I wasn't sure where to post this question. I just read an article on a comparison of 3 supercars. The Ford GT, the Porsche GT 3, and A Ferrari. Anyways the skidpad for the GT 3 was an astonishing 1.03g But later in the artice it states that the car wanted to tail around and almost always required adjustments while turning ie countersteer. Now here is my question. I thought that the skidpad was basically the tell tale of how good a car handled, but it seems that the other two in the test got better writeups on handling despite having lower marks for skidpad. They were .98 i think. What exactly does this test show?

 

Also just a side note. Our beloved MINI Cooper S had a the slalom record for Road&Track Magazine a year ago. It beat out the previous record holder the Porsche GT II. It had a avg speed of 69.5. I just read about the Ford GT on-line at Road&Track and it posted a 69.5 as well. They measured .99g for the Ford GT.

Just adding to my confusion. That Car along with the Porsche GT II is much faster than our MCS and better skidpad measurements and yet we outran the GT II and if they are still using the same slalom this year, we tied the Ford GT. Not bad especially considering these cars are over 100,000 Bucks. Of course it would be nice to go 0-60 in 3.8sec like the Ford GT. I saw 3.3 in another article. Road&Track's 0-60 times are always higher. They gave the MCS 7.7 for a sprint to 60.

 

Im not real familiar with skidpad testing, but skidpads are mainly used to
measure lateral g and basically how well the car holds the lateral g
just going in a circle.

slalom observes the car's overall dynamics tossing the g left and
right, forward and backwards, so its a lot more to slalom measurements
than just going in a circle.

im sure Alex can explain much better, but basically think of slalom
readings and skidpad as 2 somewhat related, but different way to
measure car dynamics.

yah, the MCS'll probably due high 7sec's if the weather is warm enough.
We can do high 6sec's if temp is dry and cold enough and using lightweight
wheels/tire. :smile:



_________________
03MCS IB/Blk: 123, Aerokit, R90 17x7, TK5 16x7, 6CDMP3, and a few more.

 

bump...

 

Most of these tests are a measure of the car's ability to maintain traction and control at maximal speed.
Raw power can propel a car quickly but when it becomes time to corner that fast car must slow down enough to execute the manuever or it will loose control and loose speed. What you want is a car easy to drive that isn't punishing yet holds speed well in the corners, has reasonably good brakes and balance. Something that doesn't break the bank is a big plus and allows most of us to enjoy a little driving fun in our daily driver.

I think we may be mistaken to believe that all cars are easy enough to drive that we can reproduce great results as reported in these comparisons. The numbers show you the potential under ideal conditions. Driver skill makes a big difference and is always worth the investment to improve.

The skid pad is an oval taken at high speed going in one direction similar to a hairpin turn with a small straightaway followed by another hairpin turn and straightaway. Slalom is more controlled partial turning from side to side around cones at high speed.

 

What exactly does this test show?

Skid pad is done on a purfect circle with no banking. Ist a test showing the lateral G's, with the maximum speed achieved carried thru the circle. We did the "Skid Pad Challenge" for the One Lap of America on my test track in South Bend.

Slalom shows transitional handling, and setting and resetting the suspension.

Tires play such a huge roll in either test and so does air temperature, aggrigate type, and driver skill. - all things not usually addressed, but very significant

Alex

 

Yeah, from what I understand, all a skidpad really shows you is what the absolute limit of the car is as far as traction goes. You basically just go faster and faster in a circle until the car spins out, and you measure the g-forces at the point at which it finally loses it. It doesn't have much to do with handling, except to say that if your car can handle higher g's, then you can push it harder before you'll lose it.

Also, Alex is dead on. This test it pretty stupid because it's only measuring what the car can do straight from the factory (in magazine tests) and only under a certain set of conditions. Who among us would like to have this test done with our factory Eufori@s? Not I.

 

This thread answered most of my questions except one.
What is the MINI's Skid Pad rating?

 

According to
http://www.modernracer.com/minicoopers.html

The 2003 MINI cooper S's "200 ft skidpad is 0.85g".

While the exact number can be higher the ability of the average non professional driver to control the car will vary with the balance of the car's suspension and tires along with the speed of the car while doing the skidpad test.

Some cars are easy to drive and others need more skill.
The MINI is pretty easy to drive fast but it does have limits.
Skidpad and slalom speed numbers give you some idea of what the car can do but the full potential will depend on your exact set up and the driver's skills and road conditions.

 

i have seen .86 a couple of times and i think .87 once.good to see my post helped

 

I think the numbers will be higher with non runflat aftermarket tires. The runflats are not bad handlers, but you can do better. Also, adding better performing suspension parts will improve those numbers too. Then, I'm sure the MINI can be over 90 on skidpad.:smile: