Formula Student is one of the most important international student design competitions. University teams from all over the world develop, build and present their own formula racing cars - and ultimately compete against each other on the race tracks. One of these teams is Elbflorance from TU Dresden. The registered association was founded in 2006. Today, around 80 students actively work on the project every year and are already working on their 18th vehicle in the 2025/26 season. This will drive fully electrically around the racetracks of Europe. The team has been ranked in the top 10% worldwide for years - a success that would not be possible without the support of the university and industrial sponsors, including ACE.

High performance in a lightweight package

The racing car from the previous season, the EFR17ed05 "ZoE", weighs just 168 kilograms. Four water-cooled wheel hub motors with 35 kW each, inverters developed in-house and a monocoque made of CFRP ensure that "ZoE" accelerated from 0 to 100 km/h in under 2.3 seconds in the summer of 2025.

The vehicle is controlled via two pedals - acceleration and brake. These are supplemented by several control systems developed in-house, which monitor tire slip or enable more agile cornering through torque vectoring, among other things.

Pedal design and gas springs: Special requirements in racing

Accelerator pedal with industrial gas springs from ACE © Christoph Melzer

Compared to a car, the pedals of a Formula Student vehicle have a significantly different design. They have different pedal travel, are connected differently and have to withstand higher demands. The focus is on vibrations, quick response and low physical fatigue for the driver. Both pedals are mounted on sliding carriages so that they can be optimally adapted to changing riders.

CFRP, 3D printing and precise measurement for the gas pedal pedal

The accelerator pedal is made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) and is mounted on a 3D printed carriage, also made of CFRP, on CFRP tube rails. The pivot point is located at the driver's heel in the form of a magnetically doped bolt. The rotation - and therefore the pedal position - is recorded redundantly via two differently designed Hall sensors.

Brake pedal with industrial gas springs from ACE © Christoph Melzer

Two parallel industrial gas pressure springs stabilize the pedal travel and generate the desired mechanical resistance. The feedback can be adapted to the rider's wishes. ACE Stoßdämpfer GmbH is a long-standing supporter in this area. The team uses GS-10-20-AD-100N and GS-12-20-AD-100N gas springs. Contact with the company is "always uncomplicated, courteous and peppered with valuable tips", for which the team is very grateful.

Compact machine elements for brake design

The Formula Student regulations place greater restrictions on the design of the brake pedal than on the accelerator pedal. The pedal, carriage and rail are therefore made of the aluminum alloy EN-AW-7075, while the foot guides are made of CFRP.

When the brake pedal is depressed, the driver initially acts on a diaphragm force sensor up to the force defined by an individually mounted gas pressure spring. Together with the recuperation of the four electric motors, the output signal controls braking and energy recovery. Only when the breakaway force is exceeded and the gas pressure spring is moved significantly do the two main brake cylinders for mechanical braking also engage.

The decisive factor for the use of gas springs is the defined insertion force when the piston rod is extended and the negligible distance until this is reached. This means that mechanical braking only starts at the intended pedal pressure. Gas springs are also compact and lightweight - an advantage for the tight installation space in the front end of modern Formula Student vehicles.

Thanks to individually adjustable gas pressure and easy replacement of the springs, the team remains flexible when making adjustments to the pedals. The gas springs installed by ACE are maintenance-free and can withstand intensive use for far longer than the duration of a season.

Looking ahead: Gas struts made from lightweight materials?

The Elbflorance team impressively demonstrates how innovative technology, determination and modern materials work together in a student environment. The new vehicles developed each year set standards in the areas of lightweight construction, drive technology and control engineering. At the same time, the students benefit: The combination of theoretical knowledge and practical application optimally prepares them for their future careers and contributes to technological progress in electric and autonomous motorsport.

For future development cycles, it would be desirable for Elbflorance to "contribute to the development of gas springs made of lightweight materials and implement them in the vehicle". The close cooperation with industrial partners such as ACE underlines the importance of the project and the contribution that Formula Student teams make to education and the spirit of innovation at universities worldwide.

Versatile application, adjustable via valve technology and can be calculated online

The GS-10-20-AD-100N and GS-12-20-AD-100N industrial gas springs from ACE are theoretically capable of applying up to 100 N of extension force each with a stroke of 20 mm. Due to the different technical requirements described above, they are adjusted to the required final value by the junior engineers as required via the easily accessible valve in the threaded pin of the pressure tube in order to adapt optimally to the pedal design and individual rider requirements.

In most cases, gas pressure or gas tension springs are used when it comes to increasing the user's manual force when opening flaps and hoods. The high-quality solutions from ACE Stoßdämpfer GmbH, which has been part of the Stabilus Group since 2016, are able to provide perfect support for the human musculature with forces of 10 N to 13,000 N for body diameters of 8 mm to 70 mm.

In addition to regular industrial gas springs, ACE also provides design engineers with stainless steel gas springs with valves in body diameters from 8 mm to 40 mm, with strokes from 20 mm to 700 mm and with extension forces from 10 N to 5,000 N. In order to obtain approvals for food or environmental technology, the individual stainless steel bearing types are filled with a special food-grade oil in accordance with FDA guidelines as standard.