I just subscribed to racecar-engineering.com . I should have done this 20 years ago.
Everything Technical in F1
21–30 of 59 posts
Re: Everything Technical in F1
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
He was the last driver to die in an F1 crash. Unfortunately not the last person, but I think the road-side crews haven't seen a fatality in years. My interest in F1 stopped a few years ago when they downgraded the engines and made things all weird for a while. I hear it's getting back to awesome nowadays.
2014 regulations introduce even more downgraded engines. New ones will be 1.6 litre V6 turbo (now it is 2.4, V8, but not turbo), revs will be limited to 15k rpm (now 18k).
I have read that the engines will probably rev to around 12.5k in 2014. Although they will be allowed to rev higher, fuel flow rates will be regulated to a maximum of ~ 100KG/hour. Keeping the revs lower will also decrease the friction which will allow for higher output per KG of fuel. Previously they optimized for max output / CC of engine displacement.
The turbo engines will also have a motor/turbine on the turbo, allowing them to charge the battery from the turbo shaft. They will be able to use the battery power to directly drive the wheels, or spin up the turbo more quickly to the 100k rpm max speed of the turbo.
Re: Everything Technical in F1
#23I sometimes have a hard time trying to fathom all the regulations imposed on the teams. Can anyone shed some light on eg. the dangers of wing design?
If not done right, it will not make enough downforce to corner properly. The cars are designed to have no air underneath them, so as to create a vacuum to the track. If air does get underneath them, the car becomes (briefly) an airplane... edit: A lot of the regulations are also based around making the cars somewhat slower(safer), so they dis-allow massive wings so you can't fly around corners at 200per... And then e…
A big reason things like side skirts and vacuum cars were banned was that those technologies were very good at making downforce, until you hit a bump or curb big enough to break the "seal" between the car and ground. Then most of your downforce went away in an instant. Not a very safe thing.
Yes most of the regulation changes in the last 20 years have been focused on taking away downforce b/c without constraints the engineers could design cars that would corner with such force the drivers would be on the verge of blacking out.
The other focus is to try and make passing easier. When you depend on downforce for grip and you get right behind another car, in their air wake, your downforce goes down b/c not as much air is going over the wings. Your grip goes down and you can't pass that car.
Re: Everything Technical in F1
#24I've been reading this blog for over a year now and the detail and knowledge Craig has is incredible. Understanding the technical characteristics of the cars has really deepened my love for the sport. On a side note, I saw on Twitter this weekend that Craig/ScarbsF1 has been ill recently. He's actually due to go for a tripple heart bypass tomorrow, so I'd like to wish him well and hope he makes a speedy recovery.
One of my favorite F1 blogs as well. Best of luck & a speedy recovery Craig!
Re: Everything Technical in F1
#25A friend of mine was a transmission/gearbox designer for F1 cars. It was fascinating to hear about the things going on behind the scenes.
Most teams have components built by a handful of specialized external engineering companies. Some things are dealt with internally, but the lower order teams don't have the budgets to deal with much of the technology in-house. Ferrari is the exception and they do almost everything themselves (this might have changed because this was nearly 10 years ago).
The lower order teams get called "pit dodgers" (behind their backs). External companies know that statistically these teams don't finish so many races, and the attention to detail in the design and finish for these teams is much less than those premium teams receive.
It is sadly a vicious circle. Statistically, they will have worse drivers, who are more likely to crash or damage the cars early in the race, so often the cars in the lower order teams don't have the required staying power for the entire race.
I found it interesting to know that F1 cars have reverse gear, simply in accordance with regulations. It doesn't always work that well however, and I believe on one occasion its inclusion was overlooked.
Re: Everything Technical in F1
#26I could never get interested in F1 again after Senna's tragic death.
I can totally understand that. What I don't get is why the F1 officials haven't learned more out of that tragic accident. Sure the cars are much safer than they were when Senna died, but why do they have to at more and more races in city centers? Sure, I can understand that they want to keep Monaco for historic reason, but there isn't a good reason to have races in the city centers of Valencia, Singapore, and soon Ne…
Its tradition and a feeling of invulnerability until something really bad happens. Sometimes even after the fall things aren't done. IndyCar was working on a safer car before Las Vegas 2011, but I am not sure they have got the total message themselves or really in a financial position to change what they need changed.
NASCAR changed everything after their tragedy and hasn't had a driver death since. The next car after the COT is safe yet and all the tracks have safer barriers. I get the feeling that the restrictor plate racing is going to be the next big set of changes (funny, given that the plate was to keep the speeds down to make those tracks safe).
Re: Everything Technical in F1
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'll second this. If we get close to trackside without ear plugs in it actually hurts your inner ear, I've never experienced anything like it.
It's probably hard to believe, but the V10s sounded even better than the V8s. Even louder, higher pitch at higher revs, and traction control out of the corners sounded like a fully automatic shotgun.
Yeah, I hear they are trying to change the engines to a 4-cylinder these days too. That would be really unfortunate, and would probably sound awful.
I went to the Indy 500 this year, I heard in years past their noise rivals F1. But this year they downsized their engines, and the cars there were not impressive/loud. It would have been downright disappointing if I wouldn't have been so.."well hydrated" with beer. I really hope that doesn't happen to F1
Re: Everything Technical in F1
#28If you ever have a chance to go to an F1 race, do it. You might have a terrible view of the race, but it is the greatest sound you will ever hear. It's like the sky is getting ripped apart by a million banshees.
Yeah, you hear them all right, but that's not the point. You "feel" them. It reminds me of being near a hovering Harrier Jump Jet.
Re: Everything Technical in F1
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's probably hard to believe, but the V10s sounded even better than the V8s. Even louder, higher pitch at higher revs, and traction control out of the corners sounded like a fully automatic shotgun.
Yeah, I hear they are trying to change the engines to a 4-cylinder these days too. That would be really unfortunate, and would probably sound awful. I went to the Indy 500 this year, I heard in years past their noise rivals F1. But this year they downsized their engines, and the cars there were not impressive/loud. It would have been downright disappointing if I wouldn't have been so.."well hydrated" with beer. I rea…
FIA currently plans to move away from the existing 2.4L V8s at 18k RPM to a 1.6L V6 turbo at 15k RPM in 2014.
Bernie (the godfather of F1) doesn't like the sound of the new engines, and may torpedo the planned change based on the sound issue alone.
Re: Everything Technical in F1
#30Why would you do this to me? I'm supposed to be working!
I'm fascinated by F1 because of the technology in the cars. The driving is astounding, but for the technically minded, Formula One cars marvelous.
I'm already excited for the race coming up in Brazil. Now I need to forget that this site exists or I will lose all productivity in these precious few days surrounding the Thanksgiving holiday. (Bogus holiday BTW, but at least I get to chill with my family).