Return to Barani Design        Calculate corner exit speed effect on lap time & end of straight speed.

Acceleration Calculator - Aerodynamic Drag Limited Vehicle

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May be used to calculate how corner exit speed will effect lap time and end of straight speed vs a horsepower increase.

Based on integrating the following variable acceleration formula:                              The integral is in the form of:

INPUT: Car Physical Data & Total Force Coefficients Remember: SHIT IN = SHIT OUT please see CONSTANT HORSEPOWER vs POWERTRAIN LIMITATIONS

STRAIGHT LENGTH =

m

ft

yards

STARTING SPEED or CORNER EXIT SPEED=

m/s

mph

kph

Car Frontal Area =

m2

ft2

Car CD =

based on Car Frontal Area

Car L/D =

-currently not used in acceleration calculation

Mass (kg) =

kg

lb

Engine Power =

hp

kW

Metric hp(M)

Drive Train Loss =

%

Air density =

kg/m3

lb/ft3

Density based on Height above Sea Level Calculator

Engine Power: Calculator assumes Full power is available for the duration of the acceleration. ( Horsepower is Constant! ) This is a simplification since engine horsepower usually increases with engine RPM. Drag calculation is accurate. LIMITATIONS: Compared to actual cars this calculator will overpredict acceleration due to horsepower because of its lack of powertrain limitations. (Basically, especially in the first few rows, acceleration will be faster than true to life.) Gearing and shifting limitations are also not yet modeled.

CONSTANT HORSEPOWER vs POWERTRAIN LIMITATIONS

OUTPUT:

Power @ Wheels =

hp

kW

Metric hp(M)

Max Velocity (m/s) =

m/s

mph

kph

Car CL =

AERO DRAG LIMITED ACCELERATION

A=C1=746*Hp/mass =

B=C2=rho*S*Cd/mass =

ELAPSED DISTANCE (meters)

ELAPSED DISTANCE (feet)

ELAPSED TIME (seconds)

Drag Horsepower (hp)

Speed (m/s)

Speed (mph)

Speed (kph)

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

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