Know your V8 Supercar terms
28/9/2004 13:13 (Press Release) -
Dear SBR fan, Over the next few weeks we will take the time to bring you the meaning of many racing terms. These will come in handy as we head into the business end of the season with the Bob Jane T-Marts 1000 at Bathurst, the Gillette V8 Supercar Challenge on the Gold Coast and then the final two rounds of the year in Tasmania and at Eastern Creek.
We hope these terms continue to give you a better understanding of our sport as we chase back-to-back championships.
Kind regards
Ross and Jimmy Stone
Stone Brothers Racing
V8 SUPERCAR RACING TERMS
AERODYNAMICS
The science of managing airflow over, under and around a car plays a major role in V8 Supercar design and tuning. Areas of high and low pressure are carefully managed to maximise downforce (to help the tyres grip the ground) while minimising drag (to maximise speed). The two main areas involved in this are the surface area on the underside of the front bumper and the rear wing.
AIR PRESSURE
Mechanics can adjust a car's handling by raising or lowering air pressure in the tyres. Flex in the sidewall acts like another spring in the suspension. Increasing the air pressure makes the overall spring rate stiffer, while lowering the pressure will make it softer.
ANTI-ROLL BAR
A mechanical linkage, one each for the front and rear suspensions, that helps transfer more weight to the inside tyres in the corners and helps keep all four tyres gripping the track. The driver adjusts the anti-roll bars with levers in the cockpit. Also called a sway bar.
APEX
The geometric inside centre point of a corner. In racing, a driver will often use a "late apex," turning into the corner a little later than normal in order to straighten out the last part of the corner. This allows the driver to accelerate earlier and harder, gaining maximum speed down the next straight.
BACKMARKER
A car running near the back of the field.
BALACLAVA
The fireproof hood drivers wear under their helmets to avoid burns to the face and neck.
BALANCE
Condition where there is no understeer or oversteer, which allows a car to move at the highest possible speed through corners.
BLISTER
Tyres subjected to excessive heat can form blisters on the surface that contacts the track. In V8 Supercars, this can occur when a car's handling is not quite right, resulting in excessive wear on one or more tyres. A blister is caused when the rubber tread compound exceeds its maximum operating temperature and melts, greatly reducing the tyre's ability to grip the road.
BRAKE BIAS
In most cars, including street cars, pressing on the brake pedal applies a little more force to the front brakes than the rear. This is designed to take advantage of the fact that under braking, weight transfers to the front of the car. With lots of weight on the front tyres, the brakes can be applied very hard without completely stopping the wheels from rotating ("locking the wheels"). At the same time, the rear of the car tends to get lighter, so the rear brakes must be engaged less than the fronts to avoid locking the rear wheels and possibly losing control. In a race car, brake bias is adjustable by the driver to compensate for changing conditions, such as on a wet track where there is less weight transfer to the front of the car under braking, or to adjust for a changing centre of gravity as fuel is used.
BRAKE FADE
Brakes transform motion into heat. The heat in the cast-iron rotors of a V8 Supercar can reach 900 degrees C. When the fluid in the brake system exceeds its boiling point due to hard use, bubbles can form in the brake lines and calipers. Since these bubbles can be squeezed smaller by pressure from the brake pedal, the pedal tends to "go soft" and may even go to the floorboard without the brakes working properly.
BRAKING ZONE
The area leading into a turn where drivers apply the brakes to set the car up for manoeuvring through the turn. Each driver’s braking point differs, depending on the car’s setup and the driver’s level of skill.
CAMBER
An element of chassis tuning. Each tyre can be tilted inward or outward depending on the track. The usual idea is to tilt the top of the tyre inward (negative camber) so that under cornering loads, the entire surface of the tread is being used to the maximum. Teams adjust the camber setting based on reading tyre temperatures across the surface of the tread, with the goal of having equal temperatures on the inside, middle and outside edges. Equal temperatures across the surface of the tyre indicate the tyre is being used to its maximum capacity.
CAUTION OR SAFETY CAR PERIOD
When the track is unsafe because of an accident, debris or a sudden downpour, the officials may put the track under caution by waving yellow flags at the starter stand and around the track. This brings out the safety car to gather the field and lead them around at reduced speed until the track is safe for a restart.
CHEQUERED FLAG
This black-and-white chequered flag is the most famous in racing, signifying the end of the session or race. At the end of a race, the first car to receive the checkered flag at the finish line is the winner.
CHICANE
A quick succession of sharp, slow turns, usually intended to reduce straight line speeds.
COCKPIT
The area of the car where the driver sits.
COMPOUND
Tyres are extremely important in racing, with Dunlop providing the rubber for V8 Supercars. Compound refers to the chemical composition of the rubber tread, which requires a balance between the conflicting goals of traction (soft compound) and durability (hard compound). In V8 Supercars competitors use what is called a “controlled?tyre which means they do not have a choice of tyre or compound.
Release Date: 21/09/2004
Stone Brothers Racing
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