Re: Excess G forces in auto racing

[Pete Lohstreter <plohstreter@MAIL.HOCKADAY.ORG>]

PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu writes:
> It would seem to me that the higher banking keeps the 'g-forces' more
> vertical (for the drivers) which should be easier for them to handle than
> the high 'gs' on flatter tracks which tend to severely stress the
> neck/spine.  Running INDY at 220 mph around a 9 degree bank has to be more
> stressful on the body than 235 mph on a 24 degree bank.  Again, as Hugh
> states, we need the radius of the turns to do meaningful calculations.
>
> Rick
A visit to the Texas Motor Speedway web-site gave the turn radius as 750
ft. (229 m).  A calculation of the minimum coefficient of friction
necessary to make the 24 degree banked turn at 237 MPH (105 m/s) produced
a value of mu = 1.37.

The CRC states that the coefficient of friction for rubber on solids is
between 1 and 4.

We also determined the normal force felt by the driver to be 3.1 g's  and
the centripetal force to be 4.6 g's,



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