Full size cars have "traction problems," too

[NotWalkinBlind]

In the new Road & Track, there is an article on a competition they staged between 6 super hot cars... ranging from a Lambo Murcielago to a Bugatti Veyron... to see which one could get to 200 MPH in the shortest distance on the 15,500-ft. north runway of the Naval Air Station Lemoore in California's San Joaquin Valley.

Losing traction as you launch with this much horsepower is one thing, but gettin' jiggy above 100 in upper gears must be a real hiney hole pucker job. Read what Steve Millen said about the twin turbo 7 litre Ligenfelter 'Vette:

"It's amazing. This thing has so much torque. So much power. A lot more pull than I expected. I went through the mile marker at about 201. The biggest problem is getting traction, trying to get it hooked up. Even in 3rd and 4th gears, it just wants to break the wheels free. And it wasn't until halfway through 3rd gear that I could actually go flat. It just has that much torque and power."

More here... http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=31&article_id=5680

[Mod Man]

That sounds just like my experience with my TC4. Over 100mph the car still wants to blow the tires loose and smoke them. :D

It is tough to drive, for sure!

Matt

[RobK]

In the 1:1 drag racing world, a top fuel dragster/funny car can loose traction while accelerating at 300+MPH w/8000LBS of downforce on it's rear tires :) At this happens in less than 5 seconds.

[chicagonative17]

I get Road and Track also and read that article. I thought the test was VERY COOL...but...they forgot the McLaren F1!!! That is the supreme super car EVER created. I know the Veyron is faster, but does 10 mph really matter when the F1 weighs half as much as the Veyron? The F1 tops at 242 and the Veyron tops at 252. But for pure racing, the F1 beats EVERYTHING.

I keep all my issues in files and they had an article a while ago about the McLaren F1 but when they do an article about 200+ mph cars and forget the F1...well...its not a complete comparison by Road and Track.

[rccardude04]

The McLaren isn't the coolest though. My vote goes for the Jaguar XJ220. Old and slow compared to some supercars of today? Yeah. But it's just so.... cool.
-Eric

[fasterthanspeed]

My favorite car is the SSC Ultimate Aero TT.

[ajlovering12345]

If you stood the F1 and the Veyron together and set the F1 off at full speed and let it get to 120 mph before you set the veyron off the veyron will still beat the F1 to 200 mph. Now I ask you.... Is that fast or what????

[chicagonative17]

Where do you hear that? I HIGHLY doubt that.

[ajlovering12345]

The veyron will do 0-125 in 7.3 seconds and 0-200 in under 20 seconds. The F1 0-200 is 28.7 seconds so its true

[chicagonative17]

Wow! Again though, if they were in a race (not a drag race), I would ALWAYS put my money down for the F1. In every category except acceleration and top speed, the F1 is superior.

[NotWalkinBlind]

Okay, okay, okay... we all have our favorites in the fullsize car world... I was hoping this would spark some discussion along the lines of "What do you think is the way R/C Top Speed challenge cars can be more driveable?"

There probably isn't a way to make enough downforce without adding so much drag the motors/engines won't be able to perform... do you think the entire 1/4 mile will have to be coated with sugar water in order to get enough traction so the cars won't be breaking loose as they get up near or above 100?

[chicagonative17]

Check this out!

http://jaylenosgarage.com/video/index.shtml?vidID=55571

[ajlovering12345]

Okay, okay, okay... we all have our favorites in the fullsize car world... I was hoping this would spark some discussion along the lines of "What do you think is the way R/C Top Speed challenge cars can be more driveable?"

There probably isn't a way to make enough downforce without adding so much drag the motors/engines won't be able to perform... do you think the entire 1/4 mile will have to be coated with sugar water in order to get enough traction so the cars won't be breaking loose as they get up near or above 100?

With the right conditions and a bit more experiance by a few drivers you will see 120 mph broken easily. Traction is the main concern and I dont think drag strips are the best surface to run on also they have concrete walls around so a mistake before you get to top speed usually means your day is over.

If we move to surfaces with better grip and no retaining walls the current crop of vehicles will get over 100mph easily with standard kit cars reaching 120-140. The record will then be broken in very small steps of 1-3mph as the aerodynamics come into play

[NotWalkinBlind]

I think people will lose interest if the record only creeps up by 1-3 MPH each year. If somebody doesn't hit 150-175 in the next couple of years, I don't think there will be a competition after that.

Or much of one.

I wonder if semi-huge side dams would keep ya pointed straight... you know what I'm thinking... like those "wing car" slot racers... except the side dams would have to be rigid enough not to flex so they wouldn't lay over if your tires broke loose and you got 2-5 degrees off line.

Of course, if there's wind like this year, there are gonna be problems unless the wind is straight down the track.

[ajlovering12345]

A gyro will keep you laser straight! I tried it on my car. It only has rear wheel breaking and on a dusty track under heavy breaking it kept dead straight and it was wagging the back end as the gyro came in

[Mod Man]

Yup, gyros are sweet in top speed cars.

I am doing some work on my TX to make the car easier to drive at speed. I think it is important to make these cars as driveable as possible.

Matt

[ajlovering12345]

I changes the 40 mhz system for the spektrum and now the gyro doesnt work very well. Does anybody know why?

Cheers

[Mod Man]

It may be that the gyro sampling rate is closely matched to some portion of the radio (maybe the broadcast frequency?). Try moving the gyro away from the radio equiment if you can.

Matt