Just read this on pistonheads. I was having the same discussion down the pub last night.
Just wondering if heavier kit cars benefit from this concept or it needs 100s kgs to make a difference. The article suggests where to
'spend' the weight which i also think is quite obvious.
http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=31446
discuss!!
[Edited on 11/1/15 by bi22le]
That is a "state the bleeding obvious" news article, unfortunately becoming all too common on PistonHeads. I really think they've lost their way a bit.
As above - bit obvious. Lightness is no good without structural rigidity, lack of sound proofing can make the engine noise intrusive, etc. etc.
The last bit can also slightly misleading - whilst extra weight does equal extra grip, it is not a 1:1 ratio, thus why heavy vehicles do not corner
as well as light ones.
What a load of rubbish that article is. Basically can be paraphrased to: "a good heavy car feels better than a rubbish light car." Well duhh, like saying a brand new Fiesta ST would feel nicer than a ruined old Lotus, of course it would.
Surely the last bit comparing grip in f1 to Road cars is just a mess?
Anything using significant aerodynamic down force is creating extra friction between tyres and road surface without adding extra physical mass? This
means you don't have more mass to accelerate and brake but you also don't have more mass creating more centrifugal force ultimately trying
to go straight on in a corner?
[Edited on 12/1/15 by simonrh]
Yep, bit of an odd one that. Otherwise all performance cars would be two ton monsters with massive engines - American basically. And we all know how
well those typically corner
quote:
"where yoj put the wright is important, for instance Jaguar put the washer bottle in the rear"
Glad I was not the only one. . . . .
Nonsense article, comparing apples and oranges in 3 different points.
The article makes no reference to the most important issue of 'sprung' to 'unsprung' weight ratio.
There is some argument for increased weight and added stiffness to the improve the ratio and make the suspension work properly.
It is generally accepted that the ideal ratio is around 12%. That is difficult to achieve in a car weighing 400kgs as it means only about 12 kgs per
corner unsprung weight. Some large diameter alloy wheels weigh that much on their own.
I have seen many examples of locosts with bike engines, carbon fibre panels, shell seats etc. all the sprung weight stripped to the bare minimum. But
they then run on cast iron Sierra hubs, discs and brakes and 18" onepiece cast rims. One hint of a bump in the road and its wrapped round a
tree!
Just my opinion ... Someone shoot me down.