“You can have perfect suspension geometry, great power and so much more,” explains Ryan Ray, driver and ergonomics lead for the FSAE team ERAU Motorsports, “but what good is a high-performing car if a driver can’t drive it to its limits?”
What helps that driver reach their limits? Ergonomics.
Efficient ergonomics helps to not only increase comfortability and enhance performance but also minimizes human error and prioritizes safety. Here are three ways that ERAU Motorsports improves the ergonomics of its Formula SAE cars.
“One of my personal favorite modifications are seat inserts,” Ryan explains. “It’s your best option to enhance your ergonomics when you’re a bit more limited with what you can change. You can do it with anything from little blocks of foam to expanding foam or a combo of both. Mock up exactly how you want to sit and go from there.”
One size fits all? Not so, especially when it comes to seats.
With multiple drivers, seat inserts that meet FSAE regulations help immensely. This is vital as FSAE rules also dictate that the vehicle must be able to accommodate drivers of sizes ranging from fifth-percentile female up to 95th-percentile male.
Leg positioning in relation to the pedals while driving is crucial.
For example, when engaging the clutch, a driver’s leg should have a slight bend in the knee to allow a driver to quickly adjust back to a normal position between shifts and maintain control over the release of the clutch.
When a driver has to over- or under-extend, muscles that aren’t normally meant to be used can face heavy fatigue, increasing the chance for injury and lowering performance.
However, FSAE cars have fixed seats, so they rely on adjustable pedal boxes. Each driver, regardless of stature, then can work the pedals in their optimum position.
Steering wheel feeling not quite right? ERAU Motorsports opts for different sized steering wheels with personalized grips.
“A smaller steering wheel lets us raise the position height on the dash, improving ergonomics but still being rules complaint,” explains Ryan. “Within FSAE rules, our steering wheel can’t go over the front roll hoop. That places our steering wheel at lower angle that isn’t ideal for the driver and forces them to adjust their driving and the muscle groups they are using.”
Adding some personalized grips helps drivers hold a wheel more comfortably while increasing grip and decreasing strain on the wrists. The first step to making them? Play-Doh.
That’s right, normal Play-Doh–buy it from the dollar store or, if you have kids, raid their toy chest.
“When we make our grips, we place Play-Doh on the wheel and have each driver hold the steering wheel the way they normally would, adding a bit of pressure to make indents and boom, we have our molds,” Ryan shares.
Once they get the molds, then comes a “3D scanner.”
“We don’t have a physical 3D scanner,” laughs Ryan. “We personally use an app called Polycam, which you can get for iPhones and Android, and it’s free.”
[How to get high-quality 3D scans at home]
Although the number and sizes of scans are bit limited in the free version, it is the perfect tool for smaller projects like wheel grips.
Scan the Play-Doh grips with Polycam and then upload to a 3D printer and hit print. A couple hours later, they have custom steering wheel grips.
For more resources on ergonomics, ERAU Motorsports recommended reading these articles by FSAE students.
Ryan adds that one can draw inspiration from other areas for ergonomics.
“Studies behind ergo and humans are based on high-stress positions,” Ryan shares. “Fighter jet pilots, astronauts and so much more are all great resources for anthropometry data and reasoning. As for specific articles, there are so many good ones you can find by essentially searching NASA ergo and your issue.”
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