Updated HP vs Speed

Lawrence E. Mayfield (mayfield(at)traveller.com)
Tue, 10 Mar 1998 16:27:03


About a month ago, I posted a couple of responses to a question asked by one of the Alpine listers. The question was "How much Horsepower do I need to go 130 mph?" (or something similar..). I have updated the analyses to revise the drag coefficient, coefficient of friction between the road and tire, and to add rolling resistance due to tire flex. I ask your forgiveness if the formatting turns out crappy...

Remember...

HP = (Drag)*(Velocity)/550 + Wheel Bearing Loss (HP)

Wheel Bearing Loss (HP) = Mt * N /63000 where: Mt = F * f * D * N F = Bearing Radial Load (lbs) = 600 lbs f = Friction Factor = 0.0018 D = Bearing Bore (inches) = 1.125 inches N = RPM = (Velocity - ft/sec)*(60 - sec/min) / (pi * tire dia (ft)) = 9.55 * Velocity

Drag is the sum of all forces acting in opposition to forward motion. In the previous analyses, I had considered aerodynamic drag and tire side slip (from toe in/out). Now I have included tire rolling resistance due to pressure and road surface (25 psig and smooth concrete). Here goes...

Drag = Aero + Tireslip + Rolling Resistance

Aero = (Rho)(V*V)(Cd)(S)/2 where: Rho = Std Air Densities (sea level = 0.002377 slugs/ cu. ft 2000 ft = 0.002241 " " 4000 ft = 0.002109 " " V = Velocity in ft/sec Cd = Drag Coefficient = 0.45 ( was 0.50) S = Alpine Frontal Area (sq ft) = 18 sq ft (est.)

Tireslip = (Mu) * P * sin(slip angle) * 2 where: Mu = Coefficient of friction, rubber - road = 0.62 (was 0.50) P = Weight on One Front Tire (lbs) = 600 lbs Slip Angle = ARCTAN(Toe in/out / contact patch length) = ARCTAN(0.125/6) = 1.2 degrees

Rolling Resistance = fr * W where: fr = resistance coefficient = fo + 3.24 *fs* (Sp/100)^2.5 Sp = Speed (mph) fo = Basic Coefficient = 0.012 (From ref 2 at 25 psig) fs = Speed Effect Coefficient = 0.0076 (From ref 2 at 25 psig) W = Vehicle Weight = 2400 lbs

Putting it all together and plugging in the numbers to get...

HP = (600)*(0.0018)*(1.125)*(V)*(9.55)/63000 (Wheel Bearings) + (0.002377)*(V*V*V)*(0.45)*(18)/1100 (Aerodynamics) + (0.62)*(600)*(sin(1.2))*(2)*(V)/550 (Tire Slip) + ((0.012 + 3.24 *(0.0076)*((V)*1.467/100)^2.5) *2400)*V/550 (Rolling Res)

Which reduces to

HP = 0.0001842*V + 0.0000175*V^3 + 0.028*V + (0.052 + 0.011*(.007*V)^2.5)*V

Plugging that into Excel 4.0 and varying the second term (density) and find the data in Table 1!

Table 1 Speed Vel. HP HP HP (mph) (ft/sec) (s/l) (2000') (4000') 5 7.34 0.60 0.59 0.59 10 14.67 1.23 1.23 1.23 15 22.01 1.95 1.94 1.93 20 29.34 2.80 2.78 2.75 25 36.68 3.82 3.77 3.72 30 44.01 5.05 4.96 4.88 35 51.35 6.53 6.39 6.26 40 58.68 8.31 8.11 7.91 45 66.02 10.43 10.15 9.87 50 73.35 12.94 12.55 12.16 55 80.69 15.87 15.35 14.84 60 88.02 19.28 18.60 17.94 65 95.36 23.20 22.33 21.49 70 102.69 27.68 26.60 25.55 75 110.03 32.76 31.43 30.14 80 117.36 38.49 36.87 35.30 85 124.70 44.91 42.97 41.09 90 132.03 52.06 49.75 47.52 95 139.37 59.99 57.28 54.65 100 146.70 68.74 65.58 62.52 105 154.04 78.35 74.70 71.16 110 161.37 88.88 84.68 80.61 115 168.71 100.37 95.57 90.91 120 176.04 112.85 107.40 102.10 125 183.38 126.38 120.21 114.23 130 190.71 140.99 134.06 127.33 135 198.05 156.74 148.98 141.44 140 205.38 173.67 165.01 156.61 145 212.72 191.82 182.20 172.86 150 220.05 211.24 200.58 190.25 155 227.39 231.97 220.21 208.81 160 234.72 254.06 241.13 228.58 170 249.39 302.48 286.97 271.93 175 256.73 328.91 311.99 295.58 180 264.06 356.88 338.47 320.61 185 271.40 386.43 366.44 347.05 190 278.73 417.61 395.95 374.95 195 286.07 450.46 427.05 404.34 200 293.40 485.03 459.77 435.28

L.E. Mayfield 124 Maximillion Drive Madison, Al. 35758-8171 205-837-1051

DrMayf(at)AOL.com mayfield(at)traveller.com <<<<preferred

"Thought is the software of the mind; rational thought is bug free!"