>I'm no physics guru, but my gut tells me that a smaller, and therefore
>lighter, car is generally going to corner better than bigger and heavier
>car (given that the "tire ratio" is proportionate -- you know, size of
>tire in relation to the size and weight of the car).
MASS is your enemy!
The less your car has the faster you'll be...on all parts of the course.
Why? Newton figured this out long ago...more mass means more inertia.
Inertia is resistance to change in motion. So the more mass a car has the
harder it is to change it's motion (i.e.. accelerate).
A heavy car has no advantage.
The dudes making up the SCCA rules know this. That's why us stock drivers
can't go taking out parts of our cars to make the car lighter...and why the
mod guys try to strip the cars down as much as possible.
Jason Powell...who taught Newton's Laws this week
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Jason (and Kim and Jacob) Powell
Kenosha, WI
Our Webpage: http://www2.wi.net/~fizzx/
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Physics Dept
Zion Benton HS
Zion, IL
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'96 Red Miata[PEP]...FIZZX 1
Windy City Miata Club=> http://www.mcs.com/~hal109/windy_city.html
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"...the truth the symbol of a dove, will unmask the maker of your plans..."
King's X - Out of the Silent Planet
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