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Which class group for 2006?


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Re: Which class group for 2006?

hehe anybody know anything about what is the "best" suspension geometry?

The best suspension geometry is like a unicorn. Some people believe it exists, but no one's ever seen one. :DIt's all about the trade-offs for your particular needs. Try to find some pictures of the Phantom or the Vancouver Special, that's probably pretty good for most autocross usage. That design may have more focus on handling aero load, which may not work well if you're not running A-Mod wings.
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Re: Which class group for 2006?

LOL!Everyone's upgrading... Looks like the standings should stay pretty similar next year' date=' only we've all spent more money!!What we could do is have two cars for autocross. Say s2000's or two cavalier's, fully decked out with all the goodies. Then, everyone just lines up and drives. No tire changing, no air pressure changes, no broken BWM's, no excuses about your car being slow..[/quote']What's a BWM? ???Nik
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Re: Which class group for 2006?

That's exactly what would happen-when people win they attribute all of it to their own skill' date=' when they lose, it's always the equipment at fault.[/quote']Heh, heh.  Pretty funny.  I'm still of the thought that in autocross you have to be one with your car.  You work together to get a good run. ;)  Whether it is working together at the track or during the week prepping.  I'll never say, "I would have beat you if Rob had lent me his S2000." Rob's S2000 has nothing to do with my run. :PNot sure if my car has the potential to be a top ten car, maybe not, but I would rather work my way up by developing my skill as the driver and by tweaking the car until we eventually reach a plateau, than by catapulting myself into 8th place by going out and buying someone's racecar. :-/When we  ;), do plateau, it will be time to part company and for me to start combing the classifieds for the M3. :grin:  Until then, we will keep creepin' up.Nik
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Re: Which class group for 2006?

Just let Noel drive your car and you'll see. That worked for me!

Or in my case, Mike. I still can't believe how fast he was able to slalom the beast. Anyway, I agree with you Nik. Although the Altima may not be the best car to learn with. The fact that there are few parts available for it means I have less things to screw up on (read: waste money). Nonetheless it offers a chance to smooth out my driving and learn the car. When I feel the car has taken me as far as it can (I think Nish also said that once in a slightly different context) then it will be time to get something faster. Hopefully by then my skills will also be up to the challenge. :grin:
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Re: Which class group for 2006?

hehe anybody know anything about what is the "best" suspension geometry? i've been looking for geometry analyzers online with no luck. what does the FSAE team use? or even motorcoach/new flyer people...

Like Corey said, there's no "best" suspension geometry. Basically, you have to decide what's most important to you, and no you can't just say "perfect handling" :P From there, it's a lot of review and design changes as the rest of the car progresses and other factors are determined (cg, distribution of mass, other frame constraints, etc).For analysis, we use CAD software (last year I used Pro/E Wildfire, and this year I'm using SolidWorks 2005/2006 Student Edition w/ COSMOS), and a calculator. ;) Oh, and Bob made up a nifty spreadsheet to take wheel rates to spring rates taking many factors into consideration.Like just about all FSAE competitors, I dream of one day designing my own FSAE-style car when I don't have homework or deadlines. Of course, then I'll need to pay for it myself.. lol
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Re: Which class group for 2006?

All you have to do is buy djw a smokie and he puts your name at the top of the standings.

So a set of magnets should put me on top for ten years according to that math. [smiley=21.gif] :grin: Cool, no hacking required. [smiley=20.gif]
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Re: Which class group for 2006?

hehe anybody know anything about what is the "best" suspension geometry? i've been looking for geometry analyzers online with no luck. what does the FSAE team use? or even motorcoach/new flyer people...
<ot>i was just about to ask if you were looking for a surplus bus axle' date=' but then realized that you're asking what analysis software flyer and mci use. i think you'd be surprised. i worked with a flyer senior designer for a while, and all i saw was the gillespie suspension book. flyer usually coordinates the work of koni and arvin-meritor, or whichever chosen supplier, but they don't reinvent new geometries by themselves.as for the sae team, some other teams use msc.adams vehicle dynamics, but it's uber-expensive and you need lots of good tire data. we go by what we read from books and what we've learned from the previous cars (yes, believe it or not, we have learned some from the previous cars). this year, rear geometry's taking a back seat to packaging, and front geometry is just a small evolution of the '04 and '05's.[smiley=salute.gif'] best of luck to you. it's a tough gig, i should know. if i can suggest anything, it's to keep it simple, make sure it's adjustable, and above all, make sure it's stable and stiff (minimal bump steer, stiff mountings and assemblies). at least then, if it's not optimal, it'll be predictable. oh, and go get the carroll smith racing bookset.</ot>
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Re: Which class group for 2006?

Like just about all FSAE competitors' date=' I dream of one day designing my own FSAE-style car when I don't have homework or deadlines.  Of course, then I'll need to pay for it myself.. lol[/quote']this fsae competitor dreams of one day hopping out of the car furious, yelling to the engineer that the car's "garbage," throwing the steering wheel at the closest gearhead, and driving home in a freebie bmw with 20 minutes left in the practice session.to each his own...
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Re: Which class group for 2006?ok total threadjack sorry everybody. yea i'll do all the CAD with unigraphics seemings that's what i'm the best at, and we were planning on highly adjustable suspension because we really wanna play around alot, and also change to aluminum once everything is going good. haha convert the vw eh..closer then you think. we are gonna slap a VR6 from an older jetta (OBD I so we have less electronics) and then make a mid rear out of it. the main idea came from the atom, so we're gonna stay true to the two seater although ours will be bigger. we are looking into homebuilt licencing as it just wouldn't be nearly as much fun if you we couldn't drive it too the races. that will be our main goal to make the car roadworthy not just track worthy. i'm sure i'll be asking questions again later this winter when i'm either at my computer or starting to rip down the car with the donor motor that i stilll have yet to find...should be a fun time. haha and you thought me and carlin were crazy in our cars, wait and see when we can finish this starting off with 175 hp and moving upwards of 300-400 when we decide to get down to the engine mods (forced induction) anyways i gotta get back to graduating (homework)

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Re: Which class group for 2006?

muhahaha i'll show you all! ... if i get my learners  :-/ [smiley=runaway.gif]

Now you're sounding like Briget, she thinks she's going to wipe up the auto-x track with me in the Mini next year, I think I should make a substantial bet on it.
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