Car mass and maximal speed when cornering

[TheFistGuy]

Hello, I would really appreciate if someone helped me to figure this out.

Suppose we have got a car A and car B. They both have got the same body (aerodynamics), tires, center of mass, the only difference is that the car B is x times heavier than car A. Now suppose they are both going around the same corner without loosing traction and without going sideways.
The question is which car can go around the corner faster?

My intuition tells me that the lightest car can corner faster, because car B is heavier thus it has more inertia and when going the same speed it has got higher kinetic energy. But the heaviest car should also have more friction between tires and road resulting in better traction when cornering. Do both of these effects cancel each other out?

 

[K^2]

Heavier car will also have more traction to use towards cornering by the same factor x. So both cars will be able to corner at exactly the same speed, at least in the idealized case.

Realistically, less tire deformation might give a lighter car a slight advantage.

Another real world consideration is that when you load the car, increasing its weight, you usually raise the center of mass as well, increasing risk of the car tipping over in a turn. But this is all about the height of CoM in relation to wheel base, and isn't directly tied to car's weight.

 

[Meir Achuz]

The limiting cornering speed is independent of the mass.

 

[Nugatory]

The limiting cornering speed is independent of the mass.

Yes, in the idealized situation that OP is (almost certainly) trying to ask about: centripetal force supplied by friction between tire and road, everything else the same.

But note that OP also specified the same aerodynamics. If the aerodynamics are the same, then the limiting cornering speed is not independent of the mass. If there is an aerodynamic downforce (any purpose-built racecar, many high-performance road cars) then the lower the mass, the higher the limiting cornering speed will be.

 

[PJC01]

I would approach this question by considering the physical principles involved in determining the maximum speed when cornering. The key factor to consider is centripetal force, which is the force that keeps an object moving in a circular path. This force is dependent on the mass of the object, as well as its velocity and the radius of the turn.

In this scenario, both cars have the same aerodynamics, tires, and center of mass, so we can assume that the only difference is their mass. As you correctly pointed out, the heavier car will have more inertia and therefore require more force to change its direction. However, the heavier car also has more friction between its tires and the road, which can provide the necessary centripetal force to keep it on the circular path.

So, do these effects cancel each other out? The answer is not a simple yes or no. It ultimately depends on the specific values of the mass, velocity, and radius of the turn for each car. In general, the lighter car will have an advantage in terms of its ability to change direction quickly, while the heavier car may have an advantage in terms of maintaining traction and stability.

To determine which car can go around the corner faster, we would need to calculate the centripetal force for each car and compare them. If the centripetal force is greater for the heavier car, then it may be able to go around the corner faster. However, if the lighter car can achieve a higher velocity due to its lower inertia, it may have the advantage.

In conclusion, while the mass of a car does play a role in its maximum speed when cornering, it is not the only factor to consider. Other factors such as velocity, radius of the turn, and the specific design of the car can also have an impact. Therefore, it is not possible to make a definitive statement about which car can go around the corner faster without considering all of these factors.