Testing Data Collecting Application

[pthickett]

Guys,

I am a student at Aston University, and i am writing a windows based programme to be used when testing the car to collect data.

Just wondering if anyone has any requests with what fields they would find helpful, i have a list of already apparent fields below. Obviously i will post a link up here when its done for everyone to use :-)

Cheers

Pete

Fields So Far:
Car
Venue
Date
Weather conditions
Visible track conditions
Ambient temperature
Track temperature
Tyre Temperature
Driver
Driver Comments
Lap times

any more ideas would be very welcome

[pthickett]

Guys,

I am a student at Aston University, and i am writing a windows based programme to be used when testing the car to collect data.

Just wondering if anyone has any requests with what fields they would find helpful, i have a list of already apparent fields below. Obviously i will post a link up here when its done for everyone to use :-)

Cheers

Pete

Fields So Far:
Car
Venue
Date
Weather conditions
Visible track conditions
Ambient temperature
Track temperature
Tyre Temperature
Driver
Driver Comments
Lap times

any more ideas would be very welcome

[Jersey Tom]

We're taken care of by MoTeC, but I'd reccomend..

Corner weights
Springs
Roll bars
Damper settings
Static toe
Static camber
Ackermann
Tire size, compound, # of heat cycles or laps..

[pthickett]

I have heard anything motec is amazing, i have only used it on the GTR racing game!

Is there any need for any more than two tyre temps per tyre? I mean position wise. I have heard its quite common for people to measure temps on the inside middle and outside of a tyre.

[Jersey Tom]

MoTeC is pretty nice. You pay for the software. Incredibly intuitive and easy to setup and use.

And yea you want to measure tire temp outside, center, and inside, to set up your static camber. At least that's a good starting point. And use a needle pyrometer, not an IR surface temp sensor.

[Schumi_Jr]

I disagree with using tire temperatures to set camber. How do you know what is best?

Here is the method i use- if you have the TTC tire data find out what camber the data suggests produces the most lateral force. Then set up a math channel in your data acquisition software to calculate dynamic camber. All you need is 4 linear pots and measurments of static camber, camber gain and lateral camber compliance. Then use the equations from Milliken to calculate your dynamic camber (I could write out the equations but its worth going through this yourself). Since you probabIy don't have chassis ride height sensors you can estimate chassis roll (with respect to the ground) as suspension roll (the error will be in your tire squash).

Now you can compare your "ideal" cambers from tire data at each point of you track with what your data acquisition shows as your real camber. You will find that you will have to compromise different parts of the track for others. Use your judgment and driver feedback to determine the best compromise.

A few notes
- Your ideal camber is a function of load and slip angle among other things. You will need to measure or estimate these.
- The real world can show some different trends from the tire test rig. If you can "optimize" your cambers based on the data it will get you close and a bit of tweaking will get you where you need to be.

Taking more of an engineering approach to your suspension set-up will give you a HUGE advantage over your competition.

[Jersey Tom]

Hence the "At least thats a good starting point." If you dont have tire data, logged lateral loads, etc, you can get an idea of what camber you want from the old racing rule of thumb of running.. what is it, inside and center about 15 deg hotter than outside? Somethin like that.

If you kknow your suspension kinematics, roll quantity, and tire data... different story.

[Buckingham]

You can also try using a stopwatch (or lap beacon). That's kind of what matters most afterall isn't it? http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

If your car/driver isn't to the point where a stopwatch (beacon) will tell you what's best, you probably should be spending time on things that a stopwatch will respond to.