On 5/19/2015 11:38 AM, rwg wrote:
On 2015-05-19 08:48, Veit Elser wrote:
I’m reminded of “high rate of speed” making frequent appearances on the local police blotter. Gratuitous physics-babble, or was it truly “acceleration” that alerted the authorities?
-Veit
My leadfooted friend Ed Hudson advises that "acceleration, rather than speed, is likeliest to trip constabulary synapses." --rwg Fast drivers used to delicately accelerate a rear wheel drive car into a turn to drift the rear end out slightly so the engine could contribute some centripetal force. Is this theory now deprecated?
It works in low traction situations, e.g. dirt road, snow,... But on clean dry pavement it quickly overheats and wears out the tires, so it's not used deliberately in road racing.
On a cloverleaf, I've noticed a second order effect apparently due to the moment of inertia of my car about its vertical axis.
Racing cars are designed to minimize that moment of inertia. Back in the fifties the Spanish Pegaso sports car was designed with the opposite idea. They put the engine well forward and the transmission was built into the rear axle assembly. They were comfortable and stable, but not nimble. Brent