We previously shared an article about how simple it can be to generate data in Catesby Tunnel. This feature expands on the former by comparing data generated in Catesby Tunnel with data generated at a circuit, using the same race car and setup. For confidentiality purposes we cannot share the car or the setup.
For comparison, data from a circuit straight during acceleration is compared to data from Catesby Tunnel. The traces below show the area considered, with a comparison made between the two dotted lines. For the Catesby test a higher top speed was achieved and due to the longer straight the peak speed was maintained for 10s, before braking.
Speed – Catesby Tunnel test
Speed – Circuit test
Speed Comparison
The plots below show throttle position and minimal steering input, which shows that the sections chosen are as comparable as we are likely to be able to get from track data.
Driver Sensors – Circuit Test
Driver Sensors – Catesby Tunnel Test
Below is a trace to show front damper displacement from the track. Immediately it is obvious that the noise within the track sample is significant, highlighting the issue of getting usable data at the racetrack.
Damper Displacement – Circuit Test
“The perfectly straight and planar nature of the surface, combined with controlled conditions
(no wind, rain, other vehicles) allows data to be captured with significantly more confidence.”
Taking the data from within the dotted lines and plotting damper displacement vs speed, we can create the comparable plots below. The curves show a simple 2nd order polynomial best fit through the data.
Front Damper Displacement vs Speed – Circuit Test
Front Damper Displacement vs Speed – Catesby Tunnel Test
Comparing the data, we can see why the quality of data from Catesby is so much easier to work with, with reduced noise and very consistent trends between left and right dampers. The response of the damper to the increase in load from the speed increase is behaving as theory would expect and allows conclusions to be easily made and subtle changes in setup be compared with confidence. The result of this vast improvement in
data quality, is that smaller changes can be detected with more confidence in a shorter time period. The session is therefore much more efficient and allows smaller performance gains to be found and combined to help create a winning margin. In further posts we will share the repeatability of the data over a series of ‘back-to-back’ tests and show how Catesby Tunnel creates data you can have more confidence in.
To find out how you can take advantage of Catesby Tunnel for your latest project get in touch today.
e: info@catesbyprojects.com | t: +44 (0) 1327 630 331
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