Posts
Formula One cars use semi-automatic sequential gearboxes with six or seven forward gears and one reverse gear. The driver initiates gear changes using paddles mounted on the back of the steering wheel and electro-hydraulics perform the actual change as well as throttle control. Clutch control is also performed electro-hydraulically except from and to a standstill when the driver must operate the clutch using a lever mounted on the back of the steering wheel. By regulation the cars use rear wheel drive. A modern F1 clutch is a multi-plate carbon design with a diameter of less than four inches (100 mm), weighing less than 2.20 lb (1.00 kg)and handling 900 hp (670 kW) or so. Continuously variable transmissions have long been banned, thus creating contention in the introduction of the new seamless shift gearbox, a type of dual-clutch transmission which nearly eliminates the brief power interruption during a gear change. The ultimate advantage of this is said to be from five to ten seconds over a complete race distance, which is a significant gain when races are sometimes only won by three seconds or less. As of the 2007 race season, most of the top teams are using seamless shift transmissions. Shift times are around .05 seconds for the 2007 season. As of 2008 race season, all gearboxes must endure for four consecutive events, although gear ratios can be changed for each race. Changing a gearbox before the allowed time will cause a five places drop on the starting grid.
No comments:
Post a Comment