Month: June 2015

Load vs Traction – How the Whole Car is Affected

Ross Bentley does a great job of simplifying how load curves work in relation to cornering force. In fact, the load curve can be mixed with the slip-angle curve to get a 3D “carpet plot” of traction force available at any given time.

Since both are bell curves, a tire can get overloaded at which point it begins to slide on a molten, bubbly vaporizing contact patch….worst part: you might as well hand the steering wheel to the passenger because it’s no longer doing you any good.

A video series that goes down deeper into this rabbit hole will be coming soon…stay tuned!

F1 1978 Long Beach Grand Prix with Patrick Depailler

Jacques Villeneuve spoke about boredom in F1 in this BBC story: http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/26178312.

Back in the ’90s, I worked quite closely with him in IndyCar. I found him to be one of the most talented, level-headed drivers on the circuit. He was very passionate about the sport, as well.

I remember he spent a lot of time telling me about the FEEL he gets when driving his car…both seat-of-the-pants and steering wheel. I learned so much from him.

So, everything I read in the attached BBC story is 100% consistent with the driving persona I saw at the tracks.

It’s hard to argue against the boredom factor today when the excitement of a slide or passing occurs at nearly the same frequency as goals do in a soccer match.

Compared to watching the energy/excitement of this in-car footage at the Long Beach GP back in ’78, it’s pretty clear how dull F1 has become.  Luckily, the powers that be recognize this, and are taking steps to address this now.

http://youtu.be/9hADkXWaQK0

btw, it’s Patrick Dapailler in a Tyrrell-Cosworth, 3-L V8
http://en.wikipedia.org/…/File:Cosworth_DFV_in_Tyrrell_008.…

Racing Steering Wheel Grip Design Tips

As inventor of the PersonaGrip custom-molded racecar steering wheels, I discuss designing the top wing on a racing steering wheel in this video.

Lessons learned from the world’s best drivers in IndyCar, Formula One, NASCAR, ALMS, et al. over the past 21 years are covered as I discuss how to design the custom grips so that all the modern safety features help drivers prevent blisters and broken fingers, reduce forearm fatigue, and improve steering feel.

I now have a method for drivers to design their entire custom steering wheels completely from scratch using only a sketch of it on a napkin.  In fact, the logo on this website is a wheel designed this way!

For more info:

http://www.SteeringWheelGuy.com