Precursors to Engineering?

[KiwiBacon]

Originally Posted by 2.2 Straight six

that is painfully slow...

Yep.
I always knew my truck was that slow. 2300kg, full time 4wd with 100kw, what did you expect?
It hits full boost at around 1600rpm and the rev limited at 3600rpm. Plus the current gearbox has a large gap between 3-4 and being a truck gearbox it's slow to shift.
An automatic would make this truck much faster, but faster isn't why I own it.

But I was shocked the first time I clocked the corolla. Was a fun car to thrash though, some guys only get 5 seconds of acceleration before they have to slow down, I had 5 times as long.

[beef_bourito]

k well i didn't read the whole thing because i've got to be quick. i'm in first year electrical (i want to switch to mechanical, long story why i didn't get into mech) engineering

So, you need to look at the universities you're interested in, check what courses they need. courses that might not be required but that you should take are: computer sciences of some sort, you're going to learn programming and it's a hell of alot easier if you do some sort of programming beforehand. in ontario, canada, it's called geometry and discrete mathematics, this deals with proofs, vectors, etc. you NEED vectors, i can't emphasize this enough. first year mechanics 1 is all about vectors and if you havent taken a course about them you will find first year hell. i don't mean stuff like simple physics vector addition and stuff, you should be very familiar with vector addition and subtraction in both 2d and 3d planes, you should know all about dot product and cross product, stuff like that.

other than that, take the ones that are required. I'm finding first year pretty easy actually, it's alot of review for me since my math teacher made high school math really hard to make sure we're prepared for university. it's more difficult than high school obviously, but i'm doing better.

as for the job, it's a challenging job but it's fun. you're doing things that nobody has done before. nobody has ever designed exactly what you're making. plus you're dealing with a new challenge every time you do a new project, it's not repetetive at all so you don't get bored. engineers tend to love their work, someone also told me they get the lowest health insurance because there's less stress involved since it's enjoyable and we tend to live longer.

make sure you go to an acredited program because if you don't, you're going to have to pass all of your exams again, from first year to fourth year.

[kevinthenerd]

Originally Posted by redstang423

You couldn't be farther from the truth. Well the make friends with other engineers part is correct, but that'll naturally happen because you take all your classes with them. Thats besides the point. I have the highest level of academic scholarship available at my college. I do a varisty sport (Track and Field) at the Division 1 level (with no scholarship, my school did not give athletic scholarships until this current year's freshman). I am a mechanical engineering major with a minor in business and economics. I'm very involved with several student groups like the executive board of the student board of ASME and our school's ski race team. I still work part time (one afternoon a week) at the internship I had this past summer. Also, I am a member of one of the fraternities on campus. As you can imagine, being part of a fraternity leads to a rather fulfilling social life, since we do throw several parties every week. I do all of this while maintaining a GPA high enough to graduate Magna cum Laude (over 3.6). To top it all off, I just received a job offer doing a job I will like with a company I like, paying $62K/year to start WITH full benefits. I apologize if I come off as bragging, but if that isn't combining success with a life, I think everyone is in for a world of dissapointment. It is all about how well you can apply yourself during those times you do have to study, and being able to sacrifice going out every once in a while to complete an assignment. If you try to focus on just school work, or just having a life, your life will be MUCH more stressful.

You call one afternoon a week a job? I hate to burst your bubble, but some people are supporting themselves through school, and it isn't easy when rent is due and you don't have it.

[GreyGoose006]

i cant tell if the question of why F1 has low torque has been answered yet, but the reason is, that it dosent matter.
the reason they make so much power is that they rev so high.
horsepower is simply torque x rpm. in your typical family sedan, redline is at a lazy 6500 rpm, so torque and hp are close.
in an F1 engine, redline is at 20,000+ (not sure of the actual number).

in an engines torque was 100 lb/ft from 0 - 20,000 rpm (think electric motors) the hp curve would be a straight line goning from 0 to whatever the formula tells you.

displacement = torque
rpm's = horsepower

[Dyno247365]

Originally Posted by GreyGoose006

i cant tell if the question of why F1 has low torque has been answered yet, but the reason is, that it dosent matter.
the reason they make so much power is that they rev so high.
horsepower is simply torque x rpm. in your typical family sedan, redline is at a lazy 6500 rpm, so torque and hp are close.
in an F1 engine, redline is at 20,000+ (not sure of the actual number).

in an engines torque was 100 lb/ft from 0 - 20,000 rpm (think electric motors) the hp curve would be a straight line goning from 0 to whatever the formula tells you.

displacement = torque
rpm's = horsepower

And repetition is key! Thanks greygoose, now I'll never forget it


Sorry If I haven't told anyone but I really didn't think I had to. I've kinda been going slowly through college, and I just transferred to University at Albany in the compsci major. I really wanted to take engineering classes but didn't for 2 reasons

1) Didn't have the confidence, thought I was stupid, not anymore though
2) Albany isn't a technical school, at all, which brings me to the point that I'm restarting their auto club as the Leader, which shows you how much I'm into this stuff.

