8 replies to this topic

[SalutGilles]

Well, then.

I was troding along at 70 or so miles per hour yesterday, when I came upon a large piece of farm equipment which had just entered the highway. as there were just two lanes, I had to slow down considerably. It took me a good 3 or 4 seconds to slow from 70 to about 20. It was then that I remembered that F1 cars can go from 205-70 mph in less than 3 seconds, and I wondered, Isn't my car faster than the F1 cars?

No, I'm not crazy. You see, I reasoned that speed is more relative than absolute. In absolute terms, I'm dead wrong. let's not dwell on that. But relatively, an F1 car can "handle" the speed far more effectively, making 320 kph not such a big deal, because it can hit 100 kph in a wink, and can corner at a far higher rate, anyway. But in my road car, if I'm really pushing, and I get it up to 120 or 130, I'm looking at 6 or 7 seconds to get control of all that speed. Furthermore, I can't do mutch at all in the way of steering at that point, so I'm really going too fast.

That said, isn't it the job of car designers to make their cars as relatively slow as possible? For instance, a road car can take, let's say, 90 degree bend at 10% of it's maximum speed, and go from top speed to a stop in 12 seconds. An F1 car, however, can take a 90 degree bend at 35% of it's top speed, and stop from top speed in 7 seconds. Because it handles speed better, it is relatively slower, though absolutely faster, isn't it?

My point being, when HHF is roaring down the straight, he's going faster than you'll ever go in your road car, but because he can, from top speed, take full control of his car much faster than you can in your car, the speed doesn't matter, and you're actually going faster than he is, because of your inability to control speed.

Have I lost it?

[Fritz]

I would put it rather different. The fact that a Ferrari 300 or a Minardi slows down so rapidly means that, to race it to its optimum performance, your reaction times have to be very much faster than they have to be in a road car. If you're one tenth of second late with your braking in a F1 car, you'll miss your corner. With a road car, you'll miss the apex, but will still be able to hold it on the track. That's why I think a Formula One car is much "faster" than the Space Shuttle landing at a higher speed than the F1 car can ever reach. For the same reason the F1 car is "faster" than a 500cc bike which has about the same speed when it reaches the parabolica.

[Ruud de la Rosa]

Huhhhhh????? Let's call the mental institution!

[Yelnats]

Yes, a F1 car is MORE difficult to drive to it's limit because of it'e vast capabilities which make timing so critical. If the average person stopped a F1 car from 220 to go around a 60 mph bend he probably would end-up almost stopped on the track before he realised how slow he/she was going. This is why an F1 car is inherently more difficult to drive than say, a NASCAR racer that gives you great lattitude in decideing when to accekerate/brake and turn. Things are spaced out and operating at slow-motion so to speak relative to the twitchy spinny and hard braking/accelerating F1 car.

[Fritz]

I've got something more to add, SalutGilles. Your car needs about the same distance to brake from 120 km/h as a F1 car needs to brake from top speed. If you take the reaction time into count, then - again - the F1 car is "faster".

[Keith Sawatsky]

I agree with Yelnats here as well. Having done a few laps in a Porsche GT2 which is a heavily modified street 911 I wasn't prepared for what was to come. Everything happened so much faster than I had the capacity to handle, that I can see how easy it would have been for me to put it in the weeds on the first lap had I not had an instructor with me in the car. I consider myself an above average driver but the difference of 100 HP, bigger brakes, and marginally less weight left me breathless.

[This message has been edited by Keith Sawatsky (edited 12-18-1999).]

[Ray Bell]

I'm worried about someone who says they can't control their car (virtually any road car) at 130kmh.
What do you drive, anyway?

[Ursus]

Ray, I think he meant 130 mph

------------------
Ursus
Trust me, send money.

[DangerMouse]

SG, I'm sure if you could find a 650Kg road car with massive wide tyres and huge brakes it would stop on a sixpence, but then when it rains you'd aquaplane off the road into the nearest hedge - Road cars are a compromise for real world situations.