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If you're referring to Milliken I'd look at the moment method chapter. We've used that approach fairly successfully to develop racing tyres and the way they separate linear range stability and control from limit plow, spin or drift (flat slide front or rear in racing speak) certainly makes...

Thanks for the replies. I've decided to opt out - simply because I don't have enough confidence in the info I currently have to make the decision. I can opt-in next year so I won't lose too much if I decide it is the right option later. Ben

Thanks for the reply. I think SomptingGuy has summed it up perfectly - in principle your notional salary is the same and your basic gross pay is lower, hence any mortgage applications, pay rise, overtime, etc should be based on the notional salary. I guess the crux of the issue is the level of...

Question for all the UK engineers here. My company is introducing a new payment scheme whereby the way tax is paid changes as follows: 1 - Stop making pension contributions as a deduction from salary 2 - Company pays pension contribution directly 3 - Company reduces gross basic salary by an...

"New Postpatprimmer (Automotive) 5 Jan 09 17:46 I have to say hard cars low cars feel better on a smooth surface. " We're dealing here with response as well as total grip. A softer car will have more grip, but be harder to drive, because of the movement. Ben

Most race cars use turnbuckle type adjusters to lengthen/shorten the pushrods to adjust ride height. Most seem to do it using jam nuts to lock the turnbuckle following an adjustment. E.G. http://www.chironworld.com/parts/images/uploads/100_0158.JPG However I noticed recently that the Porsche...

So for a racing wheel with drive pegs and a centre lock hub the pegs are just for radial location and all the forces are reacted through friction? If that's the case then you should only need three pegs seeing as the clamping force is coming from the nut. Most cars have 6 pegs - is this just...

BJC - and what happens when they change the discs? Those machine are an example of the worst type of product engineering - tying youself to a product by making some engineered component that you have to buy to run it as opposed in this case to just buying coffee. Ben

Ok I have a two phase strategy. Part 1 is the Saeco Superautomatica bean-to-cup device in my kitchen that brews me a nice double shot of espresso into a travel mug and top up with water for an Americano that's ready for when I arrive at the office. Incidentally this was a good send when I...

Hi Greg - Glad you like it. I came across it on a Formula SAE discussion thread about project management. Ben

On the subject of personal libraries and documentation: I'm currently thinking of writing myself a Wiki of all the stuff I know (or think I know) about tyres and vehicle dynamics. This would be more focused on racing and setup engineering (i.e. practical vehicle dynamics) than theory - because...

For those who've commented on information hoarding, I'd like to come at it from a different perspective. It is correct to say that it's "bad business practice" to hoard and not share info. However it's also bad practice to receive praise for work that isn't yours. An example of what I mean is...

Re-read my post and had some immediate other thoughts. The riders (Carlos Checa and Colin Edwards being the best I have data for) tend not to use the absolute limit laterally in a corner – they tend to hit foot pegs on the ground, etc before that. As a result the G-G diagram as measured is very...

Hi Greg – you’re right I will have to kill you all :-) Before answering the question it’s important to know how this data’s being generated. Because of the lean angle it’s impossible to conventionally measure lateral G. Integrating roll rate to give lean angle to resolve accelerometer readings...

The fun thing about being sent on Ryanair is going in the day after and booking the 30 euro excess baggage charge on expenses :-) Ben

Cattle all the way at my place but you get to keep all long haul air miles. I have 250k of emirates points now for personal use :-) On European short-haul (most of mine now)we are on Ryanair and Cheesyjet as much as possible but we have a deal with hertz that makes the hire cars cheap enough to...

It's actually the first chapter of the 2Theory of Ground Vehicles" by Wong that happens to be called The Mechanics of Pneumatic Tires. Ben

Radials tend to have higher cornering stiffness all things being equal - i.e. they generate peak lateral force at a lower slip angle. If you put the radials on then back and the crossplies on the front you will get bigger slip angles on the front for a given level of lateral acceleration - i.e...

I think the way sales and marketing, project management, etc roles dominate modern businesses there's a defensiveness from engineers who feel (often quite rightly) that they actually create the product and should be valued more. Defensiveness can often come across as arrogance. Ben

If you have a lightweight car or bike the potential for a very stiff construction with low inflation pressure to work becomes much greater. The main dynamic effect to overcome is of course heat generation. Ben