Safe Speed Forums

Apologies, but strangely, I feel the need to share how I spent mine...

Surfing the web looking for photos of a Benetton F1 car?

Not that exciting surely

then I got bored and looked for a prost instead

How many laps did you get?

I am green with envy now... look at me here

A lap in the Benetton before the gearbox packed it in. 5 Laps in Prost #1 and 4.5 laps in Prost #2 before a fuel injection problem finished that off. My only problem now is I have an addiction I can't afford to feed

Riggers - surely you are put off by the helmet?

It gives the impression it might be dangerous!!

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Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

Bet I went faster than you! (flying back from Florida )

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Andrew.

is that about 1000 mentions so far? You haven't been in Florida by any chance, have you?

Heeey! I doubt it's even been 20 yet :p
Yeah. I did. It was warm. I even drove a car. But it was not as fast as that one looks.
I'm sure every time I mentioned it it was relevant! Ish.

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Andrew.

Well, I didn't do anything as interesting as that - instead I spent the weekend dismembering my bike engine ready to take to the machininsts on Friday to get my 840cc big bore kit fitted!!

Santa Pod here we come!

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Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.

A lovely ride across the North Yorks moors on virtually empty roads, lunch at Hutton-le-hole, on to the steam railway at Pickering..... need I go on?

That sounds like bliss

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Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.

Nope



Good, the faster the better.

BTW, did anyone see Clarkson driving the Koenigsegg CCX on Top Gear. I think he really shat himself at the end of the straight when it went all loose on him as he slowed back down from 192 mph

Yeah, that was funny, but I thought what the Stig managed to do was even better! And the most amusing bit was that Koenigsegg have offered to modify it and then let them play with it again??!

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Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.

It appeared to be quite similar to the original TT, where the nice aerodynamic design ignored a basic rule of automotive science - to go around a corner you need to keep the tyres in contact with the road. What it really needs is something like the Porche dynamic spoiler that comes up when braking/cornering and goes down again at other times. Audi had to modify the TT design by adding a spoiler but at least it prevented drivers sliding off during high speed corners...

It amazes me that manufacturers of high-performance cars still seem to be unaware of aerodynamic instability, a problem suffered by Porsche in the late 1960s and subsequently solved by the addition of a couple of basic devices, air dam and spoiler. Given that virtually all GT cars have essentially the same profile - to whit a large aerofoil - one would have assumed that someone, sometime during the design process, might have thought "hang on a minute...".

Aero-generated lift isn't just a problem in high-speed corners - as so wonderfully demonstrated by "The Stig", but also the cause of high-speed straight-line instability (including sensitivity to cross-winds) as also demonstrated by Mr Clarkson when he tried to jump on the anchors at 190+mph.

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"Politicians are the same the world over... We build bridges where there aren't any rivers." - Nikita Kruschev

However, it was funny watching Clarkson soiling himself...

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Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.

interestingly (sort of) though, Fifth gear were interviewing a guys with a huge supercar collection, including 2 Koenigseggs and I'm sure at least one of those had rear wing on it..

They weren't the new model though I don't think... I don't remember either having a spoiler but I was too busy staring at the Zonda...

On a slightly different tack, someone down our street has one of those bloody pink micras

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Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.

what makes you say the problems demonstrated on top gear were aero instability rather than just lack of mechanical grip?

certainly clarkson hammering on the brakes at 200mph and unloading the rear had alot to do with the first incident.

and watching the stig driving it round it just lacked grip at the rear.

sure.. better aero design would increase downforce at the rear but i didn't see anythiong to suggest poor aero design was causing lift or instability.