Race Car Tech Terminology
Hey Race Car Tech's! I've been browsing the new Race Car forum and seen a TON of acronyms thrown about. We all know what "Drag Racing" is, but I'm not sure about the other types of racing that can be done and was wondering if you guys could list the types of racing or possibly clarify the acronyms(since some of us are Race Car Illiterate;) )
These are a few examples of acronyms/racing that I have seen and have NO idea what they entail: CACC Road Racing SCCA GT Racing Solo 2 CSP ITS CSP-Novice NASA Pro 7 ASP Autocrossing Please help out the un-educated Race Car Guy/Gal!!!:D |
I will fill in as many as possible.
CACC-- sanctioning body(group that puts on race) Road Racing-- or sports car racing. typically racing wheel to wheel on a closed purpose built track. SCCA--most well known sanctioning body in US GT Racing-- usually refering to endurance racing like LeMans or Daytona. in these races there is a class of cars called GT. these are modified road cars. Solo 2 CSP-- solo 2 is timed racing through a temporary coarse marked out with cones on a parking lot or other large concrete or asphalt surface and CSP is a class in the SCCA ITS--is another SCCA race class for slightly modified road cars CSP-Novice-- new to the CSP class and on a type of probation NASA Pro 7-- also a class of race cars. first gen RX7's prepped the same and NASA is another sanctioning body ASP-- is also a race class in SCCA solo 1 or 2 Autocrossing-- same a solo 2 |
Can anyone explain:
Gran Prix Dirt Track :confused: |
Grand Prix is French for "big prize"...it's the term used for high-end road racing (Formula 1)
Dirt Track is simply an asphalt oval with clay packed over top of the asphalt to make the racing surface slippery... Originally posted by jspecracer7 Can anyone explain: Gran Prix Dirt Track :confused: |
I thougth i explain some stuff for some newbies since I needed some explainig myself.
Oversteer: When the back of the car gets loose and comes around. RX-7's tend to oversteer when they are stock. Understeer: When the front end can't turn anymore doesn't matter how much you turn the steering. This is bad since it is hard to recover from. But mostly stock FWD cars understeer. Both of the above "steering problems" can be fixed by playing with tire pressure / changing sway-bars / combination of above and shocks/springs. U want a race car to be balanced with a slight tendency to understeer. Camber: it's the difference in position of top of the wheel/tire to the center of the wheel (it's not the precise definition, but it's easy to pictures). Negative camber is when the top of the tire is closer to the car than the bottom (again not precise, but does the job). U want negative camber for racing since when you turn if the tire is totally straight it tends to ride on one corner, but if you have a neg. camber, it will have a full contact patch while u turn (see in the following figure) http://www.bcrx7.com/images/camber.JPG I will post more newbie stuff up when i'm not tired ;) Omid |
SCCA = Sports Car Club of America
GT= Grand Touring CSP= "C" Street Prepared ITS= Improved Touring "S" ASP= "A" Street Prepared I almost forgot the most important...hehe FP= "F" Prepared:bigthumb: http://members.cardomain.com/7heaven |
Don't forget the SCCA GT classes... you have your Improved Touring (ITx), then your Production (xP), then your GT (GTn) classes. (x = letter, n = number)
I know 1st-gens are generally ITA/ITS, EP, and GT3... |
Originally posted by abeomid Both of the above "steering problems" can be fixed by playing with tire pressure / changing sway-bars / combination of above and shocks/springs. U want a race car to be balanced with a slight tendency to understeer. Camber: it's the difference in position of top of the wheel/tire to the center of the wheel (it's not the precise definition, but it's easy to pictures). Negative camber is when the top of the tire is closer to the car than the bottom (again not precise, but does the job). U want negative camber for racing since when you turn if the tire is totally straight it tends to ride on one corner, but if you have a neg. camber, it will have a full contact patch while u turn (see in the following figure) Camber is pretty well described by that picture. By increasing negative camber, you will increase the contact patch of rubber from the tire, thereby increasing grip. Toe is easier to understand by looking over top the tire. Look from above the fender. Factory condition is usually zero toe, or (provided you don't have a weird fender flare) even with the fender. Toe out is when the front of the tire points outward; so that the front of the tire peeks out from under the fender. Toe in is the opposite; when the back of the tire peeks out from under the fender. Increasing toe out makes the car more responsive to steering input; however, too much can cause heavy oversteer, making the car difficult to control. Decreasing toe out and/or increasing toe in makes the car less responsive to steering input, but increases straightline stability. Too much toe in causes heavy understeer, making the car difficult to turn. Caster is easier to understand by looking directly at the front tire. It's difficult to directly see, but you can visualize it. If the center of the wheel was directly under the shock mounting perches, that would be 0 degrees of caster. Positive caster is advancing the angle so that the wheel is closer to the front of the car; with respect to the mounting perches. Increasing positive caster, helps increase grip during turn-in. I don't know if you can adjust in negative caster. Now adjusting alignment is difficult when you're actually at the track. That's where shock settings and tire pressure can be played with. As far what you should dial in your car to, that depends on your driving style and environment. There's my two cents for racing newbies. And the racing community generally uses the terms "Solo II" and "autocross" interchangeably. |
Originally posted by SleepR1 Dirt Track is simply an asphalt oval with clay packed over top of the asphalt to make the racing surface slippery... |
Some more racing terms:
pranged=wrecked bent=wrecked balled up=wrecked ran out of talent=wrecked lost the car=wrecked had a racing incident=wrecked car is a pig=will wreck shortly car is pushing=will hit wall shortly car is evil=scared enough I will wreck car on purpose shortly |
Mas palabras
Lets not forget:
Shunt=wrecked Wadded up=wrecked Diabolical oversteer=I spun |
I use this one usually..
wrecked=wrecked :P |
You guys are freakin' awesome!!!! Keep the knowledge rollin' gentlemen...by the end of the year, I want to know it ALL...:D
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donated paint=wrecked
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