ultimate racing car

[DanJR1]

rite ppl. what wud b the ultimate track car ever. doesnt have no b road legal. just come up with the specification for a car that cud lap tracks faster than ever b4. no rules!

[Maisie]

Sorry, could you say that again in English please? You seem to be getting your computer confused with a mobile phone

[Mackmot]

I was going to say the same thing Maisie. I only finished school 4 years ago and I don't remember English being taught like that.

[gttouring]

these darn kids...
no rules racer? you can't possibly do this one, for it to last 24 hours straight? or sprint races, open wheel or closed. Road legal track car or not?
even with no rules, you have to follow some parameters to have the car do what it should.
Moslers, Saleens, Vipers, Lister STorm, toyota GT1, Nissan LM390, Mazda 787b, Spyker, bentley Speed 8 ,Porsche GT3RSR, Ferrari (of any type or 575LM)
these are the best bets- or a turbo 4- no a TurboV8 lotus 7 copy...

[avsfan733]

F14 tomcat or SR71 although that would be a little matenince heavy because they are made to leak when sitting still...a lot like a ferrari

[Tony_Simpson]

A modern version of the Chaparral 'sucker' car, with one of the newer 7 litre V8 Chevy lumps, a carbon fibre tub, and some fine tuning in a wind tunnel.

Or something along the lines of the last of the Group B or Group S Rally cars built to the Pikes Peak spec, something like that Tacamo that was at Goodwood last year.mmmm that would be nice to see in 'tarmac' spec against some F1 cars

[imull]

Modern Can-Am sized Radical, full racing V8, full ground effect, biggest tyres possible. True driver skill as engine should be on carbs or simple injection and no poofy trick electronics

[Bob Riebe]

Originally posted by imull
Modern Can-Am sized Radical, full racing V8, full ground effect, biggest tyres possible. True driver skill as engine should be on carbs or simple injection and no poofy trick electronics

Why ground effects, they are just another poofy trick to make the car go faster and the driver do less?

The sensations a driver experiences when reaching the limits in standard fashion are not there. There is no warning.
The car breaks traction and goes out of control but I like the rest of the idea.
Bob

[imull]

can compromise on the ground effect, but the rest stays I missed ground effect first time round (too young to remember it anyway) and would love to see what they could do with it now...

[Chucky]

No you don't.

[Tony_Simpson]

the thread is utimate racing car from a technology point of view, not ultimate drivers cars, so a car with (nearly) everthing that has been banned from motorsport is allowed. I am not a fan of all the electronics (traction control for example) but the active suspension is technically very interesting.

[StephenRae]

If, for the sake of arguement the goal is to set the lap record at any of the F1 tracks. I would imagine the last of the turbo/ground effect F1 cars, perhaps with the help of Chapparel body work and 'fan'would be a good place to start. Add all the banned electronic stuff and the best in tyre technology, junk all the safety equipment to save weight and get one of the drag racing guys to build the engine to last for just long enough.
As we are dreaming perhaps someone can come up with a driver who would be best suited to the job.

[Garp]

Car with no limits on tech !
Should make it to corner and accel with 12G+.

Sorry mister driver you will die.

Ditch the driver get electronics and it all depends on the cornering force of the tires(with massive amounts of downforce and HP on them).

[Bob Riebe]

Danny Ongais is one driver who could find out just how good ANY car is.
I do not car how old he is now. How many drivers can be retired for years and successfully get back into an Indy and qualify.

But:

With all the gimmicks a driver would be near useless. The systems would all have to integrated for the car to work and therefore the systems would never exceed their own self-imposed limits. Computers will shut down when overloaded.
What also then becomes part of the calculations is that the track would also have to be tailored to the machines (sound familiar) Uneven sufaces were one of the things that hampered the Chapparel's ground effects.
Plus:
With all this tech. the radial vs. bia-ply calculations again intervene.
Radials greatest aspect is long life, not superior traction.
A bias tire corners on the side-wall and therefore, for a short time, can generate greater cornering force as one does not have to worry about the tire breaking the bead, which is what can happen if this is done with a radial. (Radials will break traction before this happens, usually. I rolled a car two years ago because a radial broke the bead whilst the car spun.)
What I am partly saying is there are more particulars involved than one can imagine at first thought.
Bob

[StephenRae]

If a car could really be driven quicker round one lap by a computer, which I don't want to believe, then safety and size to accomodate a driver would not be a consideration.
I wonder what it would look like? would it have 4 wheels? Would they all be driven? Where would the engine be?
250cc gearbox karts are really quick how would a big engined one go?
If the 'computer route' were the way to go you could always tuck a really small person in somewhere just to satisfy the purists!