Fun Trivia with Automobiles?

Question

Doug and Dave have 2 Distinctly different race cars. The 2 car are completely equal on the track when it comes to over all speed on the track. However the two drivers notice a difference in the times when they look at the time sheet. Doug’s car appears to be 1 tenth of a second slower then Dave’s car. When they ask the owner of the track why this is, the owner said it has to do with the design of the car. What is it about the two cars that makes the difference in the times?

First right answer receives 10 points.

The Auto Evaluator™ · Accepted Answer

One is on the inside, the other is on the outside of the track. 

(Cars side by side) The inside car has less distance to travel, so if they travel at the exact same speed, Dave's car would be on the inside of the track & Doug's on the ouside. Nice question.

Vipassana · Answer

What sort of track? 1/4 mile, 1/8 mile, circuit? It could be aerodynamics, it could be the tires, it could be the gearing.

I've seen two cars cross a 1/4 track at exactly the same mph, but one was significantly faster, time wise.....the other had a slower reaction time, but also a faster accelerating car. Which resulted in identical speeds, but different times.

So, given the current info, there's no way to know for sure.

Or it's something ridiculous, like one car is slightly longer than the other. Except, if they're doing a 1/4 mile track, that wouldn't matter, as they would leave the start line at the same point; and therefore: the same speed when crossing the finish line, would mean that they cross at the same time, as well. Regardless of which is longer.

So, it really does matter what type of race, what type of track, etc.

Stan G · Answer

Sounds like Doug's car has a shorter nose than Dave's car.

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Fun Trivia with Automobiles?

3 Answers