The Unsorted BBS Collection/thegreatunsorted.tar/thegreatunsorted/misc/race107.hlp

Text File | 1996-01-23 | 23KB | 421 lines

≡2:                        RPM/MPH CALCULATOR HELP
Your vehicle's analysis in "Quick Compute" mode starts here with this simple
RPM & MPH calculator. To use the calculator, you must know either your vehicle's
finish-line MPH or its finish-line RPM, which you can obtain either from track
experience or by testing your vehicle at a 1/4 mile strip on the street.

If you do not know your vehicle's finish-line MPH or RPM, press the <F8> key to
return to the opening Analysis Mode Choice screen, then select DragStrip Plus'
"Detailed Analysis" mode to compute your vehicle.

Basically, your aim here is to use this calculator to balance your vehicle's
MPH, RPM, and transmission/converter slippage until you are satisfied with
the results, THEN PRESS <F2> TO CONTINUE ON with your vehicle's analysis.


The MPH/RPM Calculator screen looks like this:

     MPH  GEAR  Tire  RPM   %Slip
     ...  ....  ..    ....  10

 »                    RPM/MPH CALCULATOR HELP, page 2
Definitions of these categories follow:

MPH    -Your vehicle's average MPH at the finish line, example "120"
GEAR   -Your gear ratio, such as "4.11" ("411")
Tire   -Tire Diameter, or tire height, example "28", INCLUDING TIRE GROWTH.
RPM    -Finish line RPM at full throttle, such as "6500"
Slip   -Transmission/converter slippage, pre-assumed to be 10%.  NOTE: If you
        have a manual transmission, enter "00" (for 0%).


To use the calculator, you need enter only any three out of the first four
fields, then press <ENTER> (or spacebar) for the result.

To skip any ONE field out of the first four categories, press the spacebar.
Notice the tone change, signaling that you have jumped over this field to the
following one (although no cursor is visible).

Here's an example of how this works:

Suppose you have a vehicle that runs 124 MPH in the quarter at the track,
 »                     RPM/MPH CALCULATOR HELP, page 3
has 4.11 gears, and 28 inch tall tires --but you are not sure what your
vehicle's finish-line RPM is. In this situation, you would enter this
information exactly as shown in quotes below:

"12441128" [press <ENTER>]

Notice that you must input the data as a continuous string. The computer
will neatly space it out for you. Also notice that you do not need to
enter the period (.) in the gear ratio; the computer automatically assumes
this, for faster data entry.

Suppose that you know your MPH, Gear, and RPM, but not your tire height.  In
this example, you would enter the following:

"120411"[press the spacebar]"6500"[press <ENTER>]

One more example. Suppose that you know your car has 28 inch tall tires and
4.11 gears, and you're fairly sure your vehicle's finish-line RPM is 6500,
but you don't know its quarter mile MPH. On top of that,
 »                   RPM/MPH CALCULATOR HELP, page 4
your car has a nearly stock converter AND a tight, newly built, transmission,
so you are sure your transmission slippage will be less than 10%. You estimate
it to be 8%.

The data string for this car would be:

[press the spacebar]"4112865008"[press <ENTER>]
NOTE: If you make a mistake entering a number, use the backspace key, or
simply press the <Esc> key to start over from the beginning.

Press <F2>  once done, to begin computing the vehicle's E.T. (when this
            option is valid, it will be lit up in green).
Press <F3>  to toggle sound ON / OFF
Press <F4>  at any time to access the program vehicle database.
Press <F8>  to return to the Analysis Mode Choice screen
Press <F10> at any time to quit the program and exit back to the DOS
            prompt. The vehicle database will be saved (if it has been
            modified) before giving you a final choice of exiting.
≡3:                        HELP -Driver's WEIGHT
Input the weight of the driver only.  The vehicle's weight is asked separately.

Separating the driver's weight from the vehicle's is useful in situations
where there are substantial differences in weight between two drivers of the
same vehicle.

