McLaren-Ferrari Spy Case
- Thread starter benjamming
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Shannow,
I guess you think that 99.9998% of the population still have breaker points and tube radios in thier cars? It's 2007, not 1957!
I guess you think that 99.9998% of the population still have breaker points and tube radios in thier cars? It's 2007, not 1957!
It's nice to believe that racing is on the cutting edge of materials and system research but it's a myth. If for no other reason than rules generally don't allow anything that's too forward thinking. Ask Jim Hall or Ken Tyrrell about that.
Fact is, little of the hardware you see in racing was actually invented for or by racing. Composite and lightweight materials are aerospace technology that trickled down to racing. For that matter, probably 100X as much electronic engine control research has been done for pollution control and fuel economy purposes as has been done for racing reasons. In that case more of the technology came from the PC and consumer electronics business than from racing. Even all the fancy electronically controlled transmissions have been around for years in simpler forms. Tractors, something seen as the crudest of the crude, had electrically shifted "power shift" transmissions almost 40 years ago.
About the same time the racing organizations were banning Jim Halls' movable rear wings and Can Am cars with suction fans, and Granatellis' Indy cars with turbine engines, etc. And not one of those banned advances had it's origin in racing...
Fact is, little of the hardware you see in racing was actually invented for or by racing. Composite and lightweight materials are aerospace technology that trickled down to racing. For that matter, probably 100X as much electronic engine control research has been done for pollution control and fuel economy purposes as has been done for racing reasons. In that case more of the technology came from the PC and consumer electronics business than from racing. Even all the fancy electronically controlled transmissions have been around for years in simpler forms. Tractors, something seen as the crudest of the crude, had electrically shifted "power shift" transmissions almost 40 years ago.
About the same time the racing organizations were banning Jim Halls' movable rear wings and Can Am cars with suction fans, and Granatellis' Indy cars with turbine engines, etc. And not one of those banned advances had it's origin in racing...
Composite & lightweight materials are definitely not developed for racing; they are adapted to cars in racing.
You have a good point about the rules prohibiting technology to advance because of racing. The reason I hear most often is to keep the costs down. If that's the case, then why not set a price tag for the car?
Yep, my biggest complaint about F1 is that the race is decided at qualifying. There is more excitement in that 15 minutes (well, 45 minutes if you count all 3 rounds of qualifying) than most race tracks will see during actual races for their tenure as a F1 circuit.
You have a good point about the rules prohibiting technology to advance because of racing. The reason I hear most often is to keep the costs down. If that's the case, then why not set a price tag for the car?
Yep, my biggest complaint about F1 is that the race is decided at qualifying. There is more excitement in that 15 minutes (well, 45 minutes if you count all 3 rounds of qualifying) than most race tracks will see during actual races for their tenure as a F1 circuit.
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