Racing Car Technology

[mikael]

The following video popped up in my "LinkedIn" feed. Perhaps some of you may find it of interest.
With best wishes,
Mikael

[Deleted]

When cars were designed on napkins at lunch. Brabham BT24.

[Deleted]

An often unnoticed mod can help racing. The two scoops beside the nose, fed tubes going to the helmet and driving suit at the Brazilian GP in 1978 at Rio. Emmo on the F5A coming second behind Reutemann.

[Deleted]

Merzario in his last ever race on a Ferrari, the 312 B3, at the Glen in 1973. He lost his rear wing, causing oversteer, so he pitted to have the front wing removed to balance out the car. When aero was still relatively simple - and misunderstood.

[Deleted]

You can never have too much downforce. However that will be slow on the straight. Most likely it's Monte Carlo, so it matters less, much less. Still... ugly.

[Deleted]

Look how small - and open - is the chassis section in the cockpit area between the dashboard and tank bulkheads. Can someone explain me how this chassis achieved high torsional stiffness?

[Deleted]

Don't want to overburden the rally thread with this issue.

Lola T332, one of my favourite cars. Not much ahead of the feet. In case of frontal impact, the whole monocoque will likely, globally, buckle, the result of the various panels (lateral, the bottom one) buckling in their own planes. Legs will be trapped, chassis will need cutting. Jabouille in Canada or Laffite at Brands Hatch; Ronnie too.

I did my dissertation on composite chassis design, and indeed was very much taken by the relatively new technology. The chassis I designed for the computer simulation was uncannily - well, purposefully, really  - similar to the McLaren's above.

But I am still hugely fascinated by the craftmanship displayed in aluminium monocoques, absolutely love them. This T332 is a clear example of such craftmanship, still relatively simple - no curved panels - but quite sophisticated and looking solid.

EDIT: To add that in front of the chassis there is no deformable structure, only the usual - for the Seventies - flimsy frame to support the nose cone. The McLaren chassis above has a box structure, by the look of it in metal alloy, which I suppose (can't recall) became mandatory at a certain point.

[Jamie]

I completely agree regarding aluminium tubs Lucio, the good ones really are a work of art and just epitomise the term ‘engineered’ for me.

My appreciation really took hold when I used to study the Tiga and Spice group C2 monocoque’s at chamberlain engineering as a kid.

[Deleted]

Absolutely, Jamie. I used to pore over the photos of the chassis details published on Autosprint for hours on end. I distinctly recall the Tigas sports cars, the British correspondent, David Hodges, very good journalist, reporting weekly on what went on the UK scene.

Will add more later, today the sh*t hit the fan here... 

[Jamie]

Oh dear that doesn’t sound good 😨

Looking forward to more on this thread, nothing I like more than racing car technology....

[robmarsh]

Oct 16, 2018 13:51:39 GMT @lucio said:

Look how small - and open - is the chassis section in the cockpit area between the dashboard and tank bulkheads. Can someone explain me how this chassis achieved high torsional stiffness?

You will have to read the book on John Barnard. It explains it all there. This was much stiffer than the aluminium chassis of the time which had the same design. Check out the Ferrari T4 with its clothes off.

[robmarsh]

I loved the aluminium chassis but then I also loved the carbon fibre ones. In fact I loved all the Formula one cars up until 1995 and then they started the high nose cr*p, the stupid grooved tyres, the narrow suspension and all the aero tweaks and my interest in the cars waned a bit. Dont get me wrong an F1 car still stops me in my tracks though.

[Deleted]

Oct 17, 2018 6:57:17 GMT robmarsh said:

You will have to read the book on John Barnard. It explains it all there. This was much stiffer than the aluminium chassis of the time which had the same design. Check out the Ferrari T4 with its clothes off.

I was going to give away the arcane….

[Deleted]

This is what happens after a relatively minor frontal crash. It is the chassis of Jarier’s DN1, crashed at the start of the Argentina GP in 1974, his debut for the Shadow team, running into his teammate Revson (on the new DN3), involved in a coming together with Regazzoni, who was caught sleeping at the start in the front row. Bottom panel and those of the left pontoon buckled. I would say difficult to straight that up, it would always want to go leftward, perhaps good for an oval.    The chassis in the circumstance worked exactly like a column, buckling under impact “from the top”.

[Deleted]

This is Godasse de plomb on the DN3. Note the slight evolution of the chassis while retaining the basic concept of the two lateral pontoons, two tapered box girders (like an aircraft wing), resisting both to bending and torsion. The fuel tanks are located around the cockpit area, as close as possible to the car centroid of gravity, in order to limit and ideally negate the longitudinal shift of its location as the tanks become empty during the race, not to change the roadholding quality of the car in the process. The chassis works just like a bridge spanning between the two axles, part of the span is provided by the engine, as it is a fully stressed member, therefore required to withstand bending and torsion too.

Note also how similar the Shadows chassis are to the Lola T332 in concept and manufacture. Not surprising if you think where Southgate did his apprenticeship.