Info request from Germany

[coot]

Hi all, passing this message on from Germany ( is there already an owner in Germany? )




Why does that 300++BHP Ariel Atom not have bigger rear wheels / tyres?( as the Elise which for the beginning only had 120 BHP)

I guess that this would be good for less rubber consumption (traction control by hand --better by gas foot) and also for rear downforce because an inclination angel of the longitudinal axis of approximately of 2 to 3 degrees will be better than an underside which is parallel to the ground level.

I am not yet registered in the Forum. Please could you ask this question there for me in case nobody else has asked it so far.



Cheers from Germany and thank you again.



Hartmut



PS

I would like to see the underside of that Atom especially there where it ends at the rear and where we normally see a diffuser of ca 15 ° at other sports and racing cars.

[Bruce Fielding]

Hartmut said:

Why does that 300++BHP Ariel Atom not have bigger rear wheels / tyres?( as the Elise which for the beginning only had 120 BHP) I guess that this would be good for less rubber consumption (traction control by hand --better by gas foot) and also for rear downforce because an inclination angel of the longitudinal axis of approximately of 2 to 3 degrees will be better than an underside which is parallel to the ground level. ...I would like to see the underside of that Atom especially there where it ends at the rear and where we normally see a diffuser of ca 15 ° at other sports and racing cars.

The Atom isn't the most aerodynamic of cars, so a diffuser wouldn't make that much difference. As for bigger wheels/fatter tyres, the Elise is designed for a different job, I think. The acceleration on the Atom 300 is sufficient at 2.9 seconds for the 0-100kph, so larger rears would not be necessary. Braking is another area where the Atom is oustanding, and rears do not play a big part in that. The other area where the Atom is sensation is cornering, and there it's important to get a good fron/rear balance for neutral grip, so fatter tyres or bigger wheels wouldn't be good.

Turning one into a drag racer... now there's a project that would need big fat wheels and tyres!