When the dearly departed Red Rat (now Dead Rat) Bastard rolled, it was
caused by the right front suspension (2 bolts that hold the steering arm to
the right front sheared) collapsing, loosing the right front wheel (steering
and brakes) and hitting the tire wall at a 45 degree angle at over 100 mph,
then flipping 2 1/2 times while racing at Mosport. My Speedwell built (Tom
Colby) roll bar did it's job well (and was undamaged). I, however, was
not... fractured a bunch of ribs from the impact.
Keep the shiny side up..(although with that car, it was hard to tell which
side was which anyway...)
WST
>
> > - What does it take to get one to roll over? I mean, how sharp CAN I
take
> > that turn? On dry pavement, will it tend to fishtail first?
> >
>
> Steve:
>
> Cars (not trucks or Jeeps) don't usually flip unless they leave the road
or
> slide sideways into something hard. If you're worried about flipping
because
> you took a corner too fast, well, the car should be sending signals long
> before that happens.
>
> Although I have seen autocrossers who transitioned violently from left to
> right get up on two wheels, tires don't usually "dig" into pavement on the
> street. They stick until their traction is used up and then they start to
> slide. Wider, softer tires usually stick a little longer. Some cars
> (usually not stock Midgets) have enough power to break the rear end loose
on
> accelleration, and others will get light in the back due to weight
shifting
> forward when the throttle is lifted (911s, which are rear-engined, are
> notorious for that).
>
> In a Midget, you're most likely to first hear some tire squeal or feel
some
> slippage. That means you're starting to lose traction -- the car is
sliding
> out from under you. When that happens, you need to smoothly lose some
speed
> or widen the turn a little (or get on it a little harder and grow a
pair!).
> Don't slam on the brakes, or the weight shifting to the front will lighten
> the rear to the point that it could swing. Not likely to happen at lower
> speeds (say below 40 mph) but will happen big-time at higher speeds.
>
> If you're seriously concerned about taking corners at maximum speed, you
> should do a drivers school (probably offered at your local race track from
> time to time, or contact the SCCA). They'll teach you about smoothness
and
> the proper line through corners (and also how to respond when you overcook
it
> a little).
>
> Another thing to consider: cars can be set up to oversteer or understeer
> (plow) through corners. For average street cars, understeer is usually
> preferable because even my 64-year-old mother can instinctively correct it
> (by lifting the throttle in her Taurus) when it happens. Most Spridgets,
> having been on the road at least 23 years by now, have had varying degrees
of
> suspension work done, so they certainly don't all handle the same. I've
> found that a good rule of thumb is that a car will behave on glare ice at
low
> speeds much the same way it does on dry pavement at much higher speeds
> (although it's much more sensitive to throttle inputs on ice).
>
> One good thing about learning all this in a stock Midget is that it's
> forgiving, underpowered and fun, and you can even slide it around a little
on
> the road without causing too much trouble. OTOH, exploring the edge in
your
> Porsche 911 Turbo is best done on a track.
>
> Chris Eck
> 59 Bugeye
> 93 S4 TQ
/// unsubscribe/change address requests to majordomo@autox.team.net or try
/// http://www.team.net/mailman/listinfo
/// Archives at http://www.team.net/archive/spridgets
|