Motorsports
Services
Digging down deep to offer up your best when it counts the most is a rock-solid part of OptimumG’s foundation.
Our founder, Claude Rouelle, comes from the motorsport world and understands the need for dedication to reach competitive excellence.
The race engineering services at OptimumG are second to none—by design. Staffed with dedicated and experienced engineers, the company features state-of-the-art software, constructive consulting, competitive pricing, absolute confidentiality, and a never-give-up attitude.
Tire Testing
Tire performance is all about efficiency. That’s why OptimumG—with more than 20 years of experience in both on-track and in-lab tire testing—offers a total tire-testing service package to reach the highest levels of efficiency.
The Tire-Testing Package Includes:
First, we determine the test’s goals, then we create a Steady-State Force and Moments tire model. Next, we check tire camber and load sensitivities. Then, we evaluate tire wear or temperature generation. Because of OptimumG’s depth of experience in tire testing, our engineers can propose a test schedule that’s both cost-efficient and tailored to your needs.
- Test preparation: OptimumG has connections with test facilities, so we take care of the logistics and scheduling to ensure all tires and equipment arrive in a timely manner.
- Execution: During the test, an OptimumG engineer will be onsite to ensure procedures are being followed correctly, and to solve any problems that may arise.
- Data analysis: Our engineers use our software, OptimumTire, to check the tire data and quickly spot and fix problems.
- Tire modeling: Often, we can fit a tire model just hours after the test. In the racing world, we know that time is crucial, so we work to deliver useful tire models as fast as possible.
- Test report: Our report features a complete analysis of the tire data and recommendations, including vehicle setup parameters and tire management strategies.
The result? You get modeling services that convert raw data into tire models you can use in vehicle dynamic simulations. These models help you make the right decisions.
Another must in the racing world is matching the right tire to a vehicle—it can mean the difference between winning and losing. OptimumG has been doing this for years with its tools and methods in tire selection that have proven to be winners on the track time and time again.
Why choose OptimumG for Tire Testing?
- OptimumG has performed tire testing on more than 50 projects since 2009.
- We share not only all data, but also all methods. We test and fit any type of tire models, from simple and widely used steady state, to more complex transient, thermal, or FEA-like models.
- We offer fast and cost-effective solutions with our proprietary tire analysis software, OptimumTire.
- We can analyze tire data to share recommendations on getting the most out of a tire package, whether you optimize vehicle design or vehicle setup.
- We can scale tire models generated on a Flat-Trac® machine as well as tire forces generated on the road, so simulation matches reality.
Center of Gravity & Inertia Testing
Any race team that is serious about winning knows the center of gravity and moments of inertia are crucial for performance—both steady state or transient. They bring performance and safety, but only if you can optimize the location of the center of gravity and moments of inertia (required inputs for any simulation software).
The center of gravity is particularly key in any racecar weight—it has to be as close as possible to the ground because it influences all forces of acceleration, braking, and cornering. OptimumG has helped scores of clients pinpoint the finer points of physics to improve performance.
Kinematics & Compliance Testing
Testing your racecar on a kinematics and compliance (K&C) rig can explain the factors behind ride and handling—tough to see in simulation or to find with on-track testing.
Acquiring and analyzing objective tire and vehicle performance data is a vital part of the holistic tire and vehicle development process. Comparing objective test data from any manufacturer’s own tires and vehicles to similar ones on the market lets us quantify relative performance to competitors. Suspension K&C testing is a standard in the vehicle industry, providing invaluable data for suspension design and vehicle dynamics simulations.
Here’s something to ponder: All but maybe the top 5% of pro racing teams actually underestimate the effect of compliance on car performance.
OptimumG engineers will define and run a test plan that fits your performance concerns and budget.
The procedure includes:
- Measuring CG suspended, non-suspended, and total masses CG coordinates along with roll, pitch, and yaw inertia. Test results are indispensable because they represent inputs of any useful steady-state and transient simulation.
- Using a Coordinate Measurement Machine (CMM) to assess all the kinematics point coordinates and/or to ensure these point coordinates correspond to the information the car manufacturer shared.
- Inputting tires and chassis positions, forces and moments as well as steering angle that represent specific track conditions (acceleration, braking, cornering, bumps, and a combination of all these inputs) and measure real cambers, toes, roll, pitch centers, bump steer, steering ratio, and Ackerman, etc.
- Comparing K&C test results with pure kinematics to understand where the biggest compliance comes from in order to either:
- Take these results into account for the car setup
- And/or to improve future car design.
- Offering a comprehensive report with test data analysis and advice on how to use the test data in car simulation, setup, and design improvements.
Why choose OptimumG for Kinematics & Compliance Testing?
- We can characterize the vehicle suspension.
- We use results to create a reliable and accurate vehicle model.
- We can uncover problems with your car’s design and manufacturing process with the test results.
