Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Delusions and Learning

Most racing schools have a program which is kind of a teaser, a half day session which includes a vehicle dynamics and cornering line talk and then a set number of laps following a pace car. At the Skip Barber Racing School, when I worked there, we used virtually stock Dodge Neons. The racing cars were fully prepared Barber Dodge open wheeled formula cars.

Think of the difference in capabilities. The racing car can do everything, from cornering to power to braking, far, far better than the Neon. Nevertheless, in every session, we had drivers spin out and even crash while trying to keep up with the economy car.

If people, especially car enthusiasts, were as skilled behind the wheel as they often assume themselves to be, this would not be possible. The problem is self-created, driving aggressively without true technical understanding or the ability to keep a high performance chassis in balance.

The frightening part is that these are the folks who buy hot cars, then spend money on chips to add power, suspension kits, and all kinds of other go-faster stuff. Some of that cash would be far better spent on a good advanced driving school, along with annual refreshers. Beyond making driving safer and more enjoyable, as well as making passengers a bit more comfortable, it might nip some of those exotic car club delusions in the bud.

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Torque Versus Horsepower

Many of those shopping for a car or truck have a hard time understanding the difference between torque and horsepower. It is easy to say one refers to pulling power and the other to speed, but that definition is a bit ambiguous for those who are not technically oriented.

How about this? A couple of weeks ago we skied in to our cabin in northern British Columbia. Outside of normal winter preparations, we needed to pull the boat up from the lake shore to its winter resting spot among the trees. The rowboat is lightweight aluminium, the distance only thirty metres or so, which for the non-metric folks out there is about a hundred feet. The problem was that about a metre of wet snow had fallen the week before, then temperatures had dropped. Our little craft was encased in snow, plus, hauling a snow-crusted boat through heavy snow can be a lot of work.

We got the boat loose, and set to work. The first few steps were a struggle, with one of us pushing and the other pulling, while up to our hips in snow. Finally, we got close enough to connect to a small winch that I had mounted to a post back in the forest. After that, beyond danger if the straining rope snapped, things went smoothly. This brings us back to our definitions.

Torque is what the winch created. It multiplied my effort due to gearing. I was cranking away, without much effort, and the boat got slowly dragged up off the beach. That is the key. Torque gave us pulling power, not rapid movement.

Imagine now that I had taken the boat out onto the lake at a time when it was smoothly iced over and free from snow. Assuming I had traction from cleats or cork boots, I could have pulled the boat along at a pretty good speed, running as fast as possible. This is horsepower, or in my case, human power.

There you have it. Without the torque of the winch that boat would still be lying on the beach. Torque alone, however, could only propel it along the smooth ice at a crawl. Pick your vehicle with a good combination of both, or tip the balance towards whichever power factor is most important in your driving.

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