The first thing to consider is what device you want to design cars on, as car design tools are only compatible with certain operating systems. The majority are available on Windows, but Mac and Linux users have a slightly more limited choice of options, with Rhino 3D being one of few car design programs available on Mac. CW) (CDT) At this stage, the vehicle design must be reviewed for completeness, component fit and suitability and regulation compliance. If parts do not work, you may need to return to steps 7 and 8 to revise your component selections and vehicle design. If everything is OK, it would be a good idea to create a full 3D model of all components and the vehicle design. It is at this stage that the full shape of components should be understood so that they don’t interfere with each other. Handling – The race car should have good enough control capabilities to allow the drive to operate it at the limits of the g-g diagram. This includes specifying details for some control systems such as steering, suspension, and other parameters. There is much more analysis that could be done at this stage toward optimizing the preliminary design.

Practical observation and research ties our book knowledge to real-world examples. For instance, if you are designing a rally car, then researching the material, tube diameter and structure of a typical rally roll cage will enable you to tie your basic engineering knowledge to a practical example. Given even more practical examples of roll cages, you could use your knowledge to build a roll cage for your car and potentially even for other types of cars. The best practical examples are from vehicles that closely match the weight, speed and operating environment of your car. Testing/Verification The design approach briefly described here is the result of my previous experience in Baja SAE design team, my internship in the engineering design department of a company that builds racing cars to the largest motorsport category and some minor categories in Brazil, and from some excellent books, which I will recommend in the end of the article.On the side view sketch, front and rear axle centrelines are drawn together with the ground line and the undertray line, thus defining the ground clearance of the car. On the top view, a rough estimation of the location of major components such as engine, gearbox, fuel, water and oil tanks, radiators, seats, and minor components, such as pedals, gear lever, pipes an throttle cable is made.

As 3D modeling is a lot more complex than 2D designing, Adobe Illustrator is a great beginner CAD software for car design – especially for exteriors. It’s also super well-designed and easy to use, which is another plus for newbie car designers. Performance goals can also be set in relation to specific systems, as opposed to the whole car. For example, the goals for aerodynamics might include a specific value for the lift/drag ratio, and the location of the center of pressure (CP), while goals for the suspension might include a specific value for roll sensitivity, weight transfer, suspension travel, steer and camber variations and so on. CFD/Wind tunnel evaluation – The concept is analysed using CFD and/or wind-tunnel testing to evaluate its potential benefits. Figure 2. G-G diagram comparing performance envelopes for a Toyota Celica and a Porsche 928S. The curves represent the combined (longitudinal and lateral) acceleration capability of the cars. (www.temporal.com.au) Many books are available concerning the design process itself. However, only a few have a thorough analysis of the steps involved in the process. Among these, I found these particularly useful:A reminder should be made to take into account driver’s seat, feet, knees, sight line and steering wheel position while working out the basic layout of the car. This can always change as the design progresses, but by now, it is possible to have a pretty good idea of the general layout of the chassis, in the form of a series of bulkheads. If you are designing a car from a donor car chassis, your process will involve determining how the vehicle components can be changed to meet your vision/objectives. If you are designing from scratch, your process will involve the design and selection of components from the rubber on the road on up. Iterations During the detailed design, analytical tools are available to the designer. Useful programs may be made in-house requiring almost zero computational resources. This can be used to determine suspension geometry and stiffness; simples stress analysis and performance simulations. Unlike most of the other car designing software on our list, Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphic design program rather than a 3D modeling software. This means it’s suited to creating 2D visual designs of cars, rather than building your own 3D models.