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Technical Resources Articles
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Go Climb a Hill
Author: Mike Ancas
Added: 10/27/2003
Type: Tutorial
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If you’re looking for a sport that combines some of the best aspects of autocross, rally and road racing, then hillclimbing may be for you. Defined as a category 1 Solo event (along with time trials and acceleration runs), hillclimbing takes you off the track and puts you on the side of a mountain.
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Carbs vs. Fuel Injection
Author: Mike Ancas
Added: 10/27/2003
Type: Tutorial
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Do you want crank you car’s performance level up a notch? Many experts today feel that the only way to go is with aftermarket programmable fuel injection, but there are also folks who feel that computers are for the office, not for racing. That real cars have a heart, and that heart is made of metal, not circuits. It’s the old argument: what’s better, carburetion or fuel injection?
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Turbocharge your 1.5L Honda
Author: Mike Ancas
Added: 10/27/2003
Type: Tutorial
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Back in the days when Mugen ruled, we 1985-87 CRX Si and 1986-87 Civic Si guys thought we were on top of the world...
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RX-7 intercooler upgrades
Author: Dale Black
Added: 10/27/2003
Type: Tutorial
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A short excerpt from the RX-7 Performance Handbook. Turbo upgrades for Second and Third Generation RX-7’s by Dale Black.
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The Scoop on Air Velocity Intake Systems
Author: Mike Ancas
Added: 10/27/2003
Type: Tutorial
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Of all the products we have tested over the past two decades, few has yielded more bang for the buck for fuel injected engines than the new air velocity intake systems. Actually, we were shocked. Usually when we hear a company claim “instant bolt-on performance for very little money”, we discover that actual horsepower gain is either negligent or nonexistent...
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Oil Tech
Author: Mike Ancas
Added: 10/27/2003
Type: Tutorial
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Whether you tackle an engine swap or decide to hop up your present engine, you should insure that you are properly caring for the engine. Always refer to your owners manual or factory workshop handbook for routine engine maintenance, such as changing the oil every 3,000 miles. But is there anything else out there that can help keep your car’s engine running like new?
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RX-7 cooling tech
Author: Mike Ancas
Added: 10/27/2003
Type: Tutorial
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Some selected excerpts from several chapters in the RX-7 Performance Handbook!
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How To Get Started In Racing
Author: Mike Ancas
Added: 10/27/2003
Type: Tutorial
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Autocross is a very popular form of amateur racing in which ordinary people like you and I can participate. The only special equipment you will need is a vehicle (even pick-up trucks qualify), a helmet (usually can be borrowed at the event), a seat belt (no way around this one), a driver’s license, and a brain (at times, optional)...
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Introduction to The Physics of Racing article series
Author: Brian Beckman
Added: 10/27/2003
Type: Tutorial
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"I started this series in 1991 for my local racing club's printed newsletter. The web had just been born, though the Internet was not yet public. Nonetheless, I distributed the articles over the Internet at that time and they become reasonably well known, especially amongst the autocrossing community in the US..."
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The Physics of Racing Part 29: A Magical Trick
Author: Brian Beckman
Added: 10/27/2003
Type: Tutorial
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The Magic Formulae (Physics of Racing parts 21, 22, 24, 25) for grip versus slip have some disadvantages for the simulation programmer. Chief among them are the complicated mathematical structure and the large number of parameters. In this instalment, we show a much simpler mathematical expression that mimics the most important, overall features of the Magic Formulae with many fewer parameters.
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The Physics of Racing Part 27: Four-Wheel Weight Transfer
Author: Brian Beckman
Added: 10/27/2003
Type: Tutorial
[ Not Rated Yet ] |
In this instalment, we revisit the four-wheel statics of Part 20, solving the statics problem for level ground, which is very common in simulation. The problem is: given lateral and longitudinal forces, find the balancing vertical forces. In so doing, we introduce a conventional coordinate system and a new tool: Mathematica. This is a comprehensive mathematics package that we use for symbolic manipulation.
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The Physics of Racing Part 26: The Driving Wheel, Chapter I
Author: Brian Beckman
Added: 10/27/2003
Type: Tutorial
[ Not Rated Yet ] |
Imagine 400 ft-lbs of torque measured on a chassis dynamometer like a DynoJet (see references at the end). This is a very nice number to have in any car, street or racing. In dyno-speak, however, the interpretation of this number is a little tricky...
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The Physics of Racing Part 25: Combination Grip
Author: Brian Beckman
Added: 10/27/2003
Type: Tutorial
[ Not Rated Yet ] |
In this instalment of the Physics of Racing, we complete the program begun last time to combine the magic formulae of parts 21 and 22, so that we have a model of tire forces when turning and braking or turning and accelerating at the same time. Parts 21 and 22 introduced the magic formulae.
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The Physics of Racing Part 24: Combination Slip
Author: Brian Beckman
Added: 10/27/2003
Type: Tutorial
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The goal in this and the next instalment of the Physics of Racing is to combine the magic formulae of parts 21 and 22, so that we have a model of tyre forces when turning and braking or turning and accelerating at the same time. In this part, we figure out combination slip, and in the next instalment, we figure out combination grip.
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The Physics of Racing Part 23: Trail Braking
Author: Brian Beckman
Added: 10/27/2003
Type: Tutorial
[ Not Rated Yet ] |
Trail-braking is a subtle driving technique that allows for later braking and increased corner entry speed. The classical technique is to complete braking before turn-in.
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The Physics of Racing Part 20: Four-Point Statics
Author: Brian Beckman
Added: 10/27/2003
Type: Tutorial
[ Not Rated Yet ] |
In this instalment, we analyse the stability of a single wheel, a bicycle, tricycle, and, finally, of a four-wheeled vehicle. In the offing, we introduce force moments, vector cross products, matrices and linear algebra, and some interesting facts about how the number of wheels on a vehicle relate to the number of dimensions of space and to the practice of weight jacking on a race car.
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The Physics of Racing Part 19: Space, Time, and Rubber
Author: Brian Beckman
Added: 10/27/2003
Type: Tutorial
[ Not Rated Yet ] |
In part 16, we introduced RARS, the Robot Auto Racing Simulator. We talked about the clever and simple tyre-friction model in RARS and gave a terse presentation of its details in the big table in the article. Here, we'll explain in a little more detail why the model is cool.
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The Physics of Racing Part 18
Author: Brian Beckman
Added: 10/27/2003
Type: Tutorial
[ Not Rated Yet ] |
In the previous instalment, we did exact calculations for a dummy line down a 650-foot entry straight, a 180-degree left-hander, and a 650-foot exit chute. Cornering radii vary from 150 feet to 200 feet, and the track is 100 feet wide all the way around...
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The Physics of Racing Part 17
Author: Brian Beckman
Added: 10/27/2003
Type: Tutorial
[ Not Rated Yet ] |
You may remember way back in part 5 that we did some simple calculations by hand to show that the classic racing line through a 90-degree right-hander is better than the either the line that hugs the inside or the line that hugs the outside of the corner. 'Better' means 'has lowest time.' The 'classic racing line' was, under the assumptions of that article, the widest possible inscribed line.
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The Physics of Racing Part 15: Bumps In The Road
Author: Brian Beckman
Added: 10/27/2003
Type: Tutorial
[ Not Rated Yet ] |
This month, we investigate how the effects of road bumps vary with speed. Everyone has experienced that bumps are more punchy as speed increases. A bump that you barely notice at 50 mph can sting at 100 mph. But what about at 200 mph? Will it just smack a little harder, or will it knock your teeth out or, worse, cause you to lose control?
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The Physics of Racing Part 14: Why Smoothness?
Author: Brian Beckman
Added: 10/27/2003
Type: Tutorial
[ Not Rated Yet ] |
I'm back after a hiatus of nine years. Time does fly, doesn't it? After such a long time away, it might be worthwhile to repeat the motivation and goals of this "Physics of Racing" series. I am a physicist (the "PhD" after my name is from my Union card). I'm also an active participant in motorsports. It would be almost impossible for me not to use my professional training to analyse my hobby. So, I've been thinking for some time about the physics of racing cars.
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The Physics of Racing Part 13: Transients (The missing episode)
Author: Brian Beckman
Added: 10/27/2003
Type: Tutorial
[ Not Rated Yet ] |
Obviously, handling is extremely important in any racing car. In an autocross car, it is critical. A poorly handling car with lots of power will not do well at all on the typical autocross course. A Miata or CRX can usually beat a 60's muscle car like a Pontiac GTO even though the Goat may have four or five times the power. Those cars, while magnificently powerful, were designed for straight-line acceleration at the expense of cornering.
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The Physics of Racing Part 11: Braking
Author: Brian Beckman
Added: 10/27/2003
Type: Tutorial
[ Not Rated Yet ] |
I was recently helping to crew Mark Thornton's effort at the Silver State Grand Prix in Nevada. Mark had built a beautiful car with a theoretical top speed of over 200 miles per hour for the 92 mile time trial from Lund to Hiko. Mark had no experience driving at these speeds and asked me as a physicist if I could predict what braking at 200 mph would be like. This month I report on the back-of-the-envelope calculations on braking I did there in the field.
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