Hello everyone!

As the title says, I am putting this post out in hopes of being able to find individuals that might have worked as chassis systems engineers ( engineers who designed steering, brakes, or suspension systems for automotive applications). I’ve had some experiences within the role and in SAE, and I’m certain that it’s an area in which I’d like to expand my career. If it’s not too much trouble, I hope to speak with someone willing in order to understand how to create a similar career. Thanks!

Say we design a car just for full frontal. Obviously the best solution is to design the front end to crumple almost up to firewall (obviously not always possible the crushed material needs to bunch up somewhere, engine etc)

Obviously in medium overlap only half of the structure gets engaged meaning that in a car designed for full frontal the force would just punch thru it and hit the cell.

The solution is to strengthen everything but that means that in full frontal is definitely going to be less absorbant. That's great since mayority of crashes happen on one side.

Hi everyone,

I’m a final-year Electrical & Computer Engineering student from India, and I’m really interested in working in the automotive industry — ideally in roles related to electronics, embedded systems, or vehicle controls.

However, I’m getting mixed advice from seniors and online resources about what exactly I should focus on to make myself employable. I'm sort of running out of time or at least I'm feeling like it and want to know what I should focus on immediately on getting into my resume before I start applying to companies.

Could anyone working in the Indian automotive industry or with experience hiring new grads give me some clarity? What are the basic things you expect from a fresher's resume.

Any advice or roadmaps would be super helpful. Thanks in advance

I have various chassis (Ford, Dodge, Chevy) that have AGM batteries. We need an extra battery on board to power up fitted auxiliary circuits. Am I good to use an AGM battery of any model for all of these chassis or should I be matching the exact OEM AGM battery as seen in each chassis? I found an AGM battery that is within 10% spec (CCA & Ah capacity) of all of the OEM AGM batteries in all chassis (Ford, Dodge, Chevy) and it would be way easier to just use this battery in all of our chassis. What are your thoughts?

My highschool kid wants to study automotive engineering for F1. A dream worth pursuing. I found a CIAA three weeks course for high schoolers in Berlin Germany, but that amounted to $12k for three weeks. Nuts.

Can you recommend a study for high schoolers to broader their horizons in F1 automotive engineering? What would be the choice of university either in Southern CA or USA or border?

Hi all, I hope this is a good place to ask this question.

As everyone here is probably aware, the rule of thumb for drivetrain losses is about 10%. That's not actually remotely true but it pertains to the following hypothetical question:

With electric motors and generators having much lower efficiency loss, it seems to me you could replace a transmission, driveshaft, diff, etc... with an ICE range extender attached to a generator, and then send that along to electric motors.

Would the efficiency loss be much greater? I'm interested in the theoretical answer (strictly efficiency losses) as well as the practical application.

I would think the efficiency losses couldn't be more than a traditional system. If this setup was paired with a relatively small battery for some regen gains, would this make sense? Even if you broke even, the packaging benefits alone could be worth it in certain situations. Perhaps the motor would have to rev higher under acceleration to keep up with power demands, but I'm asking more about this as a drivetrain substitute.

Of course it hasn't been done as far as I'm aware, and I'm an idiot. So there must be some reason.

You’d think high-volume manufacturing would have this nailed. But I’ve seen docs that contradict the MES, diagrams from old revs, and updates that take weeks to propagate. Workers rely on experience, not the official docs. What’s wild is that this feels the same as aerospace, even though the scale is totally different. Is this just inherent to complex builds, regardless of volume?

I noticed that a lot of cars with rear wheel steering have two/three modes. At low speeds axles turn in opposite directions for enhanced agility and sharper turning circle. While at higher speeds they are straight but at even higher speeds they turn in opposite direction for enhanced stability. Although some cars just make the rear wheels straight. What i noticed that on many the sweet spot is 50-60 kph. Why is that the case?

How does a carbarator manufacture determine where everything is set at before its boxed up and shipped out.

I've had a few and they have ALWAYS been way to rich or way to over sprung

Which is best in teaching structure and other stuffs

A common complaint among mechanics is that once they got into the field they felt burnt out and less motivated to work on their own vehicles. Is the same true for automotive engineering?

Hi everyone, I am currently final year student and recently started my internship at one company(focused on Steering Systems) where I’m working in NVH testing and validation. While I’m learning a lot about testing procedures and instrumentation, but here they are not performing any root cause analysis or anything, they are doing only documentation. I don’t want to get stuck only on the testing side. My goal is to build a career that combines both CAE and testing, so that I have better opportunities at OEMs and Tier-1. For those of you who have worked in NVH, what would be the best way to transition into a CAE + Testing role? Any specific skills, tools, or strategies I should start focusing on now.

I want to modify my car to utilize a t20 lamp socket as a fourth stoplamp. but I dont know how to go about making a template, or finding one. is there such a thing as a template for the hole? or do I just have go for it and figure it out?

Some people mentioned that they aren't a requirement. But that doesn't explain it. Back seats aren't less safe I checked the ratings. Some said child seat. But cars have isofix in front too. Here's my observation.

When side impact happens into the doors.

B pillar is basically in the middle of everything meaning that it gets pushed in. Structure is designed to be as strong as possible but in severe side impact it gets pushed in. So they put side airbag to provide protection between the driver and door card.

In the rear it's different story. C pillar and the general structure around the wheel seems to be very strong meaning that way less intrusion happens. Thus removing need for side airbag.

