The online racing simulator
Quote from ajp71 :Then go and get a job working on cars then, if that's what you want to do. You don't need any qualifications beyond GCSEs to start working for a motorsport team, although some will be dubious about employing someone who has failed so badly at school. Once you're working for a team they'll often encourage you to go to a specialist college and do courses relevant to what they do, this will allow you to progress with a secure job, much better than doing general courses.



I've worked with people who have been to such colleges, they make good mechanics but don't seem to have gained much and certainly the brighter ones reckon they'd have been better learning on the job than attending a college doing a course like these.



You've not read what he said, nothing about designing cars and no guarantee of a job.

I have read what he said and knew that there isn't no guarantee of a job and I didn't ask him if I'll be able to design the cars.

He said that they're basically as good as each other and the amount of knowledge you get from either depends on how well you listen and learn from the lectures etc... How the hell can a BSc Motorsport Engineering Degree be a general course lmfao.

I'll get myself involved with a team after about a year so I know a bit then I can start building myself up.
Opel (Vauxhall) Astra F GSI

cheap reliable and cheap insured
MX5

Quote from sam93 :How the hell can a BSc Motorsport Engineering Degree be a general course lmfao.

They only do bit of everything.

Bits of aerodynamics, bits of CAD, bits of stuctural mechanics and dynamics (that "bit" is quite hard!), etc etc.

Better off with a full aerodynamics or a full mechanical BSc/BEng as repeated mentioned here...
Quote from baSh0r :Opel (Vauxhall) Astra F GSI

cheap reliable and cheap insured

No they're not! They're expensive to insure over here for a young driver lol.
bmw.
Yeah was just about to post that.
Quote from sam93 :I'm a pretty layed back person until annoyed. Takes a lot for me to get like that now-a-days. But, constantly on here, no one gives you credit, just critisism. You've gave me credit and critisism in a non arrogant manor. So I take that on board and give you respect for your words. If people on here gave credit aswell as critisism. There would be a totally different side to me lol.

Failure is hard to accept, especially when it hits you for the first time. I'm afraid in the eyes of most in the engineering world (which like it or not is academic) you are currently a spectacular failure, if you don't want an opinion don't ask for it. Although it isn't an easy step to take your best hope may be to retake your GCSEs whilst it is still not too late, it would take some real balls to accept this is what you have to do but it would be far more helpful to your future than doing a countless number of pseduo-engineering courses.

What do you want credit for? Bumming around and failing? Do something credit worthy and maybe you'll get some credit. It is possible for those who have failed to get decent grades to recover and pursue a good career either as technicians or engineers but it requires above average maturity, motivation, intelligence and sense of purpose (none of which you seem to exhibit yet). From your situation you're going to have to try doubly hard to get anywhere in life.

Quote :
Loads of people get qualifications and dont then use them later on in life.

Then what's the point in doing them then? I know someone who went to Brunel who now works in Halfords, would he not have been better to just go straight to Halfords?

Quote from sam93 :I have read what he said and knew that there isn't no guarantee of a job and I didn't ask him if I'll be able to design the cars.

Double negative there, try reading what you write, if you can't master your native tongue no one will take you seriously.

Quote :
He said that they're basically as good as each other and the amount of knowledge you get from either depends on how well you listen and learn from the lectures etc... How the hell can a BSc Motorsport Engineering Degree be a general course lmfao.

Mechanical engineering courses are general. They teach you a wide variety of subjects to a useful degree, although you'll probably specialise in the third (and fourth) year.

BSc courses are not engineering degrees, they cover similar subject range and seem superficially similar but do not go into the maths. A good BSc (and there is much more variety in them than accredited engineering degrees) will leave you with a basic idea of the concepts that engineers use and are able to be of assistance to engineers but not really be able to think for themselves. Having said that technicians in highly skilled roles such as those who lay strain gauges can earn more than a chartered engineer doing highly skilled, specialised but incredibly boring jobs.

Bath don't offer any motorsport engineering course, and I can't find any of the BSc technology courses that you would be planning to do offered by them either. The engineering degrees offered by Bath are MEng only and have high entry requirements (three As IIRC), in many ways I wish I had considered applying to Bath now, I didn't because I wasn't expecting to get the grades I did.
Only BMW I can get insured on for reasonable price is E30 316/318i/320
And I dont trust myself in one yet as I'll just be tempted to kick the ass end out now and again. But they're bloody good cars though.
If you can't do maths, you will not succeed in an Engineering degree. It's tough, I'm struggling myself! I suggest you change your direction and aim to become a mechanic.

my 2 cents.
Quote from sam93 :Only BMW I can get insured on for reasonable price is E30 316/318i/320
And I dont trust myself in one yet as I'll just be tempted to kick the ass end out now and again. But they're bloody good cars though.

Oops... No, I could get insurance on a 320 on parents policy. Only can get insurance on a 316/318i which are gutless 4 pots. 318is is through the roof to insure, but they handle brilliantly, my mate hand one at one point and said it handled better than his M3 Evo.

Quote from DaveWS :If you can't do maths, you will not succeed in an Engineering degree. It's tough, I'm struggling myself! I suggest you change your direction and aim to become a mechanic.

my 2 cents.

