Quote:
Originally Posted by BigDawg
Now I know that on straights, you can theoretically go a limitless speed, and you won't spin out.
But when it comes to corners, with Newton's Laws of Motion & Centripetal Forces, etc... you can only go so quick, before your tyres will lose grip.
So I'm wondering: how do you know how quick your car can take a corner?
What do you use as a reference to work how fast you can go, and where the limit is? (or at least, when you're getting close to the limit!)
Thanks for any responses
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Are you familiar with the concept of the "traction circle" ?
You can express tyre "grip" in terms of lateral or longitudinal acceleration (commonly known as "g-force").
If you imagine your race car has a certain capacity to generate g-forces but only up to a limit.
To go as quickly as possible, your job as a racing driver is actually simply to keep your car at the limit of its acceleration potential - i.e. to keep your car at the cars maximum possible g-force limits.
To work out if you are doing this, you can measure the g-forces in the car, using a data logger, and see if you are maximising the cars potential.
There is a bit more to it, and it does take a bit of getting your head around but essentially that is how you can work out how quick your car can take a corner.