User Interface:

CarTest was designed with the user in mind, and so features an easy to use interface including:

• On-line help for every function with a function to print all help screens.
• A menu-driven format.
• An on-line calculator.
• A comprehensive, easily accessible database containing over 900 foreign and domestic vehicles with plenty of room to add more.

Program Capabilities:

The user can choose from among the following:

1. Edit/Analyze Car - Modify data for an existing car and/or perform analyses.
2. Add Car - Add a new car to the database by inputting the 33 required values (11 engine, 10 drivetrain, 12 chassis and body) all of which are readily available from magazine road test specifications pages.
3. Delete, Rename, or Copy a car.
4. Comparison Tests: Race up to six cars in a one-quarter mile drag race on screen or produce various plots and listings comparing various aspects of car performance, or rank cars by various performance criteria.
5. Track Tests: Race a car (against an optional pace car) on any of the 50 top race circuits in the world to assess track performance.

Output Analyses:

The user can select from several analyses and outputs:

Standing Start Acceleration- accelerates the car from zero to top speed:

• Dump or slip the clutch for manuals; use brake torquing for automatics; and select the launch rpm.
• Watch the analog tachometer and speedometer during acceleration.
• Monitor the automatically rescaling time-to-speed and acceleration (in G's) curves.
• View the current time, speed, and distance as well as the vehicle status and gear indicator.
• Program displays 0-30 through 0-100 mph times and 0-100', 0-500', 0-1/4 mile elapsed time and speed.
• Halt, Resume or Reset the acceleration using control keys.
• Output the results to the printer or to a file.

Rolling Start Acceleration- accelerates the car from a selected speed up to top speed:

• Similar features as standing start acceleration but the user selects the starting speed and gear.

Optimize Launch Method- computes the optimum launch from a standing start.

• Automatically runs through all combinations of launch techniques (clutch dump, slip, or brake torque at various starting engine rpm) to find the method that produces the fastest acceleration times.
• Generates a graph of results on the screen.

Display Horsepower and Torque Curves-

• Plots the analytically derived engine horsepower and torque versus rpm curve or show the user-specified power curve.
• Capability of generating turbo-charged, supercharged, and normally aspirated engine power curves.

Display Power Loss Component Curves-

• Plots losses from aerodynamics, tires, transmission, and road grade (if any) versus road speed.

Display Drive Power in Each Gear-

• Plots the drive wheel force at the road in each gear versus road speed.
• Determines optimum shift points.
• Superimposed plot of total drive losses estimates top speed.

Display Speeds in Gears-

• Plot theoretical road speed versus engine rpm in each gear.

Fuel Economy-

• Compute EPA City and Highway mileage estimates.
• Plot curves of constant speed miles per gallon in each gear.

Skidpad and Slalom:

• Estimate skidpad lateral acceleration.
• Estimate maximum speed through a slalom course.

Parameter Sensitivity:

• Explore how varying any of the car's parameters affects performance.

Some Additional Features:

• You can choose to work in either English or Metric units. You may switch from one mode to the other at any time.
• The CarTest model is defined with 46 parameters plus up to 20 for the optional user-defined horsepower curve plus optional user-defined shift points and lateral acceleration.
• Model parameters can be accessed and modified by the user, and the original parameters retrieved at any time.
• The car can be shifted at the optimum rpm, at redline, at pre-programmed user-defined shift points, or manually by the user.
• The weather conditions, wind velocity, altitude, and road grade can be modified.
• The user can define and customize a set of model parameters for each car in the database if so desired.
• Optional vehicle acceleration sound effects.
• All data is checked for consistency and validity prior to analysis, on-screen messages alert the user as to which data values are improper.
• Car names may contain up to 40 characters.
• Fast, optimized code will take advantage of a numeric coprocessor if one exists.
• CarTest can be slowed down if desired to operate no faster than real-time.