Design the fastest possible vehicle

[pingu393]

Using currently available technology, what design features would your "vehicle" have in order to achieve the fastest laptimes on the 2014 circuits?

The only stipulation is that the track limits must be observed.

What do you think the laptimes would be?

[pingu393]

I don't think a stunt plane is the answer, unless it can get round Loews hairpin or la Source.

I thought remote controlled, but GPS would be better as less weight.

I think ground effect, super sticky tyres & aero for the corners, and some way of getting slightly airborne for the straights (like that Russian hydrofoil can do on water). Needs a very efficient braking system to get the airborne vehicle back on the ground.

My thinking for power is a jet engine with an electric motor to accelerate out of corners. Fuel could be super-high octane jet fuel and the batteries can be charged on the move. The battery pack could be kept as small as required for each circuit.

I even considered running it on rails - that would probably be the ultimate, but would Prince Albert allow that?

[pingu393]

Sump said:

Que the bullst.

Your life is surrounded by things that Luddites would have considered bullst not too long ago.

Leaning wheels for enhanced grip is not fitted to standard vehicles, but why not? It seems a reasonably idea to me, yet others would think it's a bullst idea.

[pingu393]

topcat1 said:

The only reason bikes lean when cornering is to keep the COG low so they don't tip over, no point or requirement in a car. Also you would have to have rounded profile Tyres which have a contact patch the size of a 50p piece, unlike wide flat slicks with a contact area that looks more like a baguette!

Watch how much faster the dragsters are than the jet car at Santa Pod to see that jets are not better at acceleration than mechanical grip, unless it was purely spinning a generator that powered one electric motor in each hub, then it would be perfect.

That's why I'd have electric to accelerate out of the corner until jet power took over, but that's only my thoughts just now - everything is debatable.

I like the idea of motors on each wheel as the power could be distributed efficiently.

I also like the idea of using electro-braking as well as mechanical brakes. This will allow smaller brakes to be fitted and less power will be taken from the main engine to charge the battery.

How many wheels? Unless someone has an alternative to wheels! I think four.

What sort of wheel profile? Wide, low profile for corners or narrow for low drag. My option is low profile, but retractable so the vehicle can "fly" down the straights. If the vehicle can fly at very low altitude, the drag would be very low compared with it staying on the ground.

Vectored thrust (like a Harrier) could be the answer to getting the car in the air.

[pingu393]

VeeDubBigBird said:

given that track limits need to be observed, focusing on handling and acceleration over top speed would probably be best.

A Formula 1 car possibly redesigned with no budget limit would be the way forward, maybe even a joint project between car manufacturers.

I would also look for multiple drivers each chosen for their expertise on a specific track rather than just one driver.

Also would six wheels be better than four ?

One thing i have to ask the experts, is there a calculation between Top speed / weight / air resistance that would restrict what is actually possible for a vehicle to do ?

I'd go without a driver (70kg weight saving = 10% of F1), but the downside is loss of ability to react to bumps and unpredicted grip changes.

Were the 6-wheeled Tyrells banned because there were not in keeping, rather than they were too good?

I think that we can reduce ground resistance, but aero resistance will always be dictated by frontal area, hence the long thin Toyota le Mans car.