Acceleration / launch control in low gear and slip risk | FerrariChat
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Acceleration / launch control in low gear and slip risk

Discussion in 'Ferrari Discussion (not model specific)' started by sleger, Apr 1, 2018.

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  1. sleger

    sleger Rookie

    Feb 18, 2018
    23
    Gibraltar
    Full Name:
    Simon Leger
    #1 sleger, Apr 1, 2018
    Hi,
    Assuming your car is at temperature, tires are at 30C (85F or more), your tires are ok, the road is dry and not particularly slippery. If the road is straight, wheels are not turned and you floor it in low gear (a Cali T in my case) is there a real risk to lose control of the car ? I got it recently, but in low gear when I almost floor it I can sometimes feel the back starting to move a bit (in straight line) and it scares me a little, is that normal ?
     
  2. sleger

    sleger Rookie

    Feb 18, 2018
    23
    Gibraltar
    Full Name:
    Simon Leger
    #2 sleger, Apr 2, 2018
    I tried again today, tires at 30C/85F (2.6bar in front, 2.4 in back), very dry weather, in 2nd geat at 2/3k RPM, not even floor it but give good gas and back starts to slide a bit right and left, is that expected to happen ? Or sign the rear tires need changed (I can feel the TWI indicator has a bit of life left) ? I'm just afraid if I floor it it will completely slide and lose control :(
     
  3. Mitch Alsup

    Mitch Alsup F1 Veteran

    Nov 4, 2003
    9,734
    #3 Mitch Alsup, Apr 2, 2018
    Anytime one simply floors the accelerator pedal on a car with more than 300-odd HP, the driver has to assume that he has to steer the car away from where the car is trying to go.

    First, there is the torque applied to the chassis causing the passenger (US not Britain) side of the car to have more weight on its tires than the drivers side. THis allows the drivers side to transition from grip to slip to slide earlier than the passenger side. When the drivers side slips and the passenger side does not, the passenger side rear will transition towards the center of the car (i.e., turn right.)

    Secondly there is the longitudinal weight transfer. With the car non-accelerating, each wheel has a certain amount of weight on it. While accelerating, a lot of weight on the front tires has been transferred to the rear wheels. Because of this weight transfer the rear of the car squats. During the time the car is squatting the suspension is not <fully> ready to accept maximum forward thrust.

    Thirdly, maximum tire traction occurs when tire temperature is close to 200ºF (95ºC), so if you want to do these kinds of antics with a modicum of safety, you need to get the tires a lot warmer than you were.
     
    daytona355 likes this.
  4. azlin75

    azlin75 Formula Junior

    Jul 16, 2017
    785
    Kansas
    Full Name:
    Shawn Hicks
    #4 azlin75, Apr 7, 2018
    What this sounds like is someone getting to know their car, intimately. Remember that while this beautiful lady looks to die for it can certainly kill you if you over do it since that Cali T has just over 500hp. I would say you need to find a nice secluded road and learn how much gas you can give the car to get a decent launch. Obviously if it starts to fishtail you need to back off a bit. In the many times I have rented a Cali T I found it remarkably easy to drive but yet had plenty of power on tap to merge into traffic or a little "fun", and it was certainly easier then some of the other cars in its same power class to drive.
     
    Skippr1999 likes this.
  5. Steve711

    Steve711 Karting

    Oct 9, 2007
    115
    #5 Steve711, Jun 10, 2018
    I'm about to make the move from an F430 to 488. The F430 certainly has enough HP to get you in trouble, but the electronics are good enough that you really have to be doing something stupid to lose it. the 488 is way more powerful, but have the electronics improved enough to keep the car going straight? Does driving the 488 hard require more respect for the power than the f430 does?
     
  6. Carnut

    Carnut F1 Rookie

    Nov 3, 2003
    3,797
    Gladwyne PA
    Full Name:
    Morrie
    #6 Carnut, Jun 11, 2018
    I learned to drive a long time ago (before traction controls existed) when they had cars with three on a tree. I never really got used to traction controls on cars so I either drive without them of (in the case of my modified 911 remove them completely). I have owned a lot of cars (just bought 467 over the weekend), and I always like to get to know them and what I can and cant do with them (as I get older the cant list seems to be getting longer), so I go to a large office park with my suction cup flags and make my driving obstacle course and then I drive until I am sliding out the rear all the tires are screeching and I have a big smile on my face. I learn what the car and I can do together. I cant tell you how many times doing this with my cars has saved me, I advise anyone that truly wants to know there cars (and their skill with them) to do the same.
     

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