4/7 Post Rig Testing
Running a test on a seven-post rig before going on the racetrack can save time. But a test can also eliminate some problems—problems that can be quite puzzling once on the circuit because of insufficient data or not understanding how springs, anti-roll bars, and dampers setting influence:
- A car’s general performance
- Specific tire grip and even more grip consistency
- Driver feedback
OptimumG engineers will use their experience in:
- Simulation
- On-track objective and subjective test data analysis
- Dampers testing and tuning
- Influence of tire energy and temperature on tire grip, grip consistency, and wear
To define and run an efficient test that will focus on:
- Ride height control which is critical for any race cars using ground effect
- Tire load consistency
- Energy store on the tire and resulting temperature
- Car response and driver feedback
OptimumG engineers will write a detailed report that, along with on-track data analysis and driver feedback, will help the team improve performance, whether for a few laps of qualifying or a long race.
Wind Tunnel Testing
Why choose OptimumG for Wind Tunnel Testing?
- Aerodynamic maps: Measure the influence of drag, downforce, and downforce distribution as a function of front/rear ride heights, steering angle, yaw angle, wing configuration, etc. These maps are essential for analyzing any kind of vehicle dynamics using wind tunnel data.
- Integration with simulation: Aerodynamic maps can help you understand the dynamic behavior of your racecar because OptimumG adds simulation capabilities with wind tunnel test data to make your car faster.
- Design or setup issues: Thanks to OptimumG’s experience with wind tunnel tests, we can easily spot vehicle design or setup problems, and propose solutions during the tests.
- Vehicle setup recommendations: After the test, OptimumG will deliver a complete test report with recommendations of aerodynamic package setups for each type of racetrack.
On-Track Support (Race / Data / Performance Engineering, Race Strategy)
What’s more, our data analysis and simulation helps you prep the right way for any given track. For example, we can predict tire and brake wear along with fuel consumption—nice to know for race strategy. Plus, we can examine optimal settings for parameters of aerodynamic configurations, gearbox ratios, chassis setups, vehicle balance, and driver style.
On the track, we’ve got you covered. That’s because we do both testing and racing support. So we can develop and optimize a vehicle during testing so the car is competitive during races.
Plus, we’re there before, during, and after the event—handling simulation and data analysis to find the optimal setup and setting.
Finally, during the race, we’re there to help with live decisions on setup and race strategy, helping with both data analysis and driver coaching.
It can pay big to get an outside perspective, especially one like OptimumG offers. We help you identify the good as well as bad practices in race team operations, information management, personnel and time management, and race engineering methods and workflows. After a little time with the team off and on the track, OptimumG will suggest changes to improve team performance.
Vehicle Modeling, Simulation, and Validation
OptimumG combines both Simulation Validations and OptimumDynamics to create a full vehicle model and perform steady-state and transient-state simulations. A full vehicle model is created with parameters from previous tests.
Simulation Validations
Simulations performed using simulation validations software typically try to replicate testing scenarios. The simulations yield parameters and metrics we can compare against real test data.
Simulation events include:
- Slow Increasing Steer (ISO 4138)
- Constant Radius Cornering (ISO 4138)
- Step Steer (ISO 7401)
- Continuous Sinusoidal Input (ISO 7401)
- Braking in a turn (ISO 7975)
- Power-off reaction (ISO 9816)
OptimumDynamics
OptimumG also uses OptimumDynamics to perform simulations following the Yaw Moment Method.
Yaw Moment Method simulations show how different vehicle subsystems (tires, suspension, aerodynamics, drivetrain, etc.) influence a vehicle’s handling and performance. The method also shows how vehicles respond in different situations, so detailed information on the track isn’t necessary to run a simulation.
This simulation’s outputs include fundamental characteristics such as grip, balance, stability, and control. Examples:
- How much understeer does the car have in a high-speed corner?
- How is the stability during hard braking?
- How much does the balance shift when throttle is applied?
OptimumG has successfully used this kind of simulation for both racecars and passenger cars.
One of the phrases that OptimumG’s founder, Claude Rouelle, often uses is: “If you don’t know why you win, you won’t know why you lose.” You can win once, maybe by luck, but you won’t repeat the victory unless you understand, qualify, and quantify how all parts of the vehicle must work in cohesion to have an outstanding result.
OptimumG’s performance engineers offer their knowledge, skills, and experience to racing customers in
- Lab and on-track measurements, and modeling of critical parts of cars such as tires, kinematics and compliance, aerodynamic maps, damper, spring, anti-roll bars, and dampers.
- Use of these models in simulation to evaluate the influence of these parts on performance.
- Validation of the simulation. Without validation, a simulation is just an academic exercise where neither OptimumG engineers nor their customers would have confidence.
- Refining the loop by decreasing the gap between performance prediction (simulation) and reality (on-track test or race data analysis). This allows for an efficient and useful simulation that will help the race engineers to make quick and correct decisions on car setup modifications.
- Using specific simulation methods such as batch runs and optimization to create a ready-to-use tool box of setup modifications depending on driver complaints and test or race data.
OptimumG engineers also have a deep understanding of data acquisition methodology and data analysis. They use specific Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to measure, compare, and help in both car and driver improvements.
Whether it’s for the car they work on or their competitors’ cars, OptimumG engineers have extensive experience with race strategy software that factors in weather, fuel, tire wear, lap time, sector time, lap, driver skills, etc., to make the best possible decisions.
Ready to work with us?