1970s F1 - airboxes

[cubes]

After watching Rush and seeing old F1 on youtube/tv (and reading on wikipedia), the high airboxes were banned during 76. Any idea why?

[groomi]

Due to the mysterious loss of several low flying planes...

[Eric Mc]

There had been an earlier ruling about the maximum height of an F1 car being the roll over bar. The tall airboxes contravened that rule. Therefore, in 1976, it was made mandatory that the airbox could not be taller than the roll over structure. Consequently, the airboxes were either reduced in size, split in two and placed either side op the rollover bar or abandoned altogether.

With the arrival of turbocharging, airboxes were no longer needed anyway.

When airboxes returned in the 1980s on the 3.5 litre normally aspirated cars, they were tall again, but so were the rollover bars, which were incorporated into the airbox.

I'm pretty sure that modern airboxes more or less comply with this principle.

[moffspeed]

Because, like most things in F1, the designers took it to extremes :

[Eric Mc]

It needed to be that tall to fit the Gitanes logo on.

[andyiley]

I think the manufacturers may have had it in their minds that if they put the air box up in clear air there would be some measure of inlet charge pressurisation at speed and thus give a free power boost.

But that could be imagined!

[Eric Mc]

They definitely were trying for some ram air effect - as they do today with the current air boxes.

I wonder will they disappear with the introduction of turbos next year?

[ajprice]

Eric Mc said:

I wonder will they disappear with the introduction of turbos next year?

Could the 'roll blade' come back?

[cubes]

Thanks! Now to find out what the leathery look stuff on James Hunt's helmet was for...

[Bebee]

cubes said:

Thanks! Now to find out what the leathery look stuff on James Hunt's helmet was for...

I bet it has something to do with the breakfast of champions

[Eric Mc]

Nomex - I think.

[cubes]

Something fire-retardant was my thought tbh. Just odd not seeing anyone else use something like it.

[Life Saab Itch]

cubes said:

Something fire-retardant was my thought tbh. Just odd not seeing anyone else use something like it.

It was popular at the time. iirc, tambay, scheckter, Peterson, Hulme and Fittipaldi used it.

It was just a nomex tube that was tucked in to the race suit.

[PhillipM]

Eric Mc said:

I wonder will they disappear with the introduction of turbos next year?

Having a turbo doesn't neglect the performance gain of a correctly designed airbox...so no.

[anonymous-user]

It will depend on what the regulations say, but you wont have the high drag airboxes of a NA engine car, the main air inlet central to the car will probably be used to cool the KERS unit I would expect.

[PhillipM]

I would imagine they'll be smaller due to the reduced engine power output, I'd be surprised if they're much different in style, barring multiple/split inlets to divert air elsewhere for cooling the air charge or MGU cooling, etc.

[Eric Mc]

PhillipM said:

Eric Mc said:

I wonder will they disappear with the introduction of turbos next year?

Having a turbo doesn't neglect the performance gain of a correctly designed airbox...so no.

Why were they not featured on the turbo cars of the 80s?

[PhillipM]

Eric Mc said:

Why were they not featured on the turbo cars of the 80s?

Well, they weren't featured on some of the N/A cars either, I assume due to designers assuming not having the bodywork there was better than having an airbox, until windtunnels, CFD and engine design software brung back the benefits of resonance and the pressure increase from a correctly designed airbox.

Both renault and mercs released pictures of their engine show substantial airboxes in place.

[Eric Mc]

PhillipM said:

Eric Mc said:

Why were they not featured on the turbo cars of the 80s?

Well, they weren't featured on some of the N/A cars either, I assume due to designers assuming not having the bodywork there was better than having an airbox, until windtunnels, CFD and engine design software brung back the benefits of resonance and the pressure increase from a correctly designed airbox.

Both renault and mercs released pictures of their engine show substantial airboxes in place.

In the late 70s they had begun to disappear off the NA cars. Alan Jones's DFV powered 1980 Williams didn't have an airbox, for example.

The 1980s turbos didn't need them, it seems.

When the 3.5 litre NA cars came out in 1987, they WERE fitted with airboxes and they have remained a feature on NA F1 cars ever since.

How would they work in conjunction with forced induction - that's what I was wondering.

[PhillipM]

Exactly the same way as they do on an N/A car, the turbo is merely a pressure multiplier, more pressure = proportionally more pressure out. Or the ability to run a lower pressure ratio for the same amount of air into the engine.