Weight Transfer

    During racing, the most important part is being able to handle the curves of the road.  Knowing how to balance the weight of the car is key is being a good driver.  Balancing the weight is done by controlling the throttle, brakes, and steering.  

Picture from Speedoptions.com       

    In learning how to drive, managing the weight transfer is very important.  Race car drivers learn to manage the weight transfer as they manuevre through the tight curves of the tracks at high speeds.  Being able to manage the shifting weight will be key in being a successful driver. 
        
         To balance the car, a driver must be aware of how he uses the brakes, throttle, and steering.  Each of these plays an intricite role in how the car will move.  As the car accelerates, the weight will shift to the back of the car causing understeer and as it brakes will shift the weight to the front causing oversteer.  The movement in the car is caused as inertia moves through the center of gravity aboe the ground.  The weight transfer effects are directly proportional to how high the car is off the ground.  This explains that cars that are more aerodynamic have better handling than those that are bulky. 
        
         Inertia and adhesive forces play an important role in explaining how weight transfer acts on a vehicle.  Much of these can be found in Newton's Laws.  Each of Newton's Laws helps to explain why the car shifts as it starts, is in motion and is coming to a stop.  The first law explains that a vehicle moving in a straight line will continue in motion until acted upon by an outside force.  The second law tells us that the change in motion is proportional to force divided by mass; F=ma.  The third force says that each force acting on the car will have an equal and opposite force that acts back on the car. 
       
         The first law shows that a car placed in neutral will come to a stop in time because of the outside forces acting on it.  Friction between the tires and the ground along with the air flowing over the car will cause the car to stop.  These outside forces are present at all times and the design of the car is usually developed to limit the outside forces allowing the car to move faster.  The lighter and more aerodynamic the car, the better performance levels the car will have.  As the second law states, the larger the car, the reactions are much more slow.  In high performance cars, designers attempt to apply the most force to the lightest design in order to enhance the acceleration levels.  Finally, the brakes of the car, when applied, cause the tires to push against the ground and the ground pushes back allowing the car to come to a stop. 
        


       Picture from The Physics of Racing

  This picture illustrates how the ground acts on the tires causing the car to come to a stop.  The weight of the car in the center is what pulls the car down towards the Earth.  Because of the car's designs we don't often notice these forces.  The magnitude of the forces determines how the tire will stick to the road and an imbalance of the front and rear lifting force will counter the result of over and under steering. 

         Generally, weight transfer of a certain car can be calculated using the following formula:
                 Lf = dG + Bh/w Lr = (1-d)G-Bh/w
         h=height, w=wheelbase, B=braking, d= static weight distribution, G=weight

         The weight transfer can be analyzed in order to determine proper maneuvring for corners of a track.  By using a combination of braking and handling skills, one would be able to successfully be helped through these calculations in driving through a course.