Tipping a Car: Factors Affecting Curve Negotiation

[Flexington]

What factors effect the tipping of a car as it rounds a bend.

Mass, Centre of mass, Velocity, and radius of curve, width of wheels.

Am i missing anything?

 

[schip666!]

angle of roadway relative to center of curve...

 

[cassio]

simplistically it a fight between spinning out of a curve, tipping or staying on the road. The force of friction can hold a car in a turn at lower speeds but any faster and you need to bank a turn so that the centripetal force is directed perpendicular to the chassis of the car. This can reduce or completely nullify the force pushing the car out of the bend due to the circular motion in the first place.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banked_turn

 

[rcgldr]

On level pavement, the outwards torque is due to the reaction force due to centripetal acceleration, times the distance from center of mass of the car to the contact patches of the tires. The opposing torque is due to the imbalance in vertical forces between the pavement and the inner tiers versus the outwards tires (this is affected if the center of mass is offset inside or outside) The limit for the outwards torque is the amount of friction at the tires. The limit for the opposing torque occurs when there is no vertical force on the inner tires and all of the cars weight is on the outer tires. If the outwards torque exceeds the limits of the opposing torque, the car tips over.

The effective amount of grip can be increased if the car hits a bump or curb or dip while sliding sideways.

 

[Quinzio]

The height of the points where the suspensions are attached to the chassis
Of course the stiffness "k" of the suspensions.

[PLAIN]http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/6240/sospensione.jpg

width of wheels... mmmh... may be relevant... don't know.