95 - 02 F1 Tech

[durbster]

I have a question

Are there any elements that are surprisingly low tech or off-the-shelf? I know F1 has a habit of reinventing things that exist already but I wondered whether those teams with smaller budgets would have had to make do with a few Halfords parts here and there.

[rev-erend]

durbster said:

I have a question

Are there any elements that are surprisingly low tech or off-the-shelf? I know F1 has a habit of reinventing things that exist already but I wondered whether those teams with smaller budgets would have had to make do with a few Halfords parts here and there.

You are probably right .. why spend hundreds of hours designing a new rear wing, then lovingly create it in carbon fibre and bake slowly in an autoclave.

Just pop down to Halfords - they have then on the shelf

[pozi]

durbster said:

I have a question

Are there any elements that are surprisingly low tech or off-the-shelf? I know F1 has a habit of reinventing things that exist already but I wondered whether those teams with smaller budgets would have had to make do with a few Halfords parts here and there.

Not directly car related but anyone responsible for a pitstop nose cone change at McLaren had 1/4" drive ratchets from this Halfords socket set because of the thumb activated quick direction change:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...

[marcgti6]

Wow, this has got to be one of the most interesting threads I've read on Pistonheads. Thanks for taking the time to post!

[John D.]

pozi said:

durbster said:

I have a question

Are there any elements that are surprisingly low tech or off-the-shelf? I know F1 has a habit of reinventing things that exist already but I wondered whether those teams with smaller budgets would have had to make do with a few Halfords parts here and there.

Not directly car related but anyone responsible for a pitstop nose cone change at McLaren had 1/4" drive ratchets from this Halfords socket set because of the thumb activated quick direction change:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...

Is there a smiley missing from this post?

[durbster]

rev-erend said:

You are probably right .. why spend hundreds of hours designing a new rear wing, then lovingly create it in carbon fibre and bake slowly in an autoclave.

Just pop down to Halfords - they have then on the shelf

Yep, and they'll fit it for a fiver!

[poppopbangbang]

durbster said:

I have a question

Are there any elements that are surprisingly low tech or off-the-shelf? I know F1 has a habit of reinventing things that exist already but I wondered whether those teams with smaller budgets would have had to make do with a few Halfords parts here and there.

The lift pumps used by Minardi, BAR and probably a few others start life destined for a VX Vectra! Minardi machined a bond in upper to take a push on whereas BAR did the same for but a dash 6 JIC.

There is the odd thing but really very little is off the shelf.

[Some Gump]

rev-erend said:

You are probably right .. why spend hundreds of hours designing a new rear wing, then lovingly create it in carbon fibre and bake slowly in an autoclave.

Just pop down to Halfords - they have then on the shelf

That's clearly not what he meant, doofus. I think he had an interesting question - after all, the brake cooling systems are just leafblowers with silver paint - why engineer something when the part is available off the shelf?
I could easily see that e.g master cylanders, some of the electronics, some of the hydraulics _might_ be pre developed by the automotive or aerospace industries. hopefully, the OP might know =)

[BrownBottle]

poppopbangbang said:

The lift pumps used by Minardi, BAR and probably a few others start life destined for a VX Vectra! Minardi machined a bond in upper to take a push on whereas BAR did the same for but a dash 6 JIC.

There is the odd thing but really very little is off the shelf.

All the Vectra owning PH'ers can't wait to go to the pub now.

Also, fantastic thread, thank you.

[dr_gn]

Random question:

Just clearing out some of my Dad's stuff and I found a set of Champion G-56R spark plugs. Do you know what engine they are for? I have a feeling they might be from a Ford DFV. Pretty sure they are from an F1 engine, not sure which era though.

Thanks.

[Fonz]

BrownBottle said:

All the Vectra owning PH'ers can't wait to go to the pub now.

Also, fantastic thread, thank you.

It's still a Vectra

[poppopbangbang]

dr_gn said:

Random question:

Just clearing out some of my Dad's stuff and I found a set of Champion G-56R spark plugs. Do you know what engine they are for? I have a feeling they might be from a Ford DFV. Pretty sure they are from an F1 engine, not sure which era though.

Thanks.

