The following article shows the potential of Data Acquistion, which, of
course is probably nothing new to Cart or F1 or even NASCAR on test days.
As we discuss the pros and cons of DA in autocrossing I thought this
article from Speedvision.com on April 14 was interesting. Somehow, I don't
think it applies to autocrossing, especially in my carb'd, point ignition
Formula Ford. Maybe for the Stockers with their engine and/or handling
computers at Pro Solos. Maybe we better watch guys like John Ames, "Ford"
employee in Stock or Street Prepared (opps, he is driving a Chevy in
Dallas). (Major grin)!
Dick
Ford To Test Deep Into The Night At Long Beach
Long Beach, Calif., April 14 — Part of the bad feelings against temporary
street courses comes from the fact that teams simply cannot test on them,
putting the emphasis on race-weekend runs to get the car dialed in.
But the CART pilots under Ford power will be testing on the Long Beach
circuit long into the California night; however, don’t expect to hear the
sounds of screaming engines if you travel down Shoreline Drive Friday evening.
Ford and partner Cosworth Racing are using their state-of-the-art computer
technology to test the needs of their powerplants on the Long Beach course,
without ever turning a wheel.
Using the data gained from Friday’s two practice sessions, the Cosworth
track engineers will e-mail the figures to Ford Transient Dynamometer in
Dearborn, Michigan to simulate the demands of the 1.968mi street course.
"Cosworth engineers will have an XF (motor) prepared to run the Long Beach
circuit on our dynamometer to simulate the driving characteristics of our
Champ Car drivers and effectively continue to test the engine when the cars
are not on the track," said Ford Racing chief engineer John Valentine.
"Ford and Cosworth have come a long way in just the first year and a half
of our new relationship. We are learning things from each other that are
making our vehicles better than ever before."
Ford and Cosworth have long been intertwined in motor racing history, but
Cosworth was owned by Ford competitor Vickers. Ford bought Cosworth nearly
two years ago, and the entities are starting to pool their resources like
never before.
The telemetry from the practice will be used to more accurately simulate
the driving style of Ford drivers such as Michael Andretti and Max Papis,
enabling Ford engineers to shore up the engine for Sunday’s 82-lap event.
"What Ford is doing in Long Beach is a little different, since the testing
is being done during the race weekend, and I think it’s going to be a big
advantage for us," Andretti said. "I think this will go a way to helping
make our program even better." — Eric Mauk, Associate Editor, Champ Car and
RACER
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