Who here actually comprehends the "technical mechanics" of F1 cars?
I couldn't setup a car to save my life, much less comprehend the mechanics employed within F1 cars. However with a programming/systems/networking background; I can definitely relate to the computational technologies used "outside" of the car.
Who here actually comprehends the "technical mechanics" of F1 cars?
Quite a bit of F1 "technical mechanics" end up on the latest Ferrari's we service daily. Never in my life would I have imagined that the most important tool in the shop would be a laptop ! (and about sixty thousand bucks worth of Ferrari software)
The good news is that everything is adjustable, the bad news is that everything is adjustable !!!
I've been a car geek for 10+ years (I'm not 27) and I love working on cars and set ups.
I first got started into drag racing and then moved on to autocross which was a big leap for me. It really took me a whole year of autocrossing at least one or even sometimes twice a month to get what people meant by "set up". Plus surrounding yourself with other gear heads and learning for their experiences and issues really helps out. Overall things though first hand experience beats out all things because I feel everyone learns best when they can do it themselves then they can make mistakes and fix them.
I drove a road courses (Road America for June Sprints and one lap even at Milwaukee Mile) but thats it. I really want to get into road courses but it so friken expensive even with group fees.
The good news is that everything is adjustable, the bad news is that everything is adjustable !!!
I have a few friends that run Formula Vee, and when asked if they would ever want to run Formula Ford, Mazda, or Continental, they say; "Hell no, do you have any idea how adjustible those things are?"
After a number of years dabbling in short track stock cars, off road trucks and drag bikes (always as a mechanic, not a driver/rider)I was fortunate to spend two years in IMSA with Camel GTP cars (and won a few races, and was, IMO, the fastest tire changer in the series at the time, even if I do say so myself :-}); after that I had arguably the best job in motorsports: prepping and crewing for a couple of years for a great gentleman racer and even greater man who ran SCCA Nationals all over the country; I also drove the van/trailer to all the races. THAT was not work; it was pure fun.
Alas, working as race mechanic is a young man's game; these days these Speed forums, Formula One and ALMS/LeMans really stimulate my racing jones..........and, to answer your question, I 'comprehend', at least to some degree, the technical side of F1 and find it fascinating.
I've been a car geek for 10+ years (I'm not 27) and I love working on cars and set ups.
I first got started into drag racing and then moved on to autocross which was a big leap for me. It really took me a whole year of autocrossing at least one or even sometimes twice a month to get what people meant by "set up". Plus surrounding yourself with other gear heads and learning for their experiences and issues really helps out. Overall things though first hand experience beats out all things because I feel everyone learns best when they can do it themselves then they can make mistakes and fix them.
I drove a road courses (Road America for June Sprints and one lap even at Milwaukee Mile) but thats it. I really want to get into road courses but it so friken expensive even with group fees.
Try karting. Performance "feel" comparable at least to a Formula Atlantic level, and the yearly dues at my local club at least are $250, and