Correlation of the suspension system of a Gen 3.5 Formula E car: a comparison between Canopy model, CarMaker model and the real car

When working with software which simulate the car behaviour, it is important to have an accurate model to be able to replicate the on track actions and also to predict them ahead of the race weekend. That is why this study is focused on the kinematic correlation of the suspension systems for both the front and rear axes of the MSG Maserati Racing Gen3.5 single-seater. The research begins with the study of the manufacturers' design sheets, which is the base of the computational models created on the two software, Canopy and CarMaker10. Canopy is used by the team to simulate laps in various conditions and to compare different setups in a fast way. Instead, CarMaker is exploited to have a driver-in-the-loop system which allows the drivers to drive a model of the car with the same feelings of the real one. The correlation and validation of the two models is conducted using track data, coming from tests and races, compared with the simulations' outputs, coming from both software environments. By correlating the simulated results with real telemetry, the study identifies the differences and the limits of the models and validates the accuracy of each replica of the suspension. Searching the limit of the models is crucial for the team because, for sure, the software are not modelling the car in the most real way. Anyway, knowing where the limit lies is important to optimize the simulations and the result of the whole team preparation.