshop. Its because of their efforts that we college brats/ nomads became human enough to build a race car. They don't give a damn about the world and always listen to what their heart calls for.
There exists no possible way in which we can thank them. As they are about to graduate and step out for a new beginning , FM 13 team wishes them all the luck for their future endevours, their dreams and their desire to conquer it.
The beast of FM 13 is on its way.
Stay tuned to our blog for upcoming updates
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Team 2013 |
NOTE: By the time you finished reading this article, the uprights have been manufactured, jigs and fixtures ready, management has brought a in few more sponsors, half shafts have been heat treated(nitrided ), stub axle is ready and final inserts have been sent for manufacturing.
Tuesday, 9 October 2012
Test Run FMXI
After remaining dormant for about 2 months , FM XI was ready to roll again. Here's a glimpse of the test run which after hours of struggle commenced at 0530 hours.
Tushar, (our electronics guy), grabs the throttle and
pushes the ignition switch. Fingers crossed. The beast was about to rise after
a deep sleep. Its dead silence in the
workshop. Only the engine roared”
LATE NIGHT, 0300 HOURS APRIL,2012
“Crank, cam and TPS sensors connected hai ??; Anderson- se
start karna hai ; EGT, IAT ; ECT – perfect ….
Gaadi neutral mein hai naa? - Yup.
Fuel pump and the fan switched on. Fire extinguisher, on
standby. Shift light blinks 6 times (good sign) .Abey exhaust muffler ke saamne
se hut!! Perfect! We good to go.

The engine cranks
and roars louder at each stroke. At 11000 RPM ,
the exhaust down pipe is a smoking babe screaming as if it’s her nightmare and
I don’t want to get any closer to this engine. It’s the HONDA CBR 600 RR engine and that’s why the car is so
fast. It accelerates from 0-100 in 4.8s with a max engine power -72 BHP at
12000RPM.
this was the first time when the FM 2013 team felt the might of the powerful engine. it was truly a bliss to watch the car accelerate .the chain did come off a few times but transmission managed to align it back in no time. since the road was a bit bumpy, suspension had to be adjusted in a way the the body work doesnt kiss the ground.
All of us gave our everything in making this test run a success and what a test run it was.
All of us gave our everything in making this test run a success and what a test run it was.
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