19 replies to this topic

[heki]

130R - the name is so strange for a Curve...
Tried to find it on the net, but no success...
does anyone know, where it comes from?

[Manson]

130 degree radius maybe, but that seems a little much ?

[Louis Mr. F1]

I think it's the degree of the curve, like 90 degree corner, this one is 130 degree curve.

[Hellenic tifosi]

Maybe it is a 50 radius corner(180-130=50), but wouldn't this be a very complicated way to say it?

[ehagar]

No, it is a 130 m radius curve... sorta like what you would see in drafting on a radii symbol.

Ermmm.... I edited the post, what I meant to say is above....

[Peter Perfect]

Maybe the radius of the corner is 130m?

[Vrba]

To me it seems quite simple: it is the radius of the curve expressed in metres, probably of its inner edge.
Taking into account that the arc of the curve is approximately 60 degrees, that gives the length of the curve of cca 270 metres.
Besides, taking 130 metres into equation for cornering speed (and, unfortunately having to guess parameters like friction, in fact side adhesion coefficient between tyre and curve, height of CoG, height of centre of frontal area, drag and lift factors), we arrive to cornering speed of well over 200 kph...sounds possible.

vrba

[Billy]

there's also a larger radius curve, the 200R

[carlos.maza]

Peter Perfect:

You are right.
I have read this.

Carlos

[130R]

Great corner, nonetheless!

[jetsetjim]

No secret behind the name...

130R means that the Radius of the corner is 130 metres.. measured from the centre of the track, not the inside edge. This is common dimensioning practice for radii..

[Mila]

and here I thought that it was named after our own 130R!;)

recall the 94 Japanese GP. in the rain, Mansell and Alesi dicing through the 130R--breathtaking!

I liked RB's style this past Sunday as well--why wait for the chicane when you can go wheel-to-wheel with someone at 180 mph?

it's curious about the 200R corner; the fact that, from all the coverage of Suzuka I've seen, it seemed nameless.

the Degner corner is worth some consideration as well, as it is, oddly enough, dedicated to the physicist who brought atomic fission to Japan.

[Makarias]

Vrba, taking into account that 60 degrees is approximately 1 radian, wouldn't you say that the length of the corner would be approximately 130 metres?

[mhferrari]

Makes sense, as the 130R, would be that if you had the layout of something with a radius of 130. As in dimensioning you would measure it as 130R (130 Radius).

[bleakuzs]

Radius is 130 meters, but that's already been said

[copete]

Originally posted by Vrba
To me it seems quite simple: it is the radius of the curve expressed in metres, probably of its inner edge.
Taking into account that the arc of the curve is approximately 60 degrees, that gives the length of the curve of cca 270 metres.
Besides, taking 130 metres into equation for cornering speed (and, unfortunately having to guess parameters like friction, in fact side adhesion coefficient between tyre and curve, height of CoG, height of centre of frontal area, drag and lift factors), we arrive to cornering speed of well over 200 kph...sounds possible.
vrba

Talk about bragging... Sorry, you can't find the cornering speed given (or having needlessly guessed) the variables you described above. First, as Makarias said, first you're wrong in your "simple" calculation of the length of the curve (which is not needed to find the speed anyway). Second, given one more piece of data, namely the G-force on the curve (3.6G according to AtlasF1), the velocity is simply the square root of the product of the radius (130m) and the G-force, which gives about 246kph. I wonder what "equation of cornering speed" you used. Trying to impress someone???

[KenC]

Remember Suzuka was not originally designed as a GP track, but as a Honda test track, so the naming of corners by radii seems appropriate with its originally intended purpose.

[leegle]

I have always believed that Suzuka was designed as a racing circuit not as a test track. The design was by John Huggenholtz from Zandvoort and he was chosen because he designed good racing ciruits.;)

[Vrba]

Makarias, copete

True, quoting 270 m as the length was a silly mistake on my side.
The equation I mentioned was based on equalization of centripetal force with friction force. You in fact do need all the parameters I mentioned if you want to calculate the cornering speed (or minimum radius for given speed). without any measured valuesOf course, if you use the info about G force, everything *is* much simpler :-)

[Thank-U]

Yep Radious 130 Meters.

BTW, if you drive on the Japanese highways, you have signs before practically each curve in the same way: xxxR (anybody who drove from Tokyo to Nagano can confirm this).

At the beginning I was surprised and thought it was a very scientific way to indicate how much a curve is a curve, while in France you get the usual signs of a Red triangle with a S inside, or the red and white arrows. Which indicates a curve, but does not indicate how curvy it is.

After a while driving in Japan, I got used to this and now that I'm back in Europe I miss such information while on the highway.