IF YOU ARE CHANGING AN EXISTING VALUE, you will given a choice between
having the program re-calculate the vehicle's net horsepower, or estimating
the MPH, RPM, traction, and thus E.T. changes that are involved in the
switching of two drivers.

In general, the less a given vehicle weighs, the more pronounced the effect
of changing drivers will be.
≡4:                       HELP -Vehicle's WEIGHT
Input the weight of the vehicle only. The weight of the vehicle's driver is
entered separately.

IF YOU ARE CHANGING AN EXISTING VALUE, you will given a choice of having
the program re-calculate the vehicle's net horsepower, or estimating the
MPH, RPM, and traction changes the weight change will have upon the vehicle,
thus forcing an E.T. recalculation by the program.

In general, the less the vehicle weighs, the more pronounced the effect of
any given weight change will be.



COMMON WEIGHTS FOR MANY VEHICLES ARE SHOWN ON THE FOLLOWING PAGE


 »               COMMON STREET RACE WEIGHTS FOR VARIOUS VEHICLES
  Vehicle               Weight              Vehicle               Weight
  ----------------------------              ----------------------------
  Camaro, '67-69          3200              Monte Carlo SS          3500
  Camaro, 70's-90's       3400              Nova                    3400
  Challenger              3400              T-bucket                2100
  Chevette, 8 cyl         2550              Trans Am                3500
  Chevy II Nova           3100              Vega                    2600
  Corvette                3400              Ventura                 3600
  Falcon                  3100              Volkswagon Beetle       1800
  Fairlane                3000
  GMC Silverado truck     4000
  Grand National Regal    3400
  Gremlin                 3000
  GT Mustang              3250
  Malibu                  3550
  Mazda                   2800
  Mini truck              3400
≡5:                      HELP -NITROUS OXIDE USE
The program is not asking if a nitrous oxide system is on your vehicle, but
whether or not a nitrous system, if any, was used while making this particular
pass.

If you answer yes, you will next be asked to input the nitrous horsepower level
used on this pass.
≡6:                 HELP -AMOUNT OF NITROUS OXIDE HORSEPOWER
Enter the estimated horsepower output of your nitrous oxide kit. The program
will assume that the nitrous system was used in the optimum manner, i.e.,
throughout the quarter mile, including right off the starting line.

If you used the nitrous system for only half a pass, the program's E.T.
estimates may be off by as much as a second. This is particularly true when
a nitrous system is used during only the last half of the quarter mile.

To compensate for this effect, it is acceptable to change the amount of
horsepower you enter into the program. For instance, if your vehicle has a
250 horsepower nitrous system, but was only used during the last half of the
track, input 100 horsepower instead of the normal 250.

If the same 250 horsepower system is only used during the first half of the
quarter mile, input 200 horsepower instead of 250. The reason for these
differing horsepower input recommendations is based on the fact that nitrous
has a much greater effect on a vehicle's performance when it is used during
the first half of the quarter mile, verses the same system used during only
the last half of the track.
 »              HELP -AMOUNT OF NITROUS OXIDE HORSEPOWER, page 2
It is important to realize that if you are inputing stats for this particular
vehicle for the first time, changing the amount of nitrous oxide used on your
vehicle will have but little effect upon the estimated E.T.

This is because the program assumes that the MPH and RPM at the end of the
quarter mile, as input previously, was achieved as a result of the nitrous
horsepower level you are now about to input.

Of course DragStrip Plus can calculate what effect various amounts of nitrous
oxide horsepower will have upon any given vehicle. These kind of changes should
be made after the program has already calculated your vehicle's base E.T., at
the data change screen. This will force MPH, RPM, gear, stall, and traction
recalculations that will result in a new estimated likely E.T.
≡7:                          HELP -EXHAUST SYSTEM
Select your vehicle exhaust system according to the following definitions:

"Uncapped Exhaust" refers to vehicles running open headers. This does NOT
                   mean open exhaust manifolds -if this is the case, you
                   should input #2 or #3 in the menu selection instead of #1.

