One of the interesting things to ponder is the effect of actual torque inputs against the salt, at speed. Most of us who've run a roadster out there have experienced the sideways slips that are hard enough to bang your helmet in the cage.
I was thinking about tire slip angles, when that happens, and how far the car is traveling per combustion event. A V8 running 7200 rpm at 200 mph, straight thru high gear and 3:1 axle with 28" tires....is traveling more than 7" per combustion event. Thats over 2 feet per crankshaft revolution.
Our 4 cyl roadster was running about 5700 rpm at 175 on 28" tires....anyway, its over 2.6 feet over the ground per crankshaft revolution. It never quite got away, but there were a few thrills.
I dont think anyone has much luck catching the car once the slip angle gets very far while power is on. Those widely spaced power inputs are more like a skip than a slide, and a spin would sure be easy. You can travel alot of distance on not that many crankshaft rotations. Especially with a heavy flywheel, which wont prevent tire slip when the tires are out of line with direction of travel.
The other interesting thing is how far the tires slip during each power event. In 2004 I was measuring the blister spacing and length on the Buckeye Bullet after a near 300 mph run. Doing the math from motor rpm (3-phase electric), I found the blisters were exactly the spacing of armature torque inputs for the gearing they used. Those blisters were pretty short, maybe about 3" long. My best guess (just guessing) is that they were transitioning to square wave 3-phase at some higher motor rpm. We did the same thing on the Prius that year, at about 93 mph. Torque takes a jump for a while, with that method, but it makes for pretty hard, short hits.
Really odd to consider, isnt it? Of course....Probably doesnt mean a thing, but it makes you wonder if its part of the mix.
P.S. Edit..... I was thinking about that getting banged around, and it only happened in cross winds. The worst ride I remember was a return run when they came down the line giving everyone the option of waiting a while if they didnt trust the wind. The thing I remember was that it didnt feel so much like a slide, as some banging back and forth. Anyone else had that?
