Passive sciences, which are frustrated by the times

The numbers help us understand the world. In cars, the numbers tell us a lot-a car that works from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds objectively faster than the car you make in 3.6 seconds.

In the era of the car magazine, the most important numbers of the car were 0-60 miles per hour and its maximum speed. But they only draw a small picture of what the car can do. Add Skid-Pad and brake tests, and the image looks more complete, but it is barely done.

However, the time for Nourburgring Nordschleife LAP gives a more comprehensive look. A test in the most demanding race circle on this planet, which is something that asks a lot of car, but it spits something capable of quantitative measuring. Nürburging LAP time has turned into part of both car manufacturers and lovers. But it is a non -scientific measure in a frustrating way.

Welcome to RabbitA column every two weeks, where a great editor Chris Berkins explores his latest car obsession with car technology. He talks to the best work to understand how cars work and how the future of cars looks.

The circle, which has an area of 12.9 miles in the Eiffel Mountains, has been around for nearly 100 years, but it is a standard for the production of production is a newer phenomenon. Japanese television program Best Leadership The operating time attacks there began early in 1989; Nissan proudly announced in 1995 that it R33 skyline gt-r The first car on the road went to 8 minutes in the ring. In 1997, the German magazine Sports cars I started running Laps Nordschleife as part of the distinctive “Supertest” features; In 2000, Porsche claimed that 996 GT3 was the first car on the legal street to head to Sub-8.

But Nürburgring Fever did not last until 2000s. Great popularity Turismo 4It was launched in 2004, included a very accurate model for the episode for the first time in the dominant race video game. Top Gear’s modern repetition made it the first to the track in 2005.

Nürburgring was definitely unknown-VHS copies of the Ruf’s Faszink Video decades ago-but a huge video game and a famous piece of the top of the gear that came at the dawn of the social media age and made it a global culture of the car a family name among the enthusiasts.

Nissan announced in 2009 that the R35 GT-r shivered fenugreek in 7: 26.7. Not by chance, Porsche developed 997 GT2 RS under the symbolic name 727: then continued to put on 7:18 roll around the track. At this stage, we were right and truly racing.

Any performance of a performance car that deserves salt is developing cars in Nürburgring. The rugged rugged path is perfect for suspension settings. Engineers will tell you that if you do a car that works on Nürburgring, you will work anywhere in the world, and that the opposite is not necessarily true. For this reason, you will see countless preliminary models that turn on the path during the “Industry” test sessions available only for automobile companies.

It was huge news when, in 2013, Porsche was the first to break the barrier for 7 minutes with 918 Spyder, then it became a great race to arm it. Here, though, where we face the first number – the 918 spyder 6:57 roll is not directly comparable to the most recent Nürburgring times. In fact, according to the current standards, it may have not been less than 7 minutes at all.

For years, the entrance and exit to Nordschleife was along the short T13 directly at the beginning of the lap. There was a gap between the starting and finishing lines that effectively exceeded T13. Sport Auto bosom times are measured between these two points, and this is the standard that everyone has followed.

But in 2019, Nürburge decided to create an official operation for the timing of the lap that auto manufacturers could follow. If the car company wants to announce the time of Nürburgring LAP, it must play according to the paths of the track. The official path policy is that there is one distinct line at the beginning of the end of T13 straight, not the starting and termination lines. It is logical at some level, because the “Sport Auto” bosom is not a complete bosom of the circle, but it also nullifies contracts from the times of the lap that were identified before 2019.

Some car manufacturers will issue a “20.6 km” time, along with the official bosom of 20,832 km, but they can only be a complete roll.

Let’s put this in another way. In 2013, Porsche announced that 918 Spyder set 6:57 in the lap; In 2020, it announced that 991.2 GT3 ran 6: 59.93. Which was faster? GT3. Porsche confirmed that the car ran 6: 55.34 on the “short” circle, over 918 seconds, but the “official” time makes the car look slower. If the auto industry company does not reveal a time on “LAP” 20.6 km, we can only estimate that its full time will take about 4 to 5 seconds.

For the largest part, the timing of the Norbergring of the Roll Punishment is good. It guarantees that everyone plays with the same rules, and removes any doubt about different remote measurement systems or car manufacturers that play quickly and disintegrate with what determines a “production car”. But this also means that the Ford Mustang GTD, which set 6: 52.071, is faster than Lamborghini Huracan Performante, which set 6: 52.01 on the shorter circle.

There are other complex factors. Weather, to anyone. When the car magazine publishes a time from 0 to 60 miles per hour, it applies the weather correction to calculate the fact that internal combustion cars breathe air, and it may have a temperature and pressure of this air effect on its performance. The engine direction Explain it wellBut mainly, there are all types of mathematics concerned to estimate what the performance will be at 77 degrees ocean without moisture and Parmerrit pressure is 29,2348.

There is no such correction of the Norbergring times. The weather plays a big role as is the case in any path. You want to be cold, so the engines make the maximum energy, but not so cold that the tires do not hold them. On the other hand, you don’t want to be so hot that the engines are weak and the tires exceed their peak. And you can forget that if the rain is precipitated.

It is very difficult for car manufacturers to get time down as a result. Your date window is very large, and you need to rent the path exclusively. It is better to hope that the weather will cooperate during your custom, because it may be months before you get another chance.

The path has also changed over time. In every winter, the path restores the surfaces of paths that need to be recycled and often do other changes on the restrictions and the like. All of this has a significant effect on the times of the roll, where the surface develops,/or deteriorate and/or deteriorate over time. It is not a unique problem in Nürburgring – All tracks are speeding up and slowing over time depending on the surface conditions. But it is another way that makes comparison between multiple cars over time more difficult.

Of course, there is the human element as well. With all the obligatory respect for my friends who test the tools for various posts, select 0-60 mph and measure the Skidpad grip is not very difficult to know if you are a decent driver. Placing rapid rolls in Nürburgring is a completely different set of skills, and one of the car manufacturers entrusted by professional drivers.

Chevrolet was unusual in the presence of three engineers at C8 Corvette Z06, ZR1 and ZR1X recently. All of her drivers are very talented, of course, and well -training trainers, as the drivers development program at General Motors is incredibly intense, and all Corvette had hundreds of rolls around the path.

But in not using the positives, Chevi opened the discussion, on the purpose of or not, about the amount of time they left on the table. Of course, unless they have consecutive car professionals with drivers, we will never know. Even among positives, there is a variation.

Car drivers are famous for the race to make excuses. There is always a reason for not measuring their performance. But this bears the fact that there are many variables that determine performance.

It is the same with the Nurburgring roll. Unlike a quarter of a mile or a 60-0 braking distance, the nürburgring roll cannot be repeated easily. The great driver can attend constantly during the session, but from day to day, and month to month, from year to year, there must be another million workers that affect performance.

I do not want to completely reject Norbergring times. Seeing what the car (and the driver) can do is impressive, and the direction of fallen times over the years is a good measure of how to develop performance. Corvette for $ 200,000 is more than 7 minutes in the hands of the engineer. Frankly, the competition is fun.

To understand the value of Nürburgring time requires context. More context of the number, or even the list of roll times.