How long?.

[tauruck]

A bit late in the day but is there an optimum length for a single engined liner?.
I was warned not to go over 40'.

Thanks.

[kiwi belly tank]

They just need to be long enough to get all the crap in there & put some sharpish bits on the ends. I wouldn't expect you'd get anywhere near 40-freedom units being 2WD.
  Sid.

[tortoise]

Jack Costella managed to stuff all the crap in the ends and connected 'em with a long skinny middle with nothing but a steering shaft inside.

[Gary Freudenberger]

A bit late in the day but is there an optimum length for a single engined liner?.
I was warned not to go over 40'.


The Target550 liner 43' so I cannot imagine you would be anywhere near 40' IMHO

[tauruck]

Thanks guys.

The first thing Bobby Moore ever told me was don't go too long. 40'.
He said he made that mistake.
I think I'm at 32'.

[John Burk]

At high speed most if aero drag is skin friction so aerodynamically slim and short is best . The best combination for traction and directional stability is front wheel drive with the engine ahead of the front wheels . Front wheel drive is a topic in itself .

[tallguy]

Making the body longer than it needs to be can present some issues with practicality.  How long a trailer is legal to tow on
public highways?  Can you steer it through an intersection?  I'm not a highly-qualified aerodynamicist, but if you can achieve (for all practical purposes) laminar flow around the body, making it longer probably would not make it more aerodynamic -- if it smoothly opens and closes the local air while passing through it.  I generally try to imagine a "tadpole" shape. 

[tortoise]

So, how short is too short?

[rockracer]

Let's put it this way.... How long do you wanna take to put the car on the trailer , 5 mins vs.  Hours.  Also how many team members you got vs. yourself.
I really liked the little yellow/black lakester that showed up on a 6x10 flatbed and unloaded it himself in 2 mins.

[kiwi belly tank]

Thanks guys.

The first thing Bobby Moore ever told me was don't go too long. 40'.
He said he made that mistake.
I think I'm at 32'.

The biggest problem with Bobby Moore's liner once they got all the other issues fixed & finally got it over 300 was the long chute leverage arm that jumped up & bit him hard. Going sideways at that speed had him rethinking the important things in life. The Maro Special is now Jim Knapp's liner.
  The final length of a "liner" is all about packaging all the junk you need & adding aerodynamics to it & that should be in the planning, not done as an after thought.
  Loading & unloading this much crap also takes some planning & the first time on the salt it didn't go well for me since I don't have level ground near me up here in lumpy-land to simulate that, it was all shouda woulda coulda & it wasn't. Trailer system #2 was a lot better but still needs some tweaking.
  Mikes liner is RWD so should only come out about 28ft total but a "Tadpole" shape will create an extreme forward CP location so that's not good advice here.
  Mike, have a word with Tom B.
  Sid.
 

[tortoise]

a "Tadpole" shape will create an extreme forward CP location so that's not good advice here.

A tadpole with small front wheels out on a stick ahead of it then, Costella-style. To reduce surface area, as tallguy suggests, might involve more upright seating, a bit bent knees. The lowest possible frontal area is not necessarily lowest drag.

[Gman]

a "Tadpole" shape will create an extreme forward CP location so that's not good advice here.

A tadpole with small front wheels out on a stick ahead of it then, Costella-style. To reduce surface area, as tallguy suggests, might involve more upright seating, a bit bent knees. The lowest possible frontal area is not necessarily lowest drag.

No? you want it to tend to go straight.  Center of mass forward of center of pressure.  Putting the center of pressure ahead of center of mass will be disastrous.  Things like this get real important when you go over 400mph.  I?m just a dumb mechanic so your mileage may vary. 

[kiwi belly tank]

I've never seen a tadpole go backwards but if it got to going fast enough it probably would!
  Sid.