So I've given myself the challenge to catch up in math, physics, and everything I need and I can also take some classes from a local community college, but only automotive. Eventually when I raise my gpa and have caught up, I'll maybe take a degree in compsci from Albany and get into a school with engineering. I realize this is very far fetched and selfish because it only applies to me but If you have any ideas for me, it's never too early to start planning!!!!!

[Alastor187]

Originally Posted by Dyno247365

And repetition is key! Thanks greygoose, now I'll never forget it


Sorry If I haven't told anyone but I really didn't think I had to. I've kinda been going slowly through college, and I just transferred to University at Albany in the compsci major. I really wanted to take engineering classes but didn't for 2 reasons

1) Didn't have the confidence, thought I was stupid, not anymore though
2) Albany isn't a technical school, at all, which brings me to the point that I'm restarting their auto club as the Leader, which shows you how much I'm into this stuff.

So I've given myself the challenge to catch up in math, physics, and everything I need and I can also take some classes from a local community college, but only automotive. Eventually when I raise my gpa and have caught up, I'll maybe take a degree in compsci from Albany and get into a school with engineering. I realize this is very far fetched and selfish because it only applies to me but If you have any ideas for me, it's never too early to start planning!!!!!

I don't get it. If you do not want the Computer Science degree then why complete the curriculum? Why don't you just cut your losses now and transfer to a dedicated engineering school, rather than waste money on a degree you are not going to use?

[Dyno247365]

Originally Posted by Alastor187

I don't get it. If you do not want the Computer Science degree then why complete the curriculum? Why don't you just cut your losses now and transfer to a dedicated engineering school, rather than waste money on a degree you are not going to use?

Because It's Albany, any questions?

[Alastor187]

Originally Posted by Dyno247365

Because It's Albany, any questions?

You mean Albany is good, or does it mean you have to go to school in Albany?

[Dyno247365]

Originally Posted by Alastor187

You mean Albany is good, or does it mean you have to go to school in Albany?

Albany used to be the number 1 party school in the nation, now it's #21, lol, a nice round number if I do say so myself. The point is that I like it here and this place is also good for connections. RPI a technical college is close by but I don't think I could afford the tuition there. So I'm sitting here catching up. Not a problem thus far.

[redstang423]

Originally Posted by kevinthenerd

You call one afternoon a week a job? I hate to burst your bubble, but some people are supporting themselves through school, and it isn't easy when rent is due and you don't have it.

If you read my post, I never actually called it a job, I merely said working one afternoon. Despite going to a rather overpriced college, I'm lucky enough that I have my academic scholarship to cut my costs significantly, worked full time all through high school (and about 60-80 hrs per week during the summer) and put a good amount of money away towards college, and my are parents picking up the rest of the tab beyond that, leaving me with no loans to worry about.

To get this all back on subject... My point, however, was that its all about how you apply yourself and manage your time. Track is a 30+ hour per week commitment. Add up all of my extracirriculars (not including anything social), and I have a good 40-45 hours per week committed to non-academic causes while maintaining a social life. Doing this while trying to work to support myself though school would be nearly, if not completely, impossible. This is why time management skills are so important.

Beef Burrito started talking about jobs. The great thing about being a mechanical engineer is that you can find a job in almost any field doing anything. When something needs to be designed, it can almost always be done by a mechanical engineer. We are the most complete package out of any engineer, being able to do some things (but not all) that a electrical engineer, civil engineer, and chemical engineer can do. You can even get yourself into consulting, which you will work on ALL types of projects and rarely the same project twice. Its all about what you want to do as a mechanical engineer, rather than what the field allows you to do.

[Steel]

Originally Posted by redstang423

.

Ok, fine, but keep in mind that people like you are few and far in between. I saw far too many (and myslef included) engineering majors fall into partying and trying to keep up with classes and just not doing it.

I've gone BACK to engineering major (ME ) BUt i'm having one hell of a time doing THREE classes and working at the same time. So much so that i'm aobut to quit my job and find odd jobs on the weekends to pay the bills. That's just me.

[cody_e]

Originally Posted by Dyno247365

Funny you should say that about computers, 'cause I'm a compsci major right now, and have been taking computers since middle school. Computers are the future right?

How about computer and electronics in cars?

[Dyno247365]

Originally Posted by cody_e

How about computer and electronics in cars?

It sounds boring, by itself that is

[cody_e]

Originally Posted by Dyno247365

It sounds boring, by itself that is

Makign a car more powerful through modifying the computer or engineering something. It seems kind of interesting to me.

[2.2 Straight six]

Originally Posted by cody_e

Makign a car more powerful through modifying the computer or engineering something. It seems kind of interesting to me.

i think it's that he's looking for something more manual, more hands-on.