🚀 go-pugleaf

A friend and I are looking for quantitative treatments of automotive
physics.  We're particularly looking for analyses of suspension, chassis 
and tire adhesion.

We would like to build mathematical models of automotive performance and
need accounts of the very specialized physics involved.  As an example,
the time-to-speed and time-to-distance curves for a car can be calculated
from the full-power torque curve of the motor, the gearing and efficiency
of the transmission and final drive, the coefficient of drag times frontal
area, the mass of the car plus payload and the rolling radius of the tires. 
The calculated figures are not exact predictors of actual performance
(although they can be very close) but provide a consistent model on which
to evaluate changes.

With more understanding of tire and suspension dynamics we might be able
to estimate skidpad and braking performance or predict wheelspin.

The university library holdings concentrate on automobile safety and engine
pollution/efficiency.  But judging from postings in this newsgroup, there 
is some interest and expertise in the formal treatment of performance.  If 
you have any pointers or references to the literature, please mail them to 
me.  I will collect them and post the aggregate in three weeks for others
interested. 

Jan Prins                      [ARPA]   prins@cornell   
Dept. of Comp. Sci.                     or   prins@svax.cs.cornell.edu
Upson Hall                     [uucp]   {vax135,ihnp4}!cornell!prins
Cornell University	      [Csnet]   prins@cornell
Ithaca, N.Y. 14853	     [Bitnet]   prins@CRNLCS