Does F1 technology benefit us?

Sure, that new paddle shift on your Ferrari F360 is an example of F1 technology for the street, but what about the rest of us?

Racerchicks.com technical advisor and racing expert Robert gives us his run down on how Formula One Racing technology has made it's mark in our everyday cars:

Let’s take a look at a few areas of street technology that has benefited by, if not been created by F1:

 Antilock braking
Back in the heady days of electronic everything in F1, antilock systems got a real workout at 10/10’s on the track. Purists always felt it interfered with the real nature of racing, letting the driver just stand on the brakes, without concern for skid or direction. So, just as these electronic systems disappeared in F1, they became commercially popular in our family Blatburg.

Systems for antilock actually had their start in aircraft, where the need for fast, controlled deceleration was paramount. Ever see a salt truck out on the old runway, giving one a good dose? Well, I sure hope not, because salt is very corrosive to the aluminum alloys used in aircraft manufacture. And of course, when you have a 100 million dollar airplane, you can afford to spend a lot to help keep it in one piece. Back then, the electronics were larger than a breadbox, and cost more than, well, a decent car,. Like so many things today, you can thank the rapid evolution of the microprocessor for making it possible to have that technology today in the old Blatburg.

While I don’t want to get into a technical discussion of antilock, suffice to say the each wheel has a sensor that counts the revolutions, and they are connected to a computer that analyzes the motion of each wheel, relative to one another. When you step on the brake it looks for a wheel to stop turning, or turn slower, which means it is sliding, or skidding. So, a neat little valve in the brake line pulses the individual brake very quickly to correct the problem.

 Traction Control
Anybody who lives in a climate where you get ice and snow knows having traction control on the ol’ BMW might be the difference between getting up Aunt Thelma’s hill, or leaving her without toilet paper for another week.

While F1 doesn’t race in ice and snow conditions, (well, with the near exception of Silverstone last year), traction control was another very useful technology for laying down eight hundred to a thousand horsepower through a couple of wheels. Drivers could just hold down the accelerator pedal, and let the electronics do their job and hence, could concentrate on other parts of their driving.

Big surprise, it happens to use some of the same sensors that the antilock system does. And another surprise, the brakes can actually be useful in forcing the differential to transfer power from a slipping wheel to one with traction. Now, like most good things, it isn’t quite so simple as just putting the brake on. And it happens to need another critical part that just happens to be our next topic of conversation.

Fuel Injection
The term fuel injection has been around for a long time, even longer than I have, though it has taken many forms over the years. First, mechanical systems metered the fuel out to each cylinder timed to coincide with the intake stroke of the engine. And again, the aircraft industry needed the efficiency of a system that worked well no matter what orientation the airplane might be in. Some out there might remember downdraft Weber carbs on pictures of F1 cars, and long for the great sounds, but fuel injection became standard equipment when teams realized they could get better, smoother power delivery with more precise fuel control.

Electronic fuel injection made an appearance first on passenger cars with the advent of clean air regulations, in an effort to keep reasonable driveability with emission reductions. Now, for those of us who drive normal cars, it is generally best to keep them in one orientation, wheels down, except for stunt shows. (Nika – hint!!!).

Modern F1 systems in the early 90’s used the fuel injection for another purpose, that’s right, traction control. They found they could combine the injection and ignition systems in a powerful computer that could precisely control the power output of the engine by selectively shutting off cylinders. When you combine it with traction control mentioned earlier, it was so effective, it was banned by F1 for again substituting technology for driving skill.

Today, it is ironic that because of technology, F1 has agreed to reinstate traction control as they realize their inability to prove whether or not a team is using it. So, better to just let it be legal than waste time checking thousands of line of software in engine management systems.

So, the big question, how much has advanced technology in F1 helped our cars? In a word, a bunch. F1 is the only virtually unlimited technology game in motor racing today, and this forces manufacturers to experiment with new solutions, even at great cost. Now it may take time for those solutions to filter down to the rest of us, but you can see the impact in not only the topics we have discussed today, but active suspension systems, tire and wheel technology, and new lightweight composite materials to name a few.

Heck, in a few years I look forward to my 800 horsepower, 17,000 rpm, paddle shifting Blatburg that will run for a couple hundred thousand miles, and so can you.

Racerchicks wants to extend a big thank you to Robert for his support.  For a historical view - check out our Cars of The Future Series PART 7 Racing (1971) for what was expected in the future...meaning now!