"Free Flowing"     refers to brands of exhaust mufflers that are particularly
                   free flowing (such as Flowmaster and Dynomax) AND have
                   matching exhaust system of headers and large (3" dia. or
                   larger) exhaust pipes. If you have free flowing mufflers but
                   have only 2 1/2" exhaust pipes, or only exhaust manifolds
                   and no headers, input #3 in the menu selection instead of #2.

"Average"          means an exhaust system with relatively small-tube headers,
                   dual exhaust, and moderate flow mufflers such as Sonic
                   Turbos, Hookers, etc.

"Dual"             means an exhaust system that consists of exhaust manifolds,
                   two exhaust pipes, mufflers, and no headers.
 »                       HELP -EXHAUST SYSTEM, page 2
"Single"           refers to an exhaust system that is comprised of exhaust
                   manifolds, a single exhaust pipe, a muffler and/or catalytic
                   converter, and no headers.
≡8:                          HELP --SHIFT POINT
The engine shift point is one of the few stats that is fairly critical.
Note that changing the shift point has a fairly dramatic effect upon the
vehicle's E.T.;  resist the temptation to experiment with this and enter only
what shift point you know from track experience will result in the vehicle's
highest possible finish-line MPH (note the emphasis is on track MPH, not
track E.T). Any other method will result in grossly inaccurate results.

If you are using the "Detailed Analysis" mode to compute your vehicle, your
combination's optimum engine shift point will have been set by the computer.
Still, at any time, you can change this shift point to whatever value you like;
however, keep in mind that the vehicle's MPH will be frozen at its current
value regardless of subsequent changes to other vehicle stats, until the
"Computer Engine Analysis" option is selected at the Vehicle Data Summary
screen. This will then replace your shift point value with the computer's.
≡9:                          HELP --STALL POINT
IF YOU HAVE AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION, the response is easy: Your stall
point is the highest RPM your engine can hold in low gear with the brakes
held as tightly as possible (or transbrake set) without your drive wheels
beginning to spin, or the vehicle creeping forward against the brakes.

However, in certain situations, you will need to adjust this value
upwards by a couple hundred or more RPM, such as if your vehicle is
equipped with a poor set of tires relative to the strength of the engine,
or if your vehicle has a poor set of brakes. In these situations the
drive wheels will begin to spin or the vehicle creep forwards well below
your transmission converter's true stall point, resulting in the need to
adjust the observed stall RPM upwards by 10% or so.

IF YOU HAVE A MANUAL TRANSMISSION, only a great deal of racing experience
with both manual and automatic transmissions can allow one to properly
supply the correct stall point. The true stall point the program is
looking for is not the RPM the clutch is "dumped" at, but is nearer the
low RPM the engine is pulled down to as the clutch grabs and the vehicle
gets underway.
 »                      HELP --STALL POINT, page 2
The best approach for coming up with the correct stall point for a manual
transmission is to let the program tell you what it is!  Enter your best
guess, then later come back after the E.T. results screen and fudge the
stall point one way or another by 15% or so until the vehicle's E.T. looks
right.

If you use this approach, be sure to watch the amount of "stall loss" on
the E.T. results screen. You can use this information to determine which
way (and how much) to move your stall point guess.
≡10:                 HELP: CHANGING COMPUTER'S SHIFT POINT
At any time you can change the computer's estimation of your vehicle's
optimum shift point to whatever value you choose; however, keep in mind
that your vehicle's MPH will be frozen at its current value regardless
of subsequent changes to other vehicle stats, until the "Computer Engine
Analysis" option is selected at the Vehicle Data Summary screen.

