Formula Student & Formula SAE Teams Across the Americas – Supported by Upgrade Motorsport

Formula Student & Formula SAE Teams Across the Americas are developing some of the most innovative, lightweight and technically advanced student-built race cars in the world.

From Brazil and South America to the United States, Canada, Mexico and beyond, university teams are continually looking for ways to reduce weight, improve reliability and optimise the performance of every component on their cars.

At Upgrade Motorsport, we are proud to support Formula Student & Formula SAE Teams Across the Americas, as well as teams throughout Europe, Asia and the rest of the world, with high-performance, lightweight motorsport hydraulic components.

Our most commonly supplied products include:

• Spherical Bearing Master Cylinders

• Spherical Bearing Master Cylinder Kits

• Brake Bias Adjustment Components

• Alloy billet CNC machined lightweight brake fluid reservoirs

These products are particularly well suited to Formula Student and Formula SAE applications where low weight, compact packaging, precision and reliability are critical.

PUCPR Racing – Formula SAE Engineering in Brazil

One of the teams we're proud to support is PUCPR Racing from Brazil. During the 2025–2026 development cycle, PUCPR Racing achieved a significant milestone. Their Formula SAE car successfully passed every technical inspection and, for the first time in the team's history, competed in the Autocross event. This marked an important step forward in the team's development and demonstrated the progression from design and manufacture through to technical validation and dynamic competition. For PUCPR Racing, the car represents much more than a racing machine. It is the result of engineering, collaboration, determination and continuous improvement.

Lightweight Hydraulic Components for Formula SAE

Weight is one of the most important considerations when developing a Formula Student or Formula SAE car. Teams spend countless hours analysing every component looking for opportunities to reduce mass without compromising strength, reliability or performance.

The braking system is no exception. A well-designed Formula SAE pedal box needs to combine:

• Low Weight

• Compact Packaging

• Precise Operation

• Reliable Hydraulic Performance

• Adjustable Brake Balance

• Good Driver Feedback

These requirements are exactly why Upgrade Motorsport's lightweight hydraulic component range is particularly well suited to Formula Student and Formula SAE applications.

Follow PUCPR Formula Student Team on Instagram: @pucpr_racing or

https://www.instagram.com/pucpr_racing/

Upgrade Motorsport Spherical Bearing Master Cylinders

One of the most popular Upgrade Motorsport products supplied to student racing teams is our Spherical Bearing Master Cylinder: View Upgrade Motorsport Spherical Bearing Master Cylinders

The spherical-bearing design allows the master cylinder to follow the natural movement of the pedal and balance-bar assembly.

For Formula SAE engineers designing compact pedal boxes, this provides a highly effective way of incorporating the master cylinder directly into the pedal system.

The design is particularly suited to applications where teams are looking for:

• Reduced weight

• Compact installation

• Reduced unwanted side loading

• Improved pedal-box geometry

• Precise hydraulic operation

• Motorsport reliability

For Formula Student & Formula SAE Teams Across the Americas, these advantages can make a significant difference when every gram and every millimetre counts.

Spherical Bearing Master Cylinder Kits

Upgrade Motorsport also supplies complete Spherical Bearing Master Cylinder Kits: View Upgrade Motorsport Master Cylinder Kits

These kits make it easier for Formula Student and Formula SAE engineers to specify compatible braking components for their pedal-box design.

Master-cylinder bore options include: 0.625" / 0.70" / 0.75"

Selecting the appropriate master-cylinder bore forms an important part of the braking-system design process.

Formula SAE engineers must consider how factors such as: Pedal Ratio → Master Cylinder Bore → Hydraulic Pressure → Caliper Piston Area → Pedal Travel → Driver Feel all interact.

This is one of the great strengths of Formula SAE. Students don't simply install components — they have to understand, calculate, test and optimise the complete system.

Brake Bias Adjustment for Formula Student & Formula SAE

Correct brake balance is another critical consideration for Formula Student and Formula SAE cars. Upgrade Motorsport supplies a range of Brake Bias Adjustment Components designed for competition applications: View Upgrade Motorsport Brake Bias Adjustment Components

Being able to alter front-to-rear brake balance allows teams to optimise the car as its setup develops through testing.

