#RideHarmony #suspension #optimization #FCMElite
It's a tale as old as .. well, the first race car. How much to calculate and model vs. feeling the vehicle's real-world behavior? Do you model every little details or gather enough data, ma…
#RideHarmony #suspension #optimization #FCMElite
It's a tale as old as .. well, the first race car. How much to calculate and model vs. feeling the vehicle's real-world behavior? Do you model every little details or gather enough data, make some working assumptions, and then go test test test! I know what Carroll Smith would suggest!
Most of us have a bias toward one direction or the other and through a recent exchange with a mechanical engineer on the 'Porsche 911 Damping Analysis' video I've been able to take a 40,000 ft view and consider where our difference of opinions comes from: our inherent biases. In my experience, textbooks and standard engineer approaches neglect considerations that I account for, so it's patently false to assume a purely standard 'ME101' approach will result in an optimized race car.
This is a longer video but I feel a valuable one for those interested in seeing / hearing the differences between and utility of quantitative (number/data-driven) vs. qualitative (feeling / intuitive / real-world impressions) approaches to suspension optimization. I describe how I currently utilize both calculations and driving feedback (mine and/or yours as the customer) to create a refined, Ride Harmonized result. What a 'hardcore' mechanical engineer may see as woefully-incomplete I see and know (from over 1,000 vehicles safely tuned with this approach) as effective in the real-world without getting lots in minutia. I fully intend to incorporate additional quantitative analysis (SuspProg3D) in the future, starting with a hopefully-soon-to-be new FCM shop car, a Porsche Boxster.
It's better to see solutions as an 'and' rather than an 'or' and that is one reason I greatly appreciate all my engineer customers who can both understand theoretically and feel the benefits of my approach to Ride (and Race) Harmony.
I invite your comments and feedback - please continue to help advance the subject of suspension optimization for the real-world (road and tr..
