Engines are revved as UH’s inaugural electric race car prepares for the national stage
May 30, 2023
The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM) Rainbow Warrior Racing (RWR) team is revving up for competition in the Formula SAE Electric competition, June 14–17, 2023. UHM’s engineering students who constructed the car gave Ulupono Initiative a close look at their project with a presentation that illustrated how the car was designed, built, tested and refined. The presentation concluded a tour of the garage where the vehicle was built, tested, modified and is being stored before it is shipped to Brooklyn, Michigan, in just a couple of weeks for the competition.
“The team is currently laser-focused at getting the vehicle ready for competition, so although we are feeling determined, there is a bit of stress and tiredness mixed in,” said Tyler Maruno, the team’s project manager. “Nonetheless, we are all proud of our accomplishments this year and excited to represent Hawaii regardless of the outcome at competition. We are a new team competing against established programs, so simply having this opportunity to compete is a major accomplishment in our minds. Our team also believes in enjoying what you do and will be having fun along the entire journey.”
UHM engineering students Daniel Aguirre, Oliver Pattavina, Reagan Anderly, Kyle Apuya, Elijah-Skye Naranjo, Ian Tamane, Noah Ungos, Tanner Tamura, Karl Baguio, Michael Li and Maruno — all recent graduates in mechanical engineering — comprised the 2022-2023 RWR team and will be making the trip to the competition. Each member shared which part of the car they were responsible for building and testing to make sure it meets safety and competition guidelines at the presentation.
Ulupono staff marveled at the various specifics of the different car parts and asked the team questions about how they came up with their plan and how they drew on each other’s expertise to execute the best possible product. Maruno was asked about his most memorable moment of the project.
“When we first got the suspension integrated onto the frame of the car and were able to roll the chassis on the ground,” he reflected. “After weeks of long nights working in the shop, being able to see the frame of the car roll on its own was truly a milestone we were all proud of. The night that we placed the car on the ground for the first time, the whole team hopped onto the frame and we watched as our vehicle rolled smoothly with the combined weight of the entire team, which is more than 1,000 pounds!”
While constructing the car, the team quickly discovered that real-like engineering is no simple feat. Maruno said many of the members knew their way around cars so they figured that putting together a frame, suspension, battery pack and motor would be relatively straightforward. He said that now every member knows that something seemingly simple can involve hundreds of calculations, analyses and tests to get it just right.
“The largest roadblock we encountered was the fact that our team is composed solely of mechanical engineers working on a project that is largely in the electrical realm,” he said. “As such, we all had to broaden our horizons and teach ourselves to take on the roles of electrical engineers throughout the course of this project.”
The RWR, which has been going strong for 11 years, switched from a gas to an electric race car model in 2019. In 2020 and 2021, the progress was limited to research due to the pandemic. In 2022, the team made great strides in producing the design concepts for the inaugural electric vehicle and this year, they are proud to be the first team in university history to construct a fully electric racing vehicle physically.
Ulupono Initiative is honored to be one of the RWR team’s sponsors and will be cheering them on from the sidelines as they hit the courses in Michigan. The RWR team wishes to extend a huge mahalo to UHM College of Engineering Dean Brennon Morioka, Assistant Dean Song Choi, and shop advisors Lewis Moore and Martin Pepper.