rec.autos.simulators

I should be able to solve this in my sleep, but too much time
has passed since graduation :)  Don't make me dig out the
text books, please!

--
Pat Dotson

I think it would be done as follows: Velocity=40mph=about 17.9m/s
60ft=about 18.3m

Accel. cent.=velocity^2/radius
Acceleration centripital= 17.9^2/18.3

17.5m/s^2 / 9.8m/s^2

About 1.8g's.

Can anyone else verify my answer?
Racer X
Veteran Sim Racer
#4 Corvette C5-R in the GTIC
#24 Monte Carlo in the DORL
Victory Lane-
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Speedway/1423/

Centripetal acceleration = v^2 / r = (40 miles/hr x 1.47 ft/sec / mile/hr)^2
/ 60 ft = 3442 ft^2/sec^2 / 60 ft = 57.4 ft/sec^2 x 1 G / 32.2 ft/sec^2 =
1.8 G

Mine were handy. ;-)

Jack

A racing kart goes around a 60 ft radius turn at 40 mph.  What
is the lateral acceleration of the kart in G's?

I should be able to solve this in my sleep, but too much time
has passed since graduation :)  Don't make me dig out the
text books, please!

--
Pat Dotson

Now, just to clarify, the 1.8G means that the lateral force
acting on the CG of the kart/driver is 0.8 X total weight.
Correct?

On a side note, I would have guessed that the G's would be
between 1.8 and 1.9.  This is probably all that a kart is
capable of generating regardless of speed or turn radius.

I've got a new oval track racing kart on the way for this
summer.  What I want to do is determine the left side weight
percentage I need, so that while cornering, the weight is
distributed 50/50 between the right side and left side
tires.  This should be a straightforward calculation once
I measure the vertical center of gravity of me in the kart.

BTW, LTO go kart setup is pretty interesting.  I always
felt like I had a pretty good basic knowledge of car
setups, and most of it transfers directly to kart setup.

Thanks again,
Pat Dotson

.8*total weight+total weight

Racer X
Veteran Sim Racer
#4 Corvette C5-R in the GTIC
#24 Monte Carlo in the DORL
Victory Lane-
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Speedway/1423/

No. The lateral force is 1.8 x total weight, acting on the kart/driver and
pointing in the direction of the centre of the turn.

It also means you've got tyres coated in glue; or you're pulling
some serious downforce; or you've got Magnatraction(tm)!

Seriously, are you sure that the radius of the racing line is
that small - or is that radius to the centreline of the track?
1.8g without wings is ***y amazing - 1.2 is usually about all
that's possible.

I'd be impressed...

Yup, that should work fine.

Jonny

Are you sure that is what you want? I don't know about oval karts but
on a normal kart you want as little weight as possible on the inside rear
wheel
because you have no differential, if you have weight on the inside rear it
'fights'
with the outside wheel, the tighter the corner, the worse this is. At some
corners
you will even see people leaning out to lift the inside rear.

It is very interesting but the differential does cause 'unusual' steering
affects
which you don't usually get on road cars, you may if you have a LSD
or locked axle however.

    Paul

---
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If you are going LTO on an oval, you run stagger on your
rear tires.  The LR wheel doesn't have to unload to go
around a corner.  You do, however, have to turn the wheel
to the right going down a straight, just like in N4 :)

Yea, my current theory is that while cornering, you want
the weight 50/50 at both ends of the kart, and use
stagger, caster, camber, crossweight, etc., to make the
kart turn.

On an oval, if you transfer all the rear weight to the
right rear tire, you overwork that tire.  I was lifting
my RR tire for a while when I had my cross weight set
really low.  Trust me, it isn't the fast way around an
oval!

--
Pat Dotson

I'll have to think about it some more.  Is there some part
of this equation that is being left out?

--
Pat Dotson

--
PD

You've got the right idea. I raced karts on clay ovals back in the early to
mid 90's and had a blast. I didn't have an offset chassis but did offset the
seat as far to the left as possible. It really helped to have one of those
oval-type seats that wrap around your right side rib cage too. Made the
longer heats a lot more comfortable.

If you're running on clay (as opposed to loose dirt) you'll probably want to
try running a larger/wider RF tire (helps overheating). I used to run a
stagger on the rear with as narrow a LR tire as I could get. Caster stagger
will also help you get the thing turned (just like in N4). Make sure that
your nerf bars, bodywork, etc. aren't binding up the chassis either. Keep
them as loosely mounted as possible. You'll need as much chassis flex as you
can get. Not a bad idea to be able to adjust the spindle height of the RF as
you're driving either to adjust the crossweight as the track changes. I used
to have a U-joint at the top of the spindle attached to a rod that ran back
to the steering uprights. Put a crank handle on the end and you can tweak
all you want.

Wayne Hutchison

Most run 8" wide tires on 10" rims on both the RF and RR, so
overheating the RF isn't much of an issue.  All kinds of in-car
chassis adjustments are illegal, so that's out of the question.

I'm buying a 2002 Ultramax Blaze.  It has adjustable caster
and camber, Ackerman, and a weight jacker on the LR bearing
hanger to adjust cross weight.  Should be a fun summer.

--
Pat Dotson