The Physics of Race Cars

UBC Physics & Astronomy Department Colloquium on March 4, 2021. Presented by Andre Marziali (UBC).
phas.ubc.ca/ph...
While motorsports events can appear to the general viewing public as a parade of cars driving around tracks in circles, in reality race drivers operating their cars at the grip limit are constantly on a razor's edge, balancing and adjusting the behavior of the car with a variety of inputs and techniques that are foreign to the average road driver. At the same time, race car designers and race engineers are faced with complex compromises that generate a surprising range of solutions and car performance despite the underlying principles being well understood, and often despite engines being standardized across race series. Using simple, first-year physics, and some qualitative understanding of tire behavior, we'll take a beginner's look at race driving and the techniques used to minimize lap time, as well as the design differences between road cars and race cars, and the changes that grassroots motorsports enthusiasts must make to convert their road cars into high performance race vehicles.
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[@bjj-vl2ut]

FWD cars understeer because they have more weight over the front, but lift-off oversteer occurs because the car's weight transfers forward.

[@bjj-vl2ut]

Understeer occurs when the front is heavier If that's the case, lift-off oversteer occurs when the rear is lighter can you explain this teacher?

[@aryanmishra5591]

I have watched your physics of racing video and it is one of the best video till date on getting an intuitive feel for what's going on.
Really glad that you decided to make another video on this topic.

[@rat_king-]

cut the firewall and move the engine back, the new dash is always further away in a race car