Hey all,

We’ve been making good progress this year on new Orange car, also nicknamed “Lily”.  Take a look at our web album to see build photos and more!  https://plus.google.com/photos/111335497875692438156/albums?banner=pwa

Also, we’ve recently started a Facebook page.  Please take a look because that’s where you’ll be able to see the most recent updates of our build and competition events.  http://www.facebook.com/offroadillini

Finally, last weekend we took a trip up to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to race in Winter Baja, an annual event held by Michigan Tech.  We all had a blast, despite breaking down half way through.  Here’s a video capturing some of the highlights!

http://youtu.be/JxEduHj63Ag

Baja Paul

Hello curious onlookers!

The Off-Road Illini is gearing up for a great new year of Baja! We have nearly finished designing our chassis and Drive train, and have been participating in many events to get our members excited about Baja.

Several weeks ago we traveled to Taylorville, IL where we were able to drive around and simply have fun. We camped in the South Forks Dirt Rider’s bunk houses at night and drove around all day. Amid getting stuck in the mud and swamplands, we had a good time! Nearly everyone drove and everyone had fun. Here’s some pictures from Drive Day:

Last week we traveled to Louisville, KY to race there in an exhibition competition. It was a great way to prepare for actual competitions at the end of the year by simulating the 4 hour endurance race. Here is a video of the event that may be of interest.

Midnight Mayhem

This year is looking to be a productive and great year for the University of Illinois! We are striving to be a top 20 team, and looking to achieve these goals with a reduction of weight, improvements in drive train efficiency, and increase in driveability by returning to CVTs. Keep coming back to see updates throughout the year!

Paul
UIUC Baja Captain 2012-2013

We learned a lot from last year’s experiences. Blue car was our last four-bar rear suspension. This year we are looking forward to making improvements to our design. We are using a CVT transmission. We are also moving to a semi-trailing arm suspension. In other words, we are excited for another year, and looking forward to being on the top of our game when competition time comes.

Wednesday, February 2nd was a special day for students at U of I – class was cancelled due to the weather. So, the Baja team did the most sensible thing possible on a snow day: go out and play! Don’t worry, we took the rest of the day as an opportunity to get plenty of work done as well.

Welcome to a new year in UIUC Baja SAE! It is going to be an exciting year with many design innovations and fresh faces. This is where you will find the latest updates on the car as the year progresses. This year is going to be great!

Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson