Introduction to Vehicle Dynamics

This course features Coursera Coach! A smarter way to learn with interactive, real-time conversations that help you test your knowledge, challenge assumptions, and deepen your understanding as you progress through the course. Explore the fundamentals of vehicle dynamics and gain the skills to analyze and optimize vehicle performance, handling, and safety. This course introduces the vehicle as a system, detailing the driver-vehicle relationship, and explaining how dynamics influence real-world applications from everyday cars to high-performance racing vehicles. You’ll develop a strong foundation in physics, mechanics, and tire behavior to understand the forces acting on vehicles under various conditions. The course begins with vehicle engineering basics, including weight distribution, degrees of freedom, and suspension principles. You’ll study stationary and dynamic loads, learn how tires generate forces, and examine traction, rolling resistance, and slip ratios. With these fundamentals, the course builds toward driving and braking dynamics, demonstrating how engine torque, braking systems, and friction interact to control motion. Next, the curriculum explores suspension design, wheel location, and key suspension parameters, before diving into cornering and ride dynamics. You’ll analyze steering geometry, slip angles, high-speed turning, and roll mechanisms. Each module combines theoretical insights with practical examples, helping you connect classroom concepts to real vehicles and performance testing scenarios. Ideal for automotive engineers, motorsport enthusiasts, and students of mechanical engineering, this intermediate-level course assumes basic physics and mathematics knowledge. It benefits anyone seeking to understand vehicle behavior, improve handling, or optimize designs for safety and performance. By the end of the course, you will be able to analyze vehicle loads, design suspension systems, evaluate tire performance, and apply cornering and ride dynamics principles to improve vehicle handling and stability.