In the last issue of Racecar Engineering, there is an article on a lap simulation software called Simulate to Win. It describes the use of a software package called RaceSim and gives an example of lap time simulation at Spa for Fernando Alonso when he was driving in F3000. I remember that this software product was awarded "best of show" by Carroll Smith in 2000. See here:

http://www.insideracingtechnol....html

The difficulty is the little statement that says " At only $20,000 it's one of the most useful simulations for the money." While looking around for a little more tech on the forums, as this has been particularly devoid of tech for a while, I happened to see a mention on the http://corner-carvers.com forum of a software package which does a similar function but is only $129. The package is called FastLapSim and you can get a demo here:

http://www.proracingsim.com/fastlapsimmainpage.htm

I was wondering if anybody had tried this software? It apparently has Watkins Glen and Road-America, Portland, Phoenix, and maybe Mid-Ohio in its 40 track library. They also have an engine dyno and cam simulator package.

 

What about you FSAE guys? Do you have experience with this or any other simulator? It seems the ultimate way to tune a car. Even if the lap time prediction is not exact because either part of the simulator model is off or maybe one doesn't have exact data for all the required parameters (tire curves for instance), It still might be the best way to see trends and what direction to tune the car. You can just view the effect of changing gear/differential ratios and engine power curves to see what lap time improvements are. Beats the pants off just hacking away at it. The high-end RaceSim software seems to be stunningly good, but it would be nice to know if there is anything a common human could obtain that is worthwhile.