Don't be frightened by all of the calculations on our friend Jason Fenske's famous white board: Launching a rear-wheel drive car properly is an exact science that is actually easily repeatable once you get the basics down.
Jason, the brains behind popular YouTube series Engineering Explained, takes us through the physics involved in accelerating from a complete stop as quickly and efficiently as possible in a rear-wheel drive car. Just remember all of these formulas and calculations the next time you find yourself behind a Dodge Viper at a dragstrip, right?
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No, really, Jason, as usual, has a knack for simplifying even the most complicated subjects. He starts with the example of a car with a 50/50 front/rear weight balance, and does the math. Then he shows us that moving the center of gravity higher and shortening the the wheelbase can result in more acceleration. These aren't great ideas for anything that isn't a purpose-built drag car, but moving the weight bias to the rear makes more sense.
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So, give the latest Engineering Explained video a watch and then set out in your favorite rear-driver to see what you've learned. Actually, this video doesn't really help with that. This video does, though, and so does this one.
Class adjourned.