This will cause the computer to replace your shift point estimate with its
own, and allow it to once again compute what it thinks your vehicle's finish-
line MPH will be (and allow it to generate reports on your engine
combination again!).
≡11:                         HELP --TIRE SELECTION
The type of tires on your vehicle has a lot to do with how well it "hooks up"
and accelerates off the starting line. Select the tire category that best fits
the brand and type of tires you have on your vehicle according to the following
definitions:

"Slicks"      are the wide, bald, sticky racing tires used almost exclusively
              by the faster drag cars. Slicks are illegal for use on the
              street due to the fact they float in the rain, and are
              generally used only at the track, or by the faster Pro Street
              machines.

"McCrearys"   or any similar type of super traction soft-compound street racing
              tires such as Mickey Thompson's, etc. These kind of tires usually
              wear out in just 2,000 miles or less of street use.

"Pro-Tracs"   generally cost less than the soft-compound class of tires such
              as McCreary's above, and usually last a whole lot longer as
              well. This type of tire usually wears out in roughly 10,000
 »                      HELP --TIRE SELECTION, page 2
              miles of street use, and are the tires of choice for most
              13-and-14 second "hot rods".

"Radials"     generally last 25,000 miles or more. They are the tires of
              choice for almost all production sport cars, and most
              15-and-16 second hot rods.
≡12:                          HELP --TRACTION
The computer uses this information, in combination with other factors such
as your vehicle's type of tires and its net horsepower and weight, to
decide just how much E.T. your particular vehicle will lose due to traction
difficulties. So think of your input as only a rough guide to the computer.

If you are using DragStrip Plus' "Quick Compute" mode, select the traction
category that best describes your vehicle's actual track performance results
during the particular pass you are entering (and NOT your vehicle's normal or
best traction conditions!).

If you are using DragStrip Plus' "Detailed Analysis" or "Dyno Approach" modes,
select the traction category that best describes your vehicle's BETTER track
performance results (if known). If your vehicle is in the design or construction
stage and has not yet made its first pass, you will need to supply DragStrip
Plus with an advance projection of your vehicle's traction.

You can arrive at this advance projection by comparing your combination with
the current performances of similarly built vehicles, or if no such guides
exist for your combination or are unavailable in your area, by making a careful
 »                           HELP --TRACTION, page 2
estimation based upon logical consideration of all the facts. If you make a
serious mistake, DragStrip Plus will warn you via the "Advice Screen".

Use the following information as a guide as necessary in arriving at a
projection of your vehicle's traction:

   1. ALL-OUT RACE CARS AND "TRAILER CARS" normally use slicks. These vehicles
      and can usually expect "Excellent" or "Good" traction; if not, such
      vehicles will normally be altered until they do get excellent or great
      traction.

   2. PRO-STREET MACHINES often employ either slicks or soft compound street
      tires such as McCrearys, depending upon the occasion and driver. Such
      machines, if running on engine power alone, can most often expect
      "Excellent" traction if on slicks, while getting "Excellent" to "Good"
      traction if using soft compound street tires.

      On nitrous oxide, these machines can expect "Excellent to "Satisfactory"
      traction if using slicks, and anywhere from "Good" to "Marginal" traction
 »                           HELP --TRACTION, page 3
      if using soft compound street tires. "Satisfactory" traction is the
      average for most well-built 11 second or faster street machines running
      200 horsepower nitrous oxide or more on street tires.

   3. SERIOUS STREET CARS in the 13 to 15 second range can expect anywhere from
      "Excellent" traction if using soft compound street tires, "Good" to
      "Satisfactory" traction if using Pro-Trac type tires, and "Satisfactory"
      to "Poor" traction if using hard radial tires and/or nitrous oxide.

   4. NEAR STOCK SPORTS CARS AND STREET CARS frequently use radial tires, but
      in the hands of a capable driver, can still expect "Excellent" to
      "Satisfactory" traction, due to such machine's relatively low horsepower
      outputs, high rear end gearing, and relatively heavy vehicle weights.


