Exploring the Effect of Manufacturing Tolerances on the Front Suspension Performance of a Formula SAE Vehicle Relative to Design Targets

The objective of this paper is to analyze the effects of machining and build tolerances on the front suspension performance of a Formula SAE (FSAE) race vehicle. This problem will be approached analytically using the MSC ADAMS software package, more specifically with the development of vehicle suspension models and the design of experiment (DOE) method to evaluate the changes in suspension curves resulting from specified tolerances. The results that will be provided will comprise of the DOE results and the suspension curves for the camber angle, toe angle, and vertical roll center position, including their migrations through the complete wheel travel of the vehicle. The conclusions to be drawn from this research are to demonstrate how optimized design targets for the suspension will change when tolerances are considered during the manufacturing of the vehicle.