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Jeff,
In reference to your question about the long-nosed race cars with
most of the weight in the rear: my immediate guess would be 1) the
weight over the rear tires would increase the friction between tires and
ground, and 2) the long nose presents a large moment of inertia for the
car as a whole which would tend to rotate in the opposite circular
direction as the rear wheels with a large torque applied (witness the
lifting of the front of the car at the start of a race). I'll be
interested to read others' responses to this question also.
Kathy Barthels
In reference to your question about the long-nosed race cars with
most of the weight in the rear: my immediate guess would be 1) the
weight over the rear tires would increase the friction between tires and
ground, and 2) the long nose presents a large moment of inertia for the
car as a whole which would tend to rotate in the opposite circular
direction as the rear wheels with a large torque applied (witness the
lifting of the front of the car at the start of a race). I'll be
interested to read others' responses to this question also.
Kathy Barthels