95 - 02 F1 Tech
Discussion
poppopbangbang said:
Any requests on what bits you'd like to see/discuss next? I'm in work until the end of the week and we have two cars in component form at the moment so plenty to see. Uprights are always nice as they're a very intricate casting?
Whatever you have, the more the merrier. 
I'll do a quick one on clutches before getting into front suspension bits tomorrow evening. An F1 clutch is a pretty special thing! Up until 99/00 most clutches were 10 bolt push type which are relatively conventional looking things with the release bearing carried in the bell housing/gearbox. From 00 most teams went to 20 bolt pull type clutches which are a little more special as the cluthc, release bearing and actuation is carried on the engine usually in a three or four legged basket. This has several advantages not least that it makes maintenance and test of the clutch position LVDT much easier.
Both push and pull types are carbon three or four plate. Here's a freshly serviced one waiting to go back
This is a 10 bolt push type from a 98 car. They are getting rare now but luckily we have very good stocks and the chaps at AP are more than happy to keep us going with any spares they have.
The clutch comprises of a number of friction and drive plates stacked within a basket with a centre drive hub which engages with the input shaft of the gearbox. The basket itself bolts directly to the flywheel, well flywheel is a strong word for it as there isn't exactly a lot of weight there! Here's the flywheel with clutch basket studs from one during service:
Not exactly like a road car
Here's the clutch fitted ready for another few hundred KMs.
What is nice about carbon clutches is that once they're worn out of spec it's possible to reshim them back to operating spec easily. Manufacturers engrave or stamp a stack height to the basket when the clutch is first produced. This is the reference moving forward for calculating wear. On the top of the stack of friction and drive plates is a shim, this shim can be replaced with one of another thickness to bring the stack back into tolerance. The life of these tiny clutches is as a result pretty impressive, as long as they're not subjected to excess heat they'll go for a very long time needing a reshim back to spec every 500KM or so, which given they're moving 700bhp from engine to gearbox is nice (okay it's 700bhp at 15.5K RPM but even so )
Both push and pull types are carbon three or four plate. Here's a freshly serviced one waiting to go back
This is a 10 bolt push type from a 98 car. They are getting rare now but luckily we have very good stocks and the chaps at AP are more than happy to keep us going with any spares they have.
The clutch comprises of a number of friction and drive plates stacked within a basket with a centre drive hub which engages with the input shaft of the gearbox. The basket itself bolts directly to the flywheel, well flywheel is a strong word for it as there isn't exactly a lot of weight there! Here's the flywheel with clutch basket studs from one during service:
Not exactly like a road car
Here's the clutch fitted ready for another few hundred KMs.
What is nice about carbon clutches is that once they're worn out of spec it's possible to reshim them back to operating spec easily. Manufacturers engrave or stamp a stack height to the basket when the clutch is first produced. This is the reference moving forward for calculating wear. On the top of the stack of friction and drive plates is a shim, this shim can be replaced with one of another thickness to bring the stack back into tolerance. The life of these tiny clutches is as a result pretty impressive, as long as they're not subjected to excess heat they'll go for a very long time needing a reshim back to spec every 500KM or so, which given they're moving 700bhp from engine to gearbox is nice (okay it's 700bhp at 15.5K RPM but even so
)
joewilliams said:
Compare that photo with the cooling devices present in the modern pit lane 
It's got fan packs in the side pods for rad cooling but two big floor fans stop the exhausts glowing to buggery, which is appreciated if you're doing a static run for a fair few minutes and have your hands in and around them! nsa said:
Are most of these cars driven by the owners or do they hire pros? Presumably they need to be driven fast to keep the tyres/brakes warm, and this requires a minimum level of skill.
Owners drive them. You're not going to sink your hard earned into the most excellent toy one can own and then not play with it are you! ;-)The guys that own them range from 30 to 80 and all can put a respectable time in. We might tweak so setup to make them a bit more friendly but not by much. Generally the owners have done their time in other stuff before progressing to these and have a pretty impressive race CV. You don't need to be a superstar driver to drive one of these but you do need to understand and have some race craft.
What ECUs do the cars run? Are the electronic management systems replaced with something modern? I vaguely remember reading that the software for some Renault Turbo cars could only be run on laptops that were used in period. Seems implausible though.
Edited by nsa on Friday 20th December 08:34
nsa said:
What ECUs do the cars run? Are the electronic management systems replaced with something modern? I vaguely remember reading that the software for some Renault Turbo cars could only be run on laptops that were used in period. Seems implausible though.
We run the original F1 electronics, most of which is MM STEP. This means we also have a fine stable of vintage IT, DOS6.22 and NT3.51 are still common in our workshops! Edited by nsa on Friday 20th December 08:34
I notice you're based in Bedfordshire Poppopbangbang, cheeky request time... would it be possible to one day to come and have a quick look around at the cars you've got and see some of the technology and engineering?
I'm fascinated to see this kind of thing up close and also happen to be based in Beds but working in a completely different end of the auto industry!
I'm fascinated to see this kind of thing up close and also happen to be based in Beds but working in a completely different end of the auto industry!
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