I can do Maths? I actually enjoy doing Maths lol.
Quote from sam93 :Only BMW I can get insured on for reasonable price is E30 316/318i/320
And I dont trust myself in one yet as I'll just be tempted to kick the ass end out now and again. But they're bloody good cars though.

I just got a bmw e30 320i 2 weeks ago and its great!
Quote from sam93 :I can do Maths? I actually enjoy doing Maths lol.

If that's the case, good! But when I say Maths, I mean Maths. If this interests you, then good, I've nothing more to say.
Quote from sam93 :Oops... No, I could get insurance on a 320 on parents policy. Only can get insurance on a 316/318i which are gutless 4 pots. 318is is through the roof to insure, but they handle brilliantly, my mate hand one at one point and said it handled better than his M3 Evo.

There's still more than enough power for you to kill yourself there.

Quote :
I can do Maths? I actually enjoy doing Maths lol.

You only just passed GCSE maths though so assuming you actually tried to answer the paper you are far bellow the average successful engineer in terms of natural ability and understanding of maths for your age. If you want to have any hope of becoming an engineer you will have to be able to hack maths at a level far beyond A-level, which itself is a huge step up from GCSE.
Quote from DaveWS :If that's the case, good! But when I say Maths, I mean Maths. If this interests you, then good, I've nothing more to say.

Stress is bad but for true masochists.
Bah, isn't that what computers were invented for? Nobody needs to actually know these things any more
Quote from Dajmin :Bah, isn't that what computers were invented for? Nobody needs to actually know these things any more

Problem is if you don't understand the principles you can't verify your solutions. CAD breeds stupidity and failure if not used correctly, it's really quite scary how easily small human mistakes can lead to wrong conclusions. For example wrongly constrained or poorly meshed FEA models produce results of different orders of magnitude.
Hmmm, I have tried to think of something positive to post as I can see how you could get very down about the path you have chosen to get to where you want to be.

First, good job on ditching the van thing, it was awesomely stupid.

Second, I wouldn't really post about cars if I we're you, sometimes people get a reputation about certain things and it's very difficult to get away from, like Harjun and his overclocking adventures, that will always follow him here.

Finally, you may have to slightly re-evaluate where your chosen degree can get you. Don't get down about it, reading this thread would make you think you've failed before you have even begun. It probably won't/just won't get you into designing race cars but it can get you into motorsport at some level, with hard work it has the potential to open doors or show you different options.

Either way hard work (and good times) are ahead and like has already been said, uni is different. There will be no-one but yourself to push you along, if you don't do an assignment or go to lectures you will fail.

p.s. Stick with your current car, you'll probably see things differently when you start uni. Money, work, friends, the ladies, fun, money and a million other things will make this seem much less important.
Good luck with it all
This thread made me feel so much better about myself until I saw Dave's link.

Starting Engineering Course at uni in september
Quote from ajp71 :There's still more than enough power for you to kill yourself there.



You only just passed GCSE maths though so assuming you actually tried to answer the paper you are far bellow the average successful engineer in terms of natural ability and understanding of maths for your age. If you want to have any hope of becoming an engineer you will have to be able to hack maths at a level far beyond A-level, which itself is a huge step up from GCSE.

I was allowed to do A Level maths but my other GCSE prevented me from doing so. I didn't even struggle through the exam for GCSE although I should have actually got a B. But thats what you get to just going in there and just doing it and not trying lol. Never doing that again.
Quote from G!NhO :I just got a bmw e30 320i 2 weeks ago and its great!

I Swear your like 12? or you just sound like one on skype
lol, yeah probably the second.
Quote from baSh0r :Opel Astra F GSI
cheap reliable and cheap insured

Quote from sam93 :No they're not! They're expensive to insure over here for a young driver lol.

Quote from sam93 :Only BMW I can get insured on for reasonable price is E30 316/318i/320

You said that 2L 16V 1992/3/4 Astra GSi is expensive to insure, then you said that E30 320 can be insured on a good price.

Why the prices between these 2 cars with almost identical spacifiactions are different?
Quote from AudiBG :You said that 2L 16V 1992/3/4 Astra GSi is expensive to insure, then you said that E30 320 can be insured on a good price.

Why the prices between these 2 cars with almost identical spacifiactions are different?

No I double checked it, on own policy 318i, is the top one I can insure. 320 is only cheap on parents policy which I'm no longer having. To have a decent 3 Series has to be a 2.5.... The 2.3 is pointless as it's just a restricted 2.5 engine, change the manifold over and basically makes them the same engine.

What something with a good resell value, yes E30s over here are worth a lot of money in good condition and are future classics - Try telling that to people on E30Zone though haha.
Quote from sam93 :You all think its a pointless course, if it was pointless they wouldn't run it. You lot make me laugh tbh.

education in the uk is financed by tuitions and not through public funding right?

Quote from ajp71 :Stress is bad but for true masochists.

huh? thats merely the fourier transformation with training wheels
Quote from Shotglass :education in the uk is financed by tuitions and not through public funding right?

Most Universities are state financed and have subsidised tuition fees. whether that's actually a good thing is debatable.

FGED GREDG RDFGDR GSFDG