Brake bias can influence:

• Vehicle stability

• Weight transfer

• Front tyre utilisation

• Rear tyre utilisation

• Braking efficiency

• Driver confidence

• Overall vehicle dynamics

This makes brake-bias development another important area where Formula Student & Formula SAE Teams Across the Americas can use testing and data to improve vehicle performance.

PUCPR Racing Takes the Next Step

For PUCPR Racing, completing technical inspection and competing in Autocross represented an important breakthrough. The team's ambitions for the next cycle are even greater.

Their targets include:

• Ranking among the top 20 teams

• Further improving technical approvals

• Increasing performance in dynamic events including Autocross

• Strengthening relationships with sponsors and technical partners

• Inspiring future PUCPR students to become involved in the project

Their progression reflects exactly what Formula SAE is designed to encourage: Design. Build. Test. Learn. Improve. Compete.

Formula SAE Across North and South America

Formula SAE has a major presence throughout the Americas. University engineering teams compete across:

• Brazil

• United States

• Canada

• Mexico

and many other countries throughout North and South America.

Despite the geographical distances between teams, many of their engineering objectives are remarkably similar.

They want to:

• Reduce weight

• Improve reliability

• Optimise packaging

• Increase performance

• Improve driver control

Upgrade Motorsport's lightweight hydraulic product range has been developed around these same priorities.

Whether a team is building its first car or developing an established competition platform, our components can help support the braking and pedal-box system.

Formula Student & Formula SAE Teams Across the Americas

Formula Student and Formula SAE provide university engineering students with the opportunity to design, manufacture, test and compete with their own Formula-style race cars.

Across North and South America, teams face the same demanding engineering challenges:

• Reducing overall vehicle weight

• Improving braking performance

• Optimising pedal-box packaging

• Improving hydraulic efficiency

• Creating consistent pedal feel

• Adjusting front-to-rear brake balance

• Increasing reliability

• Maximising performance within strict budgets

This makes motorsport hydraulic components an important part of the overall vehicle design. Upgrade Motorsport supplies lightweight braking and hydraulic components designed specifically for demanding competition environments, making them ideally suited to Formula Student & Formula SAE Teams Across the Americas.

Supporting Formula Student & Formula SAE Teams Across the Americas and Worldwide

Upgrade Motorsport's involvement with student motorsport extends well beyond one country or one competition. We support Formula Student & Formula SAE Teams Across the Americas, while also supplying teams across Europe, Asia and other parts of the world. From Brazil to the USA, Canada, Europe, Asia and beyond, Upgrade Motorsport components are helping student engineers develop lighter, more efficient and more competitive racing cars.

Our philosophy remains simple:

• High Performance

• Lightweight

• Reliable

• Motorsport Focused

For a Formula Student or Formula SAE car, these aren't optional extras, they are fundamental engineering requirements.

Supporting the Engineers of Tomorrow

Formula Student and Formula SAE are about much more than racing. These programmes help develop the engineers, designers, manufacturers and technical specialists who may eventually shape the future of motorsport, automotive engineering and advanced manufacturing. Students gain experience that cannot be replicated purely in a classroom.

• They design components

• They manufacture parts

• They assemble systems

• They test the car

• They identify problems

• They improve the design

• And eventually, they race it

Upgrade Motorsport is proud to support teams such as PUCPR Racing in Brazil, and we look forward to seeing how their programme develops during the next cycle.

Building a Formula Student or Formula SAE Car?

If you're part of one of the many Formula Student & Formula SAE Teams Across the Americas, or a student motorsport team anywhere else in the world, Upgrade Motorsport would be pleased to discuss your braking and hydraulic requirements.

Our most popular Formula Student and Formula SAE products include:

Spherical Bearing Master Cylinders: https://www.upgrademotorsport.co.uk/upgrade-motorsport-spherical-bearing-master-cylinder

Spherical Bearing Master Cylinder Kits: https://www.upgrademotorsport.co.uk/motorsport-master-cylinder-kits

Brake Bias Adjustment Components: https://www.upgrademotorsport.co.uk/upgrade-motorsport-brake-bias-adjustment

Upgrade Motorsport - High-Quality | Lightweight | Reliable

Supporting Formula Student & Formula SAE Teams Across the Americas and Worldwide - Designed for Motorsport - Supplied Worldwide - www.upgrademotorsport.co.uk