FOLLOWING ARE DRAGSTRIP PLUS' TRACTION DEFINITIONS:

"Excellent"     traction means just that --practically no perceivable tire spin
                at all upon launch AT FULL THROTTLE (and "spraying right out
 »                           HELP --TRACTION, page 4
                the gates" on nitrous oxide, if this happens to be a nitrous
                pass that you are inputing).

"Good"          traction means either your tires quickly "hook up" off the line
                at full throttle (and nitrous, if this is a nitrous pass), or
                that in order to prevent the tires from starting to spin, you
                must initially leave the line at part throttle, then can
                immediately "floor it" (or begin to "spray") with no traction
                loss at all at that point right off the line.

"Satisfactory"  means that your vehicle is capable of spinning all the way down
                the 60 feet launching pad, except that in order to prevent this
                from occurring as far as possible, you have to run at half
                throttle (and delay use of nitrous oxide if this is a nitrous
                pass) until near the top of first gear or the beginning of
                second gear.

"Marginal"      means the vehicle will "break out" and lose traction at
                virtually any point during the first portion of the track, if
 »                           HELP --TRACTION, page 5
                the driver were to floor it all the way (or "squeeze it" with
                nitrous oxide, if this is a nitrous pass you are inputing).

"Poor"          traction means that despite the best efforts of the driver to
                control it, the vehicle is liable to spin at virtually any speed
                or position on the track. In first gear (and often second), the
                vehicle is capable of smoking the tires, even at half throttle.
                An good example of "Poor" traction would be would be a 12 or
                11-second car attempting to use hard radial tires!
≡13:                        HELP --WEIGHT CHANGE
You can choose between having the program re-calculate your vehicle's net
horsepower (Selection #1), or estimating the MPH, RPM, traction, and E.T.
changes the weight change will have upon the vehicle (Selection #2).

Press <ENTER> to accept the default, which is option #2.
≡14:                      HELP --IGNORE ENGINE DATA
If you choose to continue by pressing <ENTER>, DragStrip Plus will calculate
your vehicle's E.T. as if it had been entered in the "Quick Compute" mode. In
other words, the program will treat your combination just as if you had not
entered any engine related stats or data, only general vehicle-related
information.

This feature comes in use from time to time in those rare situations when due
to data inaccuracy or other error the E.T. predicted by DragStrip Plus is way
out of the ball park in accuracy.

If you continue, you will be asked to enter your vehicle's finish-line MPH and
shift point. DragStrip Plus will use these figures as the basis to calculate
your vehicle's E.T.   WARNING: DragStrip Plus will not analyze your vehicle's
engine combination or display any engine-related stats or data while in this
mode.

TO REVERSE THIS CONDITION, just select the "Engine Analysis" option at the
Vehicle Data Change screen at any time. DragStrip Plus will immediately resume
its normal analysis of your engine combination, and once again base its
predicted E.T. and MPH upon its findings.
≡15:                    HELP --ENGINE HORSEPOWER
Enter your engine's horsepower (as produced at same the elevation above sea
level the vehicle will actually be run). You will next be asked whether this entry
is "Gross" or "Net" horsepower.

Keep in mind that if you enter your vehicle's net horsepower rather than its
gross horsepower, the E.T.s that result will be far more accurate.
≡16:                 HELP --GROSS AND NET HORSEPOWER
If the horsepower figure you entered was horsepower as measured at the engine
flywheel, select the "Gross" horsepower category. Dynos measure horsepower
this way; most cars built during the 1960's were rated this way.

If the horsepower figure you entered was horsepower as measured at the
vehicle's rear wheels, select the "Net" horsepower category. All new cars are
rated in net horsepower. In addition, some businesses such as "Brake Check",
measure horsepower this way.

Press <ENTER> to accept the default, which is displayed at the top of the
screen.
≡17:                  HELP --TRANSMISSION SLIPPAGE CHANGE
You can choose between having the program re-calculate your vehicle's finish-
line MPH (Selection #1), or calculating its new finish-line RPM (Selection #2).

Press <ENTER> to accept the default, which is option #2.
≡999:eof
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