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Re: Curves and manual transmissions



I agree with his observation. In my younger days I would shift down and
"drift" through a turn, in which case the rear wheels would slide
laterally in a hopefully controlled manner. But I don't think he means
that. The sense you get is the car hugs the road better when you shift
to a lower gear and accelerate into the turn. The sequence is: brake
hard before the turn, shift down and accelerate into the turn. Haven't
tried to figure out the physics.

joe

On Tue, 27 Jan 2004, Gonzalez-Espada,
Wilson wrote:

Hello all:

Yesterday, a student of mine commented the following: He argues that when his car takes a horizontal curve with a certain speed and a lower gear (manual transmission) the car "handles better the road" compared with taking the same curve at the same speed but on a higher gear. Any explanations for this? I know that "handling of the road" is not a scientific observation but he argues that he has asked other people and they have experienced the same.

Wilson J. Gonzalez-Espada, Ph.D.
Asst Professor of Physical Science/Science Education
School of Physical and Life Sciences
Arkansas Tech University
1701 N. Boulder Ave. (McEver Hall)
Russellville, AR 72801
(479) 968-0293
(479) 964-0837 fax






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Joseph J. Bellina, Jr. 574-284-4662
Associate Professor of Physics
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, IN 46556