May 20 Team Meeting

Wednesday was one of those nights where the shop just hummed. The kind of session where you look up and it’s midnight and nobody’s ready to leave. Except this wasn’t a night session — the team was on the floor at 8am and didn’t stop until 6:30pm. That’s a full working day, and they earned every minute of it.

We finished printing the high voltage ABS enclosure and got the HV contactors installed inside it. The box went into the car temporarily for fit-checking and initial testing — seeing the high voltage system take shape in the chassis is a milestone that’s hard to overstate. We’re getting close to a car that actually moves under its own power.

Speaking of which — we test drove it. That’s right, the car rolled under its own power and we put it through its paces enough to learn something useful: the front wheels are getting dragged when we turn too far. The geometry’s fighting us at full lock, so we’re relocating the rack to dial in the steering. This is exactly the kind of thing you only discover by driving, and it’s much better to find it now than in Texas.

On the suspension side, we rebuilt and rewelded the rear swingarm, fully welded the rear shock mounts and upper mount support, and installed the new shocks. Spring tension needs to come up — we’ll adjust — but the rear end is solid now. The new rear strut mounts were fabricated in-house: custom bends in a single piece of plasma cut mild steel, clean and strong.

Controls got some love too. Regen and reverse inputs are in, along with power kill push buttons. The ergonomics of this cockpit are coming together.

Brake work continued — most of the new hard tubing is bent, and we ordered the 7/16-20 brake mounting hardware we needed. The hydraulic system is close.

On a different note, we started working on thank you plaques for sponsors and helpers. These people made the car possible and they deserve something real.

We also prepped the trailer to carry the car to the DCAS 2026 fleet show — loaded tools, supplies, and made sure everything was road-ready. Getting a solar race car to an event is its own logistical challenge, and the team handled it without breaking stride.

One thing we’re still chasing: the car moved, but power was noticeably flat. We’re not sure yet whether we’re looking at a motor controller configuration issue, something on the battery side, or the motor itself. The leading theory from the team is that the controller needs an app-based relearn or parameter setup — not unlike an adaptive reset on a transmission TCM. Until the system is properly commissioned with the correct motor specs, current limits, and throttle mapping dialed in, we’re likely leaving a lot of power on the table. Diagnosis continues.

Oh, and somebody’s family came through with pizza from My Family Pizza on Victory Blvd. That matters more than people think after a ten-hour day in a welding shop.

Tomorrow the DCAS fleet show. The trailer rolls at 5am for setup. The team follows by bus at 9. Stay tuned.