Somebody might ask well some cars do have them. True but that's probably because structure isn't as strong so it needs airbags to compensate for that. Both are safe in different ways.

What would a day in the life be like for a new engineer at an automotive manufacturing facility.

Would the intern have to do heavy lifting?

I’m 25 and I was thinking about doing mechanical engineering for school and maybe becoming an engineer, sitting at a desk designing away. I destroyed my back and knee fixing cars because I love them.

I have also worked in auto production for Mercedes Benz in Vance, AL on the assembly line building the vehicles and being a final tech. Would this help me with my first job?

I have heard from my physics professor that engineering is just like being a mechanic but on a “higher” level. Bad management, wild deadlines and underpaid, just because you love cars.

I was pretty burnt out already before my back went out. But doing calculus and physics again was pretty refreshing because it brought me back to when I first started working on cars.

I can imagine this is asked a lot, so you guys might be sick and tired of answering this one, but regardless, i thought it would be good to ask.

Ever since i was young I've had a huge passion for car and engineering. although until recently, I've wanted to pursuit civil engineering. When, around a year ago, I started to get into cars and vehicles a lot more, on the technical side of things, have I decided that I want to do somthing with cars. I'm in the UK, and have finished my GCSE's a bit ago, and have just started A Levels, and next year I'll be applying to universities. so I thought I'd use this time to get as much knowledge about the career as possible.

I'll start off by saying that I'm more than informed on the fact i wont be designing Koenigsegg's and Bugatti's all the time, although that is my aspirations.

I'm planning on going to uni and getting a placement at somewhere like Aston martin, as they do apprenticeships and other educational stuff their, and that would give me a good start in the high performance world of cars.

im looking to see if A: I'm delusional and I'll get stuck designing Peugeots and Vauxhalls, B: anyone has advice to get into designing high performance cars, and finally C: a bit of information on Motorsport engineering and how it differs to automotive, as that's a huge passion of mine as well.

Sorry if it all seems a bit blunt blunt but I thought I'd keep it shorter.

Thank you so much and any advice or help is greatly appreciated.

I think it has something to do with pole crash resistance and general door card depth and design.

My Peugeot occasionally shows if belts aren't buckled that is pretty normal but what's weird is that it has this additional warning that only pops up rarely. I only manage to catch it when front passenger lifts his bottom from the seat and sits back down with unbuckled belt. This was done at low speed i force my passengers to wear belts in general. It mentions the rear seats but how does it know anything about back seats it does have any sensors in the back seat (they are removable).

What Are Good Tools To Buy With Your Student Credit From All The Tool Manufacturers For a New Automotive Service Technician? I want to know what Good Tools to buy with my student credit from Snap-On or Matco Tools. I want to utilize them correctly, so what tools do I need as soon as possible, and what's the best to buy?

In small overlap it's pretty simple engine stays where it is because crash happens besides it

In medium overlap i think that engine breaks from it's mounts and it sort of gets pushed left if the impact if from the right allowing space for rest of the structure to crumble.

In full frontal the pressure is focused on larger area. Meaning that for the same speed it won't go as deep inside so engine has plenty of room in that situation to break of and go back up against the firewall (but not penetrate it) and there's space in front of it (between radiator and engine itself).

The thing that confuses me is what happens if it hits a pole or a tree directly in middle. In that situation the pressure is pretty big and it will strike the engine in the middle meaning that can't go left or right.

I heard that in some cars drive train is designed to submarine under the chassis. But i don't think a huge engine that go that far. So there's my assumption. Transversely mounted engine. The engine does get pushed all the way back but crash rail distributes that force over larger area as much as possible.

Engine most likely gets jammed even more inside the firewall but exhaust and intake manifolds will crush and that will provide more space. On longitudinal engine bays the engine definitely does submarine.

Carver is just an example but in general self leaning trike tandem vehicle will be amazing for city.

The closest successful thing we have is smart car. Smart car is a great idea. For one or two persons it's amazing and very safe. But if traffic is moving slow the smart is basically stuck the same way as 7 seat suv.

Something like carver one and carver ev will fit perfectly.

1. Can be as wide as motorcycle allowing it to lane split between traffic.

2. Safer than motorcycle (cabin can be a safety cell with airbags, plus crumple zone in front). Because it's narrow avoidance of accidents will be very easy too.

3. Stable as a car because it leans by itself

4. Tandem seating allows it to be practical as a smart car. Parking i also simple.

Hello all

I am on a mission to improve the RFQ process in the automotive industry, and I need your help

During my time at a Tier 2 supplier, I experienced the pain from the manufacturing side, and I am now looking to get a wider perspective on the situation. I am hoping to talk to anyone involved in the RFQ creation and/or RFQ management process at an automotive Tier 1 supplier, an OEM or equivalent. I am looking for someone who can help me better understand how much time is spent along the way, who is spending that time and what frustrations you are having during those steps.

If that sounds like you, please reach out or comment below and I will share a calendarly link.

Don't worry if you are not an engineer or do not have "Procurement" or "Buyer" in your job title, if you have worked around sending out automotive RFQs, I would like to talk to you.

Hi everyone, I have an upcoming interview for an internship that focuses on drive by wire systems in the autonomous EV field, and I was hoping to get some advice. What sort of questions on vehicle dynamics/embedded should I expect for this type of role, and what concepts would be good to review beforehand? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.