Does the shape of the corner change how much grip it needs?
Same car, same drivetrain, same surface, same throttle. Only the corner changes — a wide sweep or a tight hairpin. Press Run and watch how much of each axle's grip budget the corner alone spends.
The corner is only half the budget. Next: what if the road itself has less grip to give?
Does the road surface change how far that same budget stretches?
Same corner, same car, same throttle. Only the surface changes. Ice and wet tarmac start with a smaller total grip budget than dry tarmac — watch how much sooner it runs out.
Surface sets the size of the budget. Next: what if you simply ask for more of it, sooner?
Does accelerating harder out of the corner cost extra grip?
Same corner, same surface. Only how hard you accelerate changes. Watch the rear axle especially — throttle draws from the same rear grip the corner is already spending on turning.
Intensity isn't the only throttle variable. Next: does which wheels drive change anything?
Does which wheels drive change which axle runs out of grip first?
Same corner, same surface, same throttle. Only the drivetrain changes — front, rear, or all wheels. Watch which axle saturates first, and whether AWD avoids saturation altogether or only delays it.
Drivetrain moves the load between axles — it doesn't create more grip. Last variable: timing.
Does applying the same throttle earlier or later in the corner change the outcome?
Same corner, same surface, same throttle intensity. Only the timing changes — before the apex, at the apex, or on exit. Watch how soon combined demand peaks.
You've now seen every variable alone. The sandbox below lets you combine all five and watch the same budget respond.
Now combine them all
Build your own scenario, one clause at a time, then run it.
Drive a car on a surface, applying throttle of a .
Advanced setup
Telemetry
State
Ready
Press Run to enter the corner at a steady speed.
Motion
Speed: 0.0 m/s
Path offset: 0.00 m
Axle grip budgets
G-G display
Longitudinal: 0.00 g
Lateral: 0.00 g
Autosteer / throttle now
Autosteer angle: 0%
Throttle now: 0%
About this model
This is a simplified teaching model, not driving instruction. One car, one broad
fixed corner, symmetric front/rear load, and a linear tyre model with a
friction-circle limit per axle. Steering, throttle, and braking all draw on the
same per-axle grip budget; drivetrain only changes which axle carries the
longitudinal share — FWD does not always understeer, RWD does not always oversteer,
and AWD can still slide if pushed hard enough. Dry/wet/ice are a relative,
illustrative grip ordering, not measured coefficients for any real tyre or surface.
There is no real-time driving input by design: steering is a fixed autosteer
program calibrated to whichever track you pick (the same every run for that track,
so it isn't a second variable alongside drivetrain/surface), and throttle
intensity/timing/track are the settings you choose before pressing Run. Every track
has a finite, calibrated length; a run finishes when the car reaches the end of it.
Full assumptions and tuned constants are documented in this project's
docs/model-assumptions.md.