Study and Understand
Race car design and construction demands
a thorough understanding of the systems and components that make up
the car, as well as an understanding of the physics involved.
Before beginning design work on a car,
you should understand how things work and why, so that when designing
any individual component, the rest of the car's design intent can be
taken into account.
Learning Sources
The first source for someone without the
additional funds for a university degree, should be the library.
Hundreds of books and magazines
exist relating to the concepts you will need for design, and the most
useful of these are race car specific. Some of the most useful
titles for general race car design are:
Race
Car Chassis Design and Construction - Forbes Aird, ISBN:
0-7603-0283-9 - A book about chassis design - excellent, with historical
info.
Chassis
Engineering - Herb Adams, ISBN: 1-55788-055-7 - Handling,
suspension design, physical forces - excellent.
Engineer
To Win
and other 'To Win' books - Carroll Smith, ISBN: 0-87938-186-8
- Another excellent book - Metallurgy, engineering tips, nuts/bolts/fasteners,
brakes, wheels, plumbing...a must have book.
Racer's
Encyclopedia of Metals, Fibers & Materials - Forbes Aird,
ISBN: 0-87938-916-8 - Good information on materials used in race car
fabrication.
Racecar
Engineering Magazine - Technical articles on all aspects of
race car design.
RaceTech
Magazine - Another superb source of technical articles and
technology explanations.
A technique that is helpful for the designer-to-be,
is to transcribe concepts that are of interest into a notebook or a
computer. Later when working on the design you can easily refer
to the appropriate reference, provided you categorize the information.
One thing that cannot be stressed more...Reading is cheap..Redesigning
is expensive.
The second source for design information
comes from observation and hands-on. It is a major advantage to
be able to study somebody else's work, especially if their car is winning
races. Better still is the ability to work on a winning
car. Good designers connect things in a logical, and sometimes
ingenious way, and observing the nuances of a design with your new found
knowledge is a good way to learn even more.
There is also the internet. While
a number of sites on the
internet provide good information, it is darn hard to find. Books
are the best way to learn, especially for the new student of race car
design. However, there are a great
number of web sites which provide valuable information in the form of
guides, FAQs and tutorials. Searching
usually takes a while, and general race car design principles are probably
best learned from books,
but sometimes you will run across good stuff.
The Best Way To Learn
The best way for a would-be designer to
learn is by first determining what type of car they wish to build. Learning
everything there is to know about every type of car is admirable (and
useful), but will lengthen the time required to ultimately complete
your particular car. Learn all you can about the physics and features
of the class or style you are building for, and you will have built
a fairly solid basis for building a competitive car in that class. Then,
be aware of other class technologies.
What You Must Know
The construction of a race car is not a
light matter. If you do not understand critical areas of race car design,
you will likely have a critical failure at some point, which could lead
to injury or death. If a grey area exists in your knowledge, refer to
your books or to a mentor who has been racing for a long time in your
chosen class.
Here are the some of the key things you
should understand before designing:
| Suspension / Handling |
- Inertial forces about a car that
is cornering, accellerating and braking
- Weight distribution and it's effect
on the above
- Tire/wheel properties (Tread,
rubber compounds, wheel materials)
- The relationships between tire
and road
- The center of gravity and roll
center relationship
- Unsprung weight
- Suspension geometry and handling
- Anti-roll bar principles
- Damper/shock absorber principles
- Suspension components, their use
and placement for optimum performance
- Troubleshooting methods
|
| Chassis Construction |
- Structural design principles,
most spaceframe design
- Load and forces which affect the
race car
- Designing for the safety of the
driver
- Materials and their physical properties
(Tensile strength, elasticity, etc.)
- Joining methods (Welding, brazing,
etc.)
|
| Engine and Supporting Systems |
- A good understanding of the engine
and drivetrain
- Intake, cooling and exhaust principles
- Engine placement and mounting
principles
- Transmission/Transaxle mounting
principles
- Final drive components and placement
- Race car electrical systems
- Troubleshooting methods
|
| Aero/Bodywork |
- Principles of aerodynamics (Flow,
pressure, etc.)
- Tools of aerodynamics (wings,
venturis, flow redirection, etc.)
- Fiber/metal materials for bodywork
and their fabrication
- Structural requirements of bodywork
and aero devices
- Testing methods
|
| Driver Support Systems |
- Driver safety considerations/driver
support (Rollover, impacts)
- Ergonomics of driver and controls
|
| Other |
- Fuel cells and fuel delivery
- Fire extinguisher systems
- Probably a bunch more....
|
That about sums it up. The process of designing
a race car is started with a solid knowledge and understanding. The
more information you have, even without the benefit of past real-world
experience, the more successful your car will be
Move on to 'Design Approaches' >>
