Each wheel's suspension acts as a spring-damper system that absorbs road irregularities: stiffer springs resist compression more, transmitting more shock to the chassis (higher g-force) but reducing sway. Tire grip caps the lateral/longitudinal force the contact patch can transmit before sliding. Aerodynamic drag grows with the square of speed, dominating power losses at high velocity.
F_spring = -k·x - c·ẋ (spring + damping)
F_drag = ½·ρ·C_d·A·v² (aerodynamic drag)
a_max = μ·g (traction-limited accel/decel)
- Suspension stiffness (k) — higher k means less travel over bumps but sharper g-force spikes transmitted to the body.
- Tire grip (μ) — sets the traction ceiling; low grip causes visible wheel slip under hard acceleration or braking.
- Throttle / speed — drives the car's velocity around the track, directly raising drag force (∝ v²).
- Road bumps toggle — adds a procedural bump profile to the track surface that excites the suspension springs.
Race engineers tune spring stiffness and damping exactly this way — balancing ride comfort/grip against chassis stability at speed.