Performance  
       
     
  Lateral Acceleration   Longitudinal Acceleration  
     
     
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Power Limited   Traction Limited   Speed, Distance & Time   Hill Climbing   Axle Load Distribution

No matter how much power the vehicle can produce, the total tire force (Ft), at a given speed v, cannot exceed the friction force available at the tires (Ff).

Maximum tractive force

(more)
Ft
m
= μg ( K1 − K2
0.5ρCLA
mg
 v2 )
(1)

*Note: The maximum value for Ft/m is the one found for an AWD (K1 = K2 = 1; see below). At that point, all the weight and downforce is acting on the rear axle and the vehicle is doing a «wheelie» as in the next figure.

Usually, once a wheelie is initiated, the front axle will tend to drop back as the speed increases. Still, in some cases (motorcycles for example), it is possible to keep the front axle off the ground if the equilibrium point is met.

wheelie

Top speed

(more)
vmax =
√
( K1 μ − fr ) mg
0.5ρ [ CDA + ( K2 μ − fr ) CLA ]
(2)

Where:

For an AWD:

 K1 = 1 K2 = 1

For a RWD:

 K1 = 
lf / L  − fr  h / L
1 − μ  h / L
K2 = 
CLr / CL
1 − μ  h / L

For a FWD:

 K1 = 
lr / L  + fr  h / L
1 + μ  h / L
K2 = 
CLf / CL
1 + μ  h / L

And:

ρ = atmospheric air density (= 1.225 kg/m³)
CDA = Drag factor
CLA = Lift factor
m = vehicle mass
g = gravitational acceleration (= 9.80665 m/s²)
μ = tire-road friction coefficient
fr = rolling resistance coefficient
lr / L
= portion of the vehicle's weight on the front axle
lf / L
= portion of the vehicle's weight on the rear axle
h / L
= CG-height-to-wheelbase ratio
CLf / CL
= portion of the vehicle's aerodynamic lift on the front axle
CLr / CL
= portion of the vehicle's aerodynamic lift on the rear axle