Gyro Stabilizers

[Kurt Gibble <kurt.gibble@xxxxxxxx>]

> Do any of the current high tech racers use gyro stabilizers .. to control body roll on the
> track?  Conceptually, this could be a massive flywheel mounted low and
> center on the car, rotating front to back on a shaft belt driven off a
> modified drivetrain.  The axis/shaft of the flywheel could be directly
> coupled via suspension links/mounts to the large chassis plates and the
> spinning mass help mitigate much of the chassis lean.
>      Spin a bicycle wheel weighing a few ounces a few hundred RPM and feel
> the force when you attempt to tilt it sideways...now imagine the effect of
> a rotating mass weighing 75-100 lbs (or more) spinning a few thousand
>
Hi Steve!

Cute idea but so sorry.  What happens when you try to tip a spinning
wheel?  You feel a torque that trys to rotate the wheel in the
horizontal plane and the direction of that torque depends on the
rotation direction of the spinning wheel.  Moreover, the bigger change
in direction for the spinning wheel is the actual turn of the car (90
degrees typically) and this will induce a large torque causing the car
to lean A LOT.  You could imagine more complicated arrangements but they
get large, heavy, and I haven't, in this short time, figured out one
that will do what you want.

Best,
Kurt
'92 E34 M50 5sp

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