11/10/25 - 11/17/25: NFR25 Drive Day / First Code PDR / LV Lead Highlight!

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Anton Walvoord

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Nov 17, 2025, 6:40:30 PM11/17/25

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Northwestern Formula Racing

@nufsae | northwesternformularacing.com

Fall Newsletter - 11.17.2025

NFR25 Drive Day

This Saturday we brought NFR25 back out to the Ryan Field parking lot. Our plan for the day was to focus on data acquisition. In the past we've focused on either driver training, or on getting a lot of people the chance to try out driving, but this time we put a couple people in the car for as long as possible and had them analyze what the car's strengths and weaknesses are. We spent a lot of time tuning the suspension, and using the data we collected to make GG plots.

Onsite Data Analysis

We also focused on pushing the car as much as possible, simulating skidpad, autocross, brakes testing, and endurance. This was our most successful drive day yet, with nothing breaking after driving for roughly 6 hours.

The people left at the end of a long day of driving

This data will be put to good use as we finalize our designs and begin manufacturing, and the success serves as powerful motivation to make an even better car this year!

NFR25 Driving

For a whole folder of images and videos from the drive day, click [here]!

First Code PDR

We've had our first official code review of the year! This past week we covered our VCU, paying particular attention to its states. The code is still in its early stages so we focused on the overall structure and confirmed all the planned behavior.

VCU Code PDR reviewing state diagram

We had a large attendance, including last year's DAQ and Drivetrain Electronics Leads who were able to provide deep insight into best practices for the project.

The next steps will be to begin flashing code to the board and debugging the hardware and software in isolation before putting it into our electrical integration setup later this year.

Low Voltage Electronics Lead Highlight!

Our last electrical lead highlight! Nil Ozcevik!

Nil is a junior from Turkey studying Electrical Engineering. She joined the Formula team her sophomore year and has worked on drivetrain electronics, focusing on the ECU board. This year, she’s stepping into the role of Low Voltage Lead and is excited to support both new and ongoing projects across the team. Outside of engineering, Nil enjoys bouldering, listening to music, and shooting film photography.

Nil is in charge of our VCU, harness, and all other low voltage systems. We're currently manufacturing the first version of VCU and finalizing our harness design as we speak! Low voltage electronics are in good hands!