Gryphon Racing
The Competition
This car is built specifically for the Formula racing series that is sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers. The series is commonly referred to as Formula SAE or FSAE. It is an international competition that pits student teams from all parts of the globe to build and race small formula style cars. The World Championships are held in Michigan each May where 120 teams compete. To compete, each team must build and campaign a new racing car each year. The competition involves a series of static events including a design competition and 4 driving events.
The driving component of the competition includes: a straight line drag race, skid pad test and autocross and endurance formula style racing events.
To be eligible to compete, each team must use a total of 4 drivers for the competition and the car must pass a series of strict safety inspections.
The Team
The U of G FSAE team was formed in 2002 by a group of students. That team built and competed with its first car in less than a year. Since 2002 the team has built 6 cars including 2 that were all-wheel-drive. These two cars were the first AWD cars to ever succeed in competing in the FSAE racing series. Our highest ranking was achieved in 2004 with our first AWD car the team placed 2nd overall in Canada and 17th overall at the Michigan Competition.
| YEAR | TEAM PHOTO |
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2003 |
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2004 |
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2006 |
  The 2006 Gryphon Racing Team and the Team with the University of Guelph President |
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2008 |
 The 2008 Gryphon Racing Team |
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2010 |
 The 2010 Gryphon Racing Team and Prime Minister |
The Car
Engine
The current car uses a Suzuki GXS-R 600 engine with a dry sump oil system and custom electronics. The engine is restricted for competition and produces approximately 50 hp with a red line of 14000 rpm. The engine has custom designed and build intake and exhaust systems and has modified internals that have all been incorporated to optimize engine operation in this application.
Chassis and Suspension
The current chassis is a custom designed and built space frame constructed from Chromolium 4130 steel tubing.
Safety
Our vehicles conform to all technical and safety rules for FSAE car racing. The FSAE technical stickers on the nose of the cars are obtained after passing through 5 levels of inspection before competition. Safety features include: an impact absorbing front end, integral driver safety cage and 5 point racing harness with arm tethers. Drivers must be able to exit the car in under 5 seconds while wearing a full racing suit and from a fully belted in position.
Performance
The current FSAE car is capable of reaching speed in excess of 140 kph in approximately 4 seconds. It is also capable of generating 1.25 g’s of lateral acceleration. These performance figures put it firmly beyond virtually all road going cars currently on our streets.