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The current performance of a top fuel (T/F) dragster racing car is very high. The cars can accelerate from a standing start to well over 330 mph (528 km/h) in < 4.6 seconds! The engine of a T/F dragster can make considerably more power than can be put down to the track surface. Intentional clutch slippage prevents wheelspin for most of the ¼-mile (0.4 km) standard length racing run. Even though the drive tires used are highly specialized and specifically designed for this type of racing environment, more traction is needed. To create more traction, especially during the second ½ of the run, external wings have been employed by the designers of such cars. The size and configuration of the wings is limited according to sanctioning rules. Recent wing failures and accidents have made other options for the creation of downforce appear attractive. In the present work, we consider the potential for using the shape of the car itself to create the required down-force.

The various forms of professional and amateur motor sports all require barriers, fences and deceleration/run-off areas for driver and spectator safety. We examine the translational and rotational kinetic energies involved for various types of race vehicles, and present some comparisons to typical energies encountered in everyday situations. Stopping distance vs. deceleration rates are also calculated, and some simplified trajectory analyses are performed for parts potentially launched during racing accidents.

Various mechanical and electromechanical configurations have been proposed for the recapture of vehicle kinetic energy during deceleration. For example, in Formula One racing, a KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) was mandated by the FIA for each racing car during the 2011 World Championship season and beyond, and many passenger car manufacturers are examining the potential for implementation of such systems or have already done so. In this work, we examine the potential energy savings benefits available with a KERS, as well as a few design considerations. Some sample calculations are provided to illustrate the concepts.

The subject of qualitative and quantitative evaluation of vehicle handling has received emphasis and study since the first automobiles were constructed. Handling quality can be divided into three distinct regimes: (a) resistance to rollover, (b) steady-state behavior, and (c) transient behavior. Additionally, handling of a modern race car can and often must also be separated into handling characteristics due to mechanical grip and characteristics due to aerodynamic performance. For modern racing cars, rollover solely due to lateral acceleration is unlikely except for a few specialized types of racing cars (e.g., Bonneville). In the present work, we discuss handling from the perspectives of human control performance, vehicle metrics and handling test development. We show that from the point of view of the human operator, certain vehicle characteristics are important if emergency and high-g handling maneuvers are to have a chance of being properly executed by drivers.

Enthusiasts, accident reconstructionists and racing personnel have always been interested in wheel torque and HP values for vehicles. Modifications to the engine and/or driveline cause factory data to be in error, and special racing engines have no such data available in any case. Engine dynamometers provide useful information, but require the engine to be removed from the car before any testing can occur. Of more interest, particularly in competition situations, is the effect of changes at the driving wheels. We focus here on a simple method of deriving rim torque and HP values from accelerometer data. The data can be acquired using nearly any sufficiently accurate accelerometer package, and the calculations involved can be done by hand or with a spreadsheet program. Unknown vehicle characteristics can be extracted from coastdown tests. Use of a chassis dynamometer is not required.

Off-road excursions are common in road racing. Current circuit design practice attempts to control off-road vehicle motion and speed with a combination of gravel traps and barriers. Low gravel trap deceleration rates, coupled with wide variation in vehicle attitude during such excursions, produce an unsatisfactory and unacceptable vehicle response. Barriers and walls, while more effective at creating high deceleration rates, can also produce unpredictable response, and often generate vehicle damage and driver injury when contacted, especially in road racing situations. We focus here on car control methods associated more with the vehicle than with the circuit. A new device, the Vehicle Arrester™, has been developed. Calculations and some experimental results indicate that the device could be extremely effective in producing high deceleration rates and a controlled vehicle heading during an excursion.

This set includes: Race Car Vehicle Dynamics, Race Car Vehicle Dynamics - Problems, Answers and Experiments Purchase both the book and the workbook as a set and save!

Written for the engineer as well as the race car enthusiast and students, this is a companion workbook to the original classic book, Race Car Vehicle Dynamics, and includes: Detailed worked solutions to all of the problems Problems for every chapter in Race Car Vehicle Dynamics, including many new problems The Race Car Vehicle Dynamics Program Suite (for Windows) with accompanying exercises Experiments to try with your own vehicle Educational appendix with additional references and course outlines Over 90 figures and graphs This workbook is widely used as a college textbook and has been an SAE International best seller since it's introduction in 1995. Buy the set and save! Race Car Vehicle Dynamics