rec.autos.simulators

Whenever I run a race on an oval (counterclockwise) in a simulator the
tire that receives the most wear is the RF. Today I was helping a friend
setup a go cart for an oval track and one of the onlookers said that the
tire that receives the most abuse is the LF. His explanation sounded
plausible at the time but the more I think about it the less I believe
him. Any opinions from others that know a hell of a lot more than I do?
Do sims accurately model tire wear?

Brian
Edmonton, Canada

In the real world if you are racing on an oval, the rf gets the most
abuse, that is because it is the tire that the weight shifts to as it
turns left.  Was the track the guy was referring to a road course?  If so,
it may have more right hand turns than left, and he could be correct, but
on an oval, he would be wrong.

l8r,

Todd

: Whenever I run a race on an oval (counterclockwise) in a simulator the
: tire that receives the most wear is the RF. Today I was helping a friend
: setup a go cart for an oval track and one of the onlookers said that the
: tire that receives the most abuse is the LF. His explanation sounded
: plausible at the time but the more I think about it the less I believe
: him. Any opinions from others that know a hell of a lot more than I do?
: Do sims accurately model tire wear?

: Brian
: Edmonton, Canada

The track is basically 2 straights with left turning hairpins at either
end with a couple of small chicanes in the middle of the straights. So
it's more or less an oval.

I am assuming it is a racing kart you are talking about, and probably they
were running on asphalt.  I race karts myself, although not on ovals.  The
reason he might believe the LF takes the most abuse is because they run alot
bigger tires on the average up front, and they drop the left front spindle
down, so that it takes abuse off of the right front.  Also, the LF will dig
deeper into the pavement regardless in a corner, so if it is dropped down as
well, and there is little weight transfer, the LF could heat up more,
although this sounds unusuall.  Sims in my opinion accurately model tire
wear, although I have to question the means that they use to get heat in a
particular tire vs behavior on the track.  Hopefully with the new games in
development, this will be cured.

I'm not sure what you mean by this. It would seem to me that on a LH
corner then the LF is lifting OFF the ground then the term 'digging
deeper' doesn't seem to apply. If I had to describe a tire as 'digging
deeper' on a fast LH corner, it would be the RF.

Thanks for the help

Brian N

Sherwood Park, Alberta,Canada

On Sat, 30 May 1998 08:07:12 GMT, Brian Nadwidny

    Sims do accurately simulate tire wear. The weight transfers to the
right side when you are running a oval counterclockwise.

Regards,

Joel Willstien
#20 Castrol Ford

This is probably the main reason that karts turn in so frighteningly well!
It effectively cancels the weight transfer at the front, making the rear
do all the work, so the poor overloaded outer rear starts developing huge
slip angles whilst the fronts pretty much share the work evenly.

On an oval where the power's on for a large part of the cornering time, I
can quite accept that the inside front would see more wear than the
outside front.  It's a kart effect, not a car one.

Jonny
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