Talk:Wheelbase

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Would somebody with better picture editing skills than I (probably the case) upload a better picture to illustrate the equations?

What's the name for the distance between the left and right wheels; the equivalent of track gauge for railways? Is it as important as wheelbase? Should it be discussed here, or in an article of its own? -- Karada 11:43, 12 Aug 2004 (UTC)

1 Appropriately enough, width is called "Track"
2 TRACK
3 This article needs to cover railway locomotives too
4 Measurement
5 Confusion of phsics about bicycles
6 Wheelbase illustration

[edit] Appropriately enough, width is called "Track"

[edit] TRACK

It seems the term "Wheelbase" is unfortunately widely misinterpreted to refer to the width, or lateral, (side to side), location of the tire/wheel assemblies.

"Track" is the correct term for this. The word Track has some obvious etymology and includes a salty joke about the ancient origins of the measured width of our modern day vehicles. (It involves horses posteriors.)

"Track" more specifically refers to the lateral distance between the centers of each tire as they contact the road, referred to as the tire "contact patch".

The front (steered wheels) of an automobile usually "steer" about a center that is more or less directly aligned with the center of the contact patch of the tire. However this is usually offset slightly, to improve safety and dynamics of the steered "handling" of the vehicle.

(I would like to provide original illustration: see automobile_TRACK.jpg, created by me...see details at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Automobile_TRACK.jpg)

See Also: Offset, Ackerman, Roll Center, Anti-Roll Bar, Alignment, Friction Circle, Steering Axis Inclination, Caster, Camber, Pivot Radius, Cornering Dynamics, G-forces, Center-of-Gravity, Yaw, Pitch, Roll, Tire, Suspension Systems, Weight Distribution, Thrust Angle

I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. This applies worldwide.

In case this is not legally possible,

I grant any entity the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.

...and to further answer Karada's question, Yes, it is every bit as important as Wheelbase, and is it's own unique and complex topic and therefore deserves an article of its own, albeit closely linked/integrated with "Wheelbase". --Truthdowser 04:38, 14 July 2005 (UTC)

[edit] This article needs to cover railway locomotives too

Wheelbase applies to locomotives too. I'm not going to NPOV it, but maybe the lead needs explaining. (otherwise it's good) Dunc_Harris|☺ 21:51, 14 Sep 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Measurement

Why is wheelbase measured in inches? Couldn't they measure it in something simpler like feet? Even worse, they also use millimeters. Couldn't they at least use centimeters?

[edit] Confusion of phsics about bicycles

According to the short section on bicycle wheelbases, many commerical bikes have too SHORT a wheelbase to perform stoppies and wheelies. If the wheelbase was short, performing such tricks should be easier. Shouldn't this say "too long"? Short bikes can flip easier compared to longer bikes. It would be easier to do a wheelie or stoppie however it will be harder to control it once you're on one tire as the slightest movement can throw you over board. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 136.176.8.16 (talk) 01:01, 22 September 2007 (UTC)

Hmmm. The exact text is "The wheelbase on many commercially available bicycles and motorcycles is so short, relative to the height of their centers of mass, that they are able to perform stoppies and wheelies." That says to me that they can perform stoppies and wheelies because the wheelbase is short enough. Is there another interpretation? -AndrewDressel 13:28, 25 September 2007 (UTC)