Test Scenarios and Recorded Observations
- Stock Clutch; Stock Flywheel; LSD @ 12/30/16; Race Soft
- Smooth and consistent feel; but measurably lower average lap times. (1:15")
- Stock Clutch; Semi-Race Flywheel; LSD @ 12/30/16; Race Soft
- Snappy, prone to sudden veering, jerking, corner spin on cold Race Softs but good after first lap. (1:13.5")
- Stock Clutch; Stock Flywheel; LSD @ 12/50/16; Race Soft
- Runs wide in corners, snagging a real danger. Lurching present upon full throttle or release from full throttle. (1:14")
- Stock Clutch; Semi-Race Flywheel; LSD @ 12/50/16; Race Soft
- Capable of power oversteer to counteract snagging; better performing than scenario 3. (1:13.5")
- Single Plate; Stock Flywheel; LSD @ 12/30/16; Race Soft
- Smooth and consistent feel; slight wheelie on crest. (1:13.5")
- Single Plate; Semi-Race Flywheel; LSD @ 12/30/16; Race Soft
- Pops wheelies at crest; clutch engagement snap evident. (1:14")
- Single Plate; Stock Flywheel; LSD @ 12/50/16; Race Soft
- Pops wheelies at crest; smoother cornering than scenario 6; runs wider in turns; milder clutch engagement. (1:13.5")
- Single Plate; Semi-Race Flywheel; LSD @ 12/50/16; Race Soft
- Smooth and consistent; a touch of barreling present; great off the line grid start first lap time, three consecutive 1:13" laps ran. (1:13")
- Twin Plate; Stock Flywheel; LSD @ 12/30/16; Race Soft
- Smooth; but clutch engagement more noticeable over single plate. (1:13.5")
- Twin Plate; Semi-Race Flywheel; LSD @ 12/30/16; Race Soft
- Smooth acceleration; strong desire to wheelie crest; prone to sudden snaps; erratic in corner radius diameters - snagging; jerking over irregularities on track surface; lurching evident. (1:14")
- Twin Plate; Stock Flywheel; LSD @ 12/50/16; Race Soft
- Smooth and consistent feel; but measurably lower lap time. (1:14.5")
- Twin Plate; Semi-Race Flywheel; LSD @ 12/50/16; Race Soft
- Smooth; some wheelies at crest; erratic snapping. (1:14")
- Stock Clutch; Sport Flywheel; LSD @ 12/30/16; Race Soft
- Smooth and consistent, clean laps; respectable lap times. (1:12.8")
- Stock Clutch; Sport Flywheel; LSD @ 12/50/16; Race Soft
- Smooth and consistent, clean laps; runs a tad bit wider in corners, but power oversteer to counter. Corner entry deceleration is smooth, full throttle exit smooth. (1:12.9")
- Single Plate; Sport Flywheel; LSD @ 12/30/16; Race Soft
- Smooth for the most part; a bit of wheelie; a small bit of snapping. (1:12.8")
- Single Plate; Sport Flywheel; LSD @ 12/50/16; Race Soft
- Smooth and consistent, clean laps; good torque to friction balance; perfect power oversteer; excellent corner entry deceleration and full throttle exits are smooth. (1:12.5")
- Twin Plate; Sport Flywheel; LSD @ 12/30/16; Race Soft
- Smooth and consistent, clean laps; clutch engagement is more noticeable at disengage/engage at high speeds; some gentle veering is present. (1:12.8")
- Twin Plate; Sport Flywheel; LSD @ 12/50/16; Race Soft
- Smooth and consistent, clean laps; has the quickest first lap time from grid start of the tested combinations; runs consistently in the low 1:13's"; full throttle works most of track but occasionally need to back off, recovery is quick. (1:13.1")
Conclusions and Summary
February 2, 2011 - I have completed the additional testing scenarios for Sports flywheel and added them above (13-18). The results from those were quite interesting, the test spec car handled exceptionally well on all configurations will the Sports flywheel and put up respectable lap times during each scenario, several new lap records were made.
The main culprit of the initial wild handling of this car can be solely attributed to the Semi-Race flywheel. The high-idle spin of the flywheel appears to the source of the sudden and violent reactions this car has to clutch engagements. While some of this behavior can be mitigated by clutch selection and use of an high acceleration value on the LSD, results consistently showed that the Sports flywheel produced better lap times and far better handling.
The clutch is almost a non-factor on this car, there were a few distinct differences but the driving was consistent among scenarios 14, 16, and 18 that I repeated each for three sets of five laps just to be sure the differences were reproducible and yet minimal. The stock clutch allowed the driver to freely use full throttle for almost the entirety of the race course; it put up a respectable 1:12.8" lap time with LSD acceleration at 30, but also another at 1:12.9" with LSD acceleration at 50.
The single plate clutch displayed a slightly more apparent disengagement and re-engagement at high rpm's, but impact on handling was minimal. A small tendency towards occasional snapping was present when used with an LSD acceleration of 30, but mitigated by setting the value to 50. The single plate when paired with the Sports flywheel and an LSD acceleration of 50 proved itself to be a consistent performer, repeatedly dishing out laps in the low 1:13's and setting an highly impressive 1:12.479" best lap time (best of all tested scenarios so far). Single plate clutch proved itself as the best clutch option for this particular car.
That is not to say that the twin plate clutch did not earn an honorable mention, it displayed it's own unique characteristics. The clutch disengagement to re-engagement was a bit stronger than on the single plate, but did not prove overly detrimental to handling when paired with a Sports flywheel as it did when paired with the Semi-Race flywheel. The slight bit of veering that was produced was mitigated by raising LSD acceleration to 50. Wheelies were only slightly noticeable at crests when paired with the Sports flywheel. Lap times were consistent, typically running in the low 1:13's" and a best lap of 1:21.8" was set with LSD acceleration at 30. The best lap time from stationary grid start was set at 1:19.618" when using an LSD acceleration of 50, making this the best first lap option, this scenario repeatedly demonstrated consecutive laps in the low 1:13's but could not make it under the 1:12.999" benchmark (15 laps were ran), but for lap consistency this combination proved itself truly unique.
The last variable of the drivetrain optimization testing scenarios also seems to be a critical element. LSD acceleration repeatedly proved itself to be a valuable tool in mitigating unwanted snapping and veering associated with use of upgraded clutches and flywheels. While only two values were used for our testing purposes, testing clearly indicated that higher LSD acceleration settings tend to fair better in overall stability of the drivetrain, as well as produce higher lap times. There were some cases where the value being set too high could cause the car to run wide in corners, and this was most noticeable when paired with the stock flywheel, when paired with the Sports flywheel a well balanced and natural amount of power oversteer made sharp cornering possible. Under several of these scenarios using LSD acceleration of 50, I was not dropping below 127MPH at the apex of the last downhill bend to the straight away finish on Deep Forest Raceway without touching grass. Another unusual aspect of having LSD acceleration set to 50 was that straight line deceleration appeared to be much greater than with the value set to 30, this could just be a placebo effect, but I will do more testing to try and verify this aspect of it; upon passing the apex, it also made full throttle acceleration out of the hairpins very smooth and linear.
Based on the results I have seen already, I would not hesitate to crown test scenario 16 as the ultimate setup. The match of single clutch, sport flywheel, a LSD acceleration at 50 proved itself repeatedly with lap times and offered unrivaled handling during cornering, braking, and acceleration.
I will continue to test these setups further now that I have identified the top contenders using Race Softs; the next phase will be to test the finalists on Sport Softs.
Revisiting my theory on clutching being present in the simulation of drivetrain performance, my initial suspicion appears to be reaffirmed. My theory would be that the clutch shift interval (CSi) is present, and that each clutch upgrade fills this duration with a wider range of friction values.
Forgive the crudity of the following diagram;
---------------CSi-------------------------
|rrooyy----------stock------------yyoorr|
|rrroooyy-----single-plate------yyooorrr|
|rrrrooooyy---twin-plate-----yyoooorrrr|
--------------------------------------------
I'm trying to illustrate by
r for red and
o for orange and
y for yellow is the friction exercised by the clutch and that for each upgrade the friction spectrum is wider and longer; and thus amplification of torque transference during periods of slip occurs.
If anyone proficient in visual diagram creation would like to assist with graphics, you can offer to make me illustrations of a
red to yellow to white to yellow to red gradient color spectrum in three rectangular length boxes, varying the gradient according the example above to represent each clutch model's
theoretical impact on handling.