9/25/2016 FormulaStudentGermany:StevesBox(oftricks)

10July201012:57

StevesBox(oftricks)
Category:PatsCorner

Anoteinpassing:Someengineersspecifypedalforceatlockup,asopposedtopedaleffortperGforce.Eitheranswerisacceptable.Justbeclear
inhowyouhavespecifiedyourbrakesystem.Pedalgeometryisalsoimportant.Whenthepedalgoesovercentertheratefallsandthefeedbackto
thedriverisconfusing.Buthatisasubjectforanotherarticle.

WeseeFSAE/FSbrakepedalsandbrakepedalmountsfailalltoooften.Hereismystatement:Yourbrakesystemshouldbesorobust,thatthe
drivercannotbreakitbypushingonthepedalwithanyamountofforcehe(she)cangenerate.AsMikeONeil(ChiefDesignJudge,FSAECA)is
fondofsaying:Wheneverythingelseonthecarhasfailed,thebrakesshouldbethelastthingstillworking.Mikealsopointedouttomethatany
brakepedalmounthehaseverdesignedandbuiltwassostrongthatthemastercylinderpushrodswouldbucklebeforethepedalbroke!

Anaverageadultmalecanlegpress225270kg(500600lbs).Forthisarticle,letsusetheuppernumber,whichmeansthatonelegcanexerta
forceof1330N(300lbs)onthebrakepedal,undernormalcircumstances.Adda10%safetyfactorandIwillrespectfullysuggestthatyourbrake
systemshouldbeabletowithstanda1470N(330lbs)forcewithNOdamagetoyourbrakes.

Youalsohavetoreactthatforce.Afailedseatmountcancausebrakefailureandseatcompliance(evenafoaminsert)maylimittheamountof
pressurethatcanbeapplied.Similarly,complianceinthepedalbox/mountingcanlimitultimatepressure.Somethingthatworriesmealittleisthe
adjustablepedalboxeswesee.Somearemadetofailunderhighpressure.Anotherpotentialproblemisthatthedrivermaypullonthesteering
wheelasheapplieshighbrakepressure(Seeearliercommentsoncarbonwheels).

Intalkingtoalotofdifferentprofessional(race)carbuildersweareallinagreementthat1470N(330lbs)istheabsolutebottomendofthebrakeforce
thresholdyoushouldbedesigningandbuildingto.Anythingyoubuildshouldberobustenoughtotakeatleastthatamountofforce.Remember:
Neverunderestimatethestrengthofascareddriver.

AcceleratorSystem
Youracceleratorpedalshouldrequirearelativelylighteffort.(NeilRobertsnewbook:ThinkFast,TheRacersWhyToGuideToWinning,covers
throttlelinkageratiosquitenicely.Ihighlyrecommendreadingit!)Becausetheacceleratoronlyrequiresafractionoftheforceneededforabrake
pedal,itdoesnothavetobeconstructedasrobustlyasabrakepedal.Thedrivercanstillgenerateseveralhundredpoundsforce,sotheaccelerator
pedalneedstohaveanovertravelstop,capableofwithstandingthishighlevelofforce.

NOTE:ThethrottlecableshouldNEVERbeusedasthepedalstop!TheDesignJudges(andScrutineers)alwaysliketoseeagoodpushpullcable
usedinsteadofapullcableonly.Thiscansometimessaveyourbaconifyouexperienceastuckthrottle,byallowingyoutopullthethrottleclosed
withatoeunderthepedal

GearshiftSystem
Standalone,mechanical,shiftlevershavetobedesignedstrongenoughfortheforceneededtoeffecttheshift.Soundslikeaplainlyobvious
statement,doesntit?Yeteveryyearweseealltypesofshiftleversunderdesigned,poorlydesigned,orwithsomuchcompliancethattheyarenot
verydriverfriendly.Theratiooftheleverhasalottodowithhowmuchforceisrequiredfromthedriver.Weoftenseeleverratiosthatarenotwell
thoughtout,requiringtoomucheffortfromthedriver.Thisnotonlymeansthattheleverhastobebuiltstronger(heavier),butalsomeansthatthe
higherforcerequiredwillfatigueyourdriversooner.

Manuallyoperatedclutchmechanismsmountedonthesteeringcolumnbringtheirownuniquesetofproblems.Thereactionforceontheleveris
throughthesteeringwheelandagainwehavetoaskhowthatforceisreactedthroughthewheelandintothesteeringcolumnandsupports.

Adrenalin,thegreatequalizer!
Ihavenotyetmentionedthislittlepoweraddercalledadrenaline.Adrenalintousislikenitrousoxideistoanengine.Yougetanincreasedpower
outputforashortperiodoftime.Whenadriverisscareditisnormaltoexperienceanincreasedadrenalinlevel.Adrenalingivesthedrivertheability
tofaroutperformanypreviouslyrecordedpeakstrengthlevels.Asaresult,allofyourcockpitcontroldevicesneedalittleextrasafetymarginjustfor
theadrenalineffect.

Summary
Withabasicunderstandingofdriverstrengthandalittleattentiontodetail,youwillbeabletodesignaracecarwhichisnotonlyfast,butstrongand
reliable.Remember,thatsafetyisalwaysyourfirstprioritywhendesigninganything.Ifyouwouldntgetinthecaryourself,thendontjeopardizeyour
driverslifeeither.Yourobjectiveisnottoscareyourdriverasifhe(she)wasonanamusementparkride,butrathertomakethecarsupremely
comfortable,easytocontrol,andincreaseyourdriversconfidencelevelwhichhelpshim(her)excelontrack!

PerhapsyouwillreadmorefrommeincomingmonthsUntilthen,havefun,andremember:Safetyaboveallelse!

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Steve

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