EGB415 Motor Racing Vehicle Design

Unit Outline: Semester 1 2025, Gardens Point, Internal

Overview

Building on fundamental mechanics, materials, and design units, in this unit you will study design, development, and setup of motor racing vehicles. In addition to basic content delivery in lectures, learning will take place through a series of practicals, computer laboratories, a group design project, and industry-led tutorials. Where possible, a track day will be organised with the QUT Motorsport Team.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

1. Design systems of race vehicles.
2. Apply principles and methods of race vehicle testing and preparation for competition.
3. Apply construction and safety principles used in motor racing industry.
4. Engage in teamwork to write reports on specific issues of race vehicle design and setup.
5. Analyse and describe tradeoffs in vehicle design and setup.

Content

Learning Approaches

Hours per week: 6
Lecture: 1
Tutorial sessions: 2
Laboratories: 2

Formal lectures will cover the basic theory and illustrate practical aspects of race car design. Additional learning will be achieved by reading the course notes and reference material.

Tutorial sessions, led by external experts, will be set to advance and develop your understanding of racing car design. Lectures and tutorials will be complemented by practical and computer laboratory sessions related to designing and tuning the race car, and preparing it for competition.

To complement timetabled activities, you can expect to be provided with learning resources on a unit Canvas site that you can access flexibly to complete your learning in this unit. Success in this unit will require you to manage your time to ensure you have focused time each week (beyond timetabled activities).

At the beginning of the unit, you will be made aware of the ways in which you can ask questions or seek clarification from the Unit Coordinator.

You are expected to:

• Engage with timetabled activities on campus and ask questions. You should follow the weekly guide and announcements from Canvas on the online materials that should be completed prior to attending timetabled activities on campus.
• Engage with the online materials available on the unit Canvas site. You will receive regular email announcements regarding release of these resources.
• Manage your time to engage with online resources outside of timetabled activities. 
• Engage with your peers. 
• Complete assessment tasks by working consistently across the semester and meeting the due dates that are published via the unit Canvas site.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

You will receive ongoing feedback throughout the semester through peer, team and tutor discussions inside and outside class. You will also have the opportunity to receive feedback through written comments on your design solutions and project report. Oral feedback will be given after marking of each assessment.

Assessment

Overview

Assessments aim to simulate real design problems and often will require communication with other students in tutorial and practical sessions. This will give you the opportunity to practice and reflect on problem solving and lab reports. Assessment is designed to build understanding of concepts and techniques and to develop skills in definition and solution of real design problems. A highly recommended part of the unit is your participation in the QUT Motorsport team. 

Assessment includes a range of practical problem solving, design tasks, lab reports and a final examination. These assessments are designed to facilitate the development of your professional capabilities including individual and team work, as well as self-study through race vehicle design activities.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Problem Solving Task

From a design brief you will carry out analysis and design calculations and suggest a conceptual design solution for a nominated race vehicle component.

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Assessment: Laboratory/Practicals

Conduct laboratories and prepare reports on the laboratories indicated by the lecturer.

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Assessment: Examination (written)

Examination is a mixture of problem solving and computational techniques including : how race car systems work, why particular design and technological decisions are made, how to prepare and modify a race vehicle for competition and other topics covered in the unit.

“If campus access is restricted at the time of the central examination period/due date, an alternative, which may be a timed online assessment, will be offered. Individual students whose circumstances prevent their attendance on campus will be provided with an alternative assessment approach.”

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.

The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Resources

Risk Assessment Statement

You will undertake lectures and tutorials in traditional classrooms, and lecture theatres. As such, there are no extraordinary workplace health and safety issues associated with these components of the unit. The lab sessions will be carried out in the QUT Motorsport workshop and other laboratories where enclosed footwear is required (students provide themselves) and in some cases hearing and eye protection that will be provided when necessary. You will undergo a health and safety induction before the commencement of the academic year and will be issued with a safety induction card. If you do not have a safety induction card you will be denied access to laboratories.

Standards/Competencies

This unit is designed to support your development of the following standards\competencies.

Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competency Standard for Professional Engineer

1: Knowledge and Skill Base

1. 
   Relates to: Laboratory/Practicals, Examination (written)
2. 
   Relates to: Problem Solving Task, Laboratory/Practicals, Examination (written)
3. 
   Relates to: Problem Solving Task, Examination (written)

2: Engineering Application Ability

1. 
   Relates to: Problem Solving Task, Examination (written)
2. 
   Relates to: Problem Solving Task, Laboratory/Practicals
3. 
   Relates to: Laboratory/Practicals, Examination (written)

3: Professional and Personal Attributes

1. 
   Relates to: Problem Solving Task
2. 
   Relates to: Problem Solving Task

Course Learning Outcomes

EN01 Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)

1. Make decisions ethically within the social, cultural, and organisational contexts of professional engineering practice.
   Relates to: Problem Solving Task, Laboratory/Practicals, Examination (written)
2. Engage stakeholders professionally and communicate the outcomes of your work effectively to expert and non-expert audiences using appropriate modes.
   Relates to: Laboratory/Practicals, Examination (written)
3. Display leadership, creativity, and initiative in both self-directed and collaborative contexts of professional engineering practice.
   Relates to: Problem Solving Task, Laboratory/Practicals
4. Manage projects to solve complex engineering problems, using appropriate information, engineering methods, and technologies.
   Relates to: Problem Solving Task, Laboratory/Practicals
5. Deploy appropriate approaches to engineering design and quality.
   Relates to: Laboratory/Practicals
6. Demonstrate coherent knowledge and skills of physical, mathematical, statistical, computer, and information sciences that are fundamental to professional engineering practice.
   Relates to: Problem Solving Task
7. Demonstrate a thorough understanding of one engineering discipline, its research directions, and its application in contemporary professional engineering practice.
   Relates to: Problem Solving Task

EN50 Master of Engineering

1. Apply advanced discipline knowledge, concepts and practices in engineering systems and processes.
   Relates to: Problem Solving Task, Laboratory/Practicals, Examination (written)
2. Critically analyse and evaluate complex engineering problems to achieve research informed solutions.
   Relates to: Laboratory/Practicals, Examination (written)
3. Apply systematic approaches to plan, design, execute and manage an engineering project.
   Relates to: Problem Solving Task, Laboratory/Practicals
4. Communicate complex information effectively and succinctly, presenting high level reports, arguments and justifications in oral, written and visual forms to professional and non-specialist audiences.
   Relates to: Problem Solving Task, Laboratory/Practicals
5. Organise and manage time, tasks and projects independently, and collaboratively demonstrating the values and principles that shape engineering decision making and professional accountability.
   Relates to: Laboratory/Practicals

EN55 Master of Professional Engineering

1. Apply advanced and specialist knowledge, concepts and practices in engineering design, analysis management and sustainability.
   Relates to: Problem Solving Task, Laboratory/Practicals, Examination (written)
2. Critically analyse and evaluate complex engineering problems to achieve research informed solutions.
   Relates to: Laboratory/Practicals, Examination (written)
3. Apply systematic approaches to plan, design, execute and manage an engineering project.
   Relates to: Laboratory/Practicals
4. Communicate complex information effectively and succinctly, presenting high level reports, arguments and justifications in oral, written and visual forms to professional and non specialist audiences.
   Relates to: Problem Solving Task, Laboratory/Practicals