They're from an original DFV. It was those or PG403s if my memory serves

[petop]

Really good thread. I went around the Lotus Renault F1 factory last year and the scale of everything that goes into putting these cars on to the grid was immense. The static suspension tuning bay where the operator said when Alonso was going around the "old" Renault setup he could watch the car on the mountings replicating the surface on a track and could tell them which track it was simulating. We also saw a couple of the older cars like the RS26 and the like.

[dr_gn]

poppopbangbang said:

dr_gn said:

Random question:

Just clearing out some of my Dad's stuff and I found a set of Champion G-56R spark plugs. Do you know what engine they are for? I have a feeling they might be from a Ford DFV. Pretty sure they are from an F1 engine, not sure which era though.

Thanks.

They're from an original DFV. It was those or PG403s if my memory serves

Thanks, that makes sense. Picked up in the Silverstone pits in the '70's I'd imagine. Happy days...

[GreatCornholio]

Simple non-engineering question from me.... Which of the engines you look after was the most powerful whilst still racing? And how many bhp did it have?

Thanks, great thread

[yorkieboy]

It Is brilliant stumbling across a thread like this!

[poppopbangbang]

GreatCornholio said:

Simple non-engineering question from me.... Which of the engines you look after was the most powerful whilst still racing? And how many bhp did it have?

Thanks, great thread

Probably the A spec EF15. We don't run it anymore as the tub, various bits of suspension etc. was getting past it and to be honest it's a bit old school for us but rumour has it (and I have no reason to believe otherwise having worked with it) on ELFs special brew it was exceeding 1000bhp in qualifying spec. For the NAs we generally run different mapping and fuels to what was run in original competition but all our 3 litre NA cars are still north of 700bhp.

[poppopbangbang]

petop said:

Really good thread. I went around the Lotus Renault F1 factory last year and the scale of everything that goes into putting these cars on to the grid was immense. The static suspension tuning bay where the operator said when Alonso was going around the "old" Renault setup he could watch the car on the mountings replicating the surface on a track and could tell them which track it was simulating. We also saw a couple of the older cars like the RS26 and the like.

This is actually a really good point and one I should touch on. We are basically the build and race team when compared to a modern F1 team - in that we assemble the cars from parts and support them during running. In a modern F1 team this "bit" of the business is actually the small bit in terms of floor space and budget with the R&D and engineering departments making up the bulk of any modern team.

We do have some R&D/Test facilities in that we have a basic sim, gearbox dyno etc. but no where near the autoclavy, 20 seat CAD department goodness a modern team has It's one thing I find quite funny for want of a better term as our "shop" is way above that which you would find in even a BTCC team or good privateer LMP team but to the F1 guys we're the bit out the back where engines get bolted to tubs

[PhillipM]

It's amazing how much less tech and floor space you need once you start having to spend your own money and not someone elses

[petop]

poppopbangbang said:

petop said:

Really good thread. I went around the Lotus Renault F1 factory last year and the scale of everything that goes into putting these cars on to the grid was immense. The static suspension tuning bay where the operator said when Alonso was going around the "old" Renault setup he could watch the car on the mountings replicating the surface on a track and could tell them which track it was simulating. We also saw a couple of the older cars like the RS26 and the like.

This is actually a really good point and one I should touch on. We are basically the build and race team when compared to a modern F1 team - in that we assemble the cars from parts and support them during running. In a modern F1 team this "bit" of the business is actually the small bit in terms of floor space and budget with the R&D and engineering departments making up the bulk of any modern team.

We do have some R&D/Test facilities in that we have a basic sim, gearbox dyno etc. but no where near the autoclavy, 20 seat CAD department goodness a modern team has It's one thing I find quite funny for want of a better term as our "shop" is way above that which you would find in even a BTCC team or good privateer LMP team but to the F1 guys we're the bit out the back where engines get bolted to tubs

A case in point was the CAD facility for Lotus Renault is in a seperate underground area. It reminded me of a James Bond villians hangout! The server room was massive, all temp controlled with Boeing stickers on them....it turns out that LR use programs that Boeing use for aerodynamics to model the cars, in turn engineers do work for Boeing in their tea break!