Racing Car Technology

[robmarsh]

René the video of the Brabham biplane Scaletrix car going around the track were excellent. I see that part of the track had copper rails. Is that what Charles meant when he referred to MDF? I was thinking that that would be an excellent way of making a track because one could get the cars in both lanes to follow the racing line and therefore would reduce the difference in track distance between inside and outside lanes, possibly to the extent of doing away with cross overs. It would also mean that overtaking would have to be done "under braking" or on acceleration down the next straight. One could even have two lines into the slower corners. Great fun.

[René]

Rob, MDF (medium-density fibreboard: a type of board made from very small pieces of wood that have been pressed and stuck together, used for making furniture) is the wood used to make the track. It's a light and easy to work with material. I have used it to make my own track. You can cut or mill the slots, then paint it with wall paint and use self-adhesive copper tape for the rails. If you use a big enough roll of tape you can lay the rails in one go so you only have one interruption in the electricity flow. This in contrast to plastic sets where you have many 'weak' spots with all these separate track parts connected. The conductivity is therefore much better.

And the second big plus with an MDF track is that you are free to create any shape/corner/curve you want. I made my own track exactly as you said, with the cars following the ideal line. Looks much better.

Here are a few shots of my track where you can clearly see this principle.

[charleselan]

René your slot track is a masterpiece and the photos you have taken of it are equally superb, I think the last two in particular are truly excellent. The one with Jacky Ickx in the Pre-Wing Ferrari 312B leading is especially brilliant, the whole scenic thing is just magnificent.

I would never have thought the term light with regard to MDF was clear however, a good sheet of 10mm isn't something that is manoeuvred with ease . A great material for many applications, but deadly stuff without the knowledge of what can occur if the correct protective equipment isn't used. The dust particles are a serious health hazard.

[robmarsh]

Wonderful set up René. I think I am going to have to pay you a visit one day to have a go.

[René]

Thanks guys!

@ JC : You're right of course. A large sheet of MDF is not light but I made the track from mostly waste material I had lying around. Relatively small pieces so in my mind quite light. Working with MDF is nice but you need to wear a good dust mask for sure when cutting and sanding.

@ Rob: You're more than welcome!

[chrisb]

Rene, that is just breathtaking, wow, words are failing me,

[Carl]

A well done short film about the 1967 German Grand Prix, showcasing wonderful cars and drivers.

                                    

Attachment Deleted

Jackie Oliver coming in for a one-point landing

[chrisb]

On you-tub there are some marvelous clips of both the 1965 and 1967 German GP - really great up close and personal shots that last for over 20 minutes, brilliant!!

[mikael]

Rather coincidentally I came across the short video below, apparently from a demo-run held in Milan last summer. One commenter on the original Youtube post writes, "F1 on a go kart track, can't really blame him [Vettel]." I tend to agree, and think the video indicates that the present cars really are too long (as we have discussed many times here). I'm rather certain that a typical road-going sports car can negotiate that corner without any problem; and it probably took the organizers of the particular event (as well as Vettel!) by surprise that the modern F1 car couldn't.

But it ought to (be short enough to) be able to go through such as corner!

[mikael]

Racing Motorcycle Technology

Do you remember Honda's oval piston engine of 1979?

I remember reading about it at that time, I believe it was in the German magazine "Das Motorrad", at the local library, where they subscribed to a good number of magazines. I remember it fascinated me immensely. Unfortunately it was a failure, and the idea was eventually "shelved". (But before that, the idea did actually find its way into a commercial, road-going motorcycle.)

Here's a very readable account of the origin of the idea and the following developments:

global.honda/heritage/episodes/1979pistonengine.html


Photo from Wikipedia

[chrisb]

what a brilliant photo, i love technology like this

[charleselan]

Mikael,

I very much remember the Honda V4 four stroke 500cc Grand prix motorcycle. It was Honda's attempt at trying to beat the two stroke Yamaha and Suzuki machines that were then dominating the big class. As you mention it was unsuccessful and dramatically so unfortunately. I was at the British GP when Mick Grant on one of the bikes had it burst into flames under him.

Soon afterwards Honda realised that a four stroke could not be made competitive with the two strokes and decided to produce a stroker themselves with the brilliant three cylinder bike that Freddie Spencer rode, followed then by a four cylinder machine.

The photo you have posted is superb and I had not seen a picture of the internal workings of the machine before and had no idea that the oval pistons were so shaped, plus each piston has two con rods. A masterpiece in engineering however.

[chrisb]

Having ridden the Honda V4 VFR 1200 once I can testify as to what an incredible engine that was, I found it quicker than a fireblade and in fact overtook him, [sorry about that- but I did enjoy it] and have always marvelled and been torn between the V4 and the Triumph triple, Triumph winning out in my affections, but that V4 is just brilliant. But what I really like about Honda is demonstarted in that photo Mikael, and I just so respect their innovations and technical brilliance.

[mikael]

The "old" racing-style tachometers ("rev-counters") with "'chronometric movement'" have always been a point of fascination for me. The more limited amount of information they conveyed - in comparison with a standard tachometer - was, apparently, in line(*) with the modern approach of just a row of LED-lights on the steering wheel: the driver doesn't need to know the exact, real-time RPM, but he needs to know that he's in the right RPM-range (where the engine has its max-HP) - and that he doesn't "over-rev" the engine.

(*) Of course, it's rather the other way around; that the new system is in line with the old one.

P.S. They're really "going for it" in those costly, irreplaceable collector's item-cars.

Wonderful to see a classic racing car being "thrown" through the famous "Corkscrew" like that!

Source:

[Carl]

Dec 6, 2019 10:13:47 GMT mikael said:

The "old" racing-style tachometers ("rev-counters") with "'chronometric movement'" have always been a point of fascination for me. The more limited amount of information they conveyed - in comparison with a standard tachometer - was, apparently, in line(*) with the modern approach of just a row of LED-lights on the steering wheel: the driver doesn't need to know the exact, real-time RPM, but he needs to know that he's in the right RPM-range (where the engine has its max-HP) - and that he doesn't "over-rev" the engine.

(*) Of course, it's rather the other way around; that the new system is in line with the old one.

P.S. They're really "going for it" in those costly, irreplaceable collector's item-cars.

Wonderful to see a classic racing car being "thrown" through the famous "Corkscrew" like that!

Source:

Mikael,

             Great film and commentary by Brian Redman!  Like you, I am fascinated with analog tachometers and have never liked the modern row of lights.  Although I understand the system more easily informs the driver of when to shift, it functions like a video game feature on the dashboard and detracts from the essential challenge in the same way bypassing the coordination of hand and foot when changing gear does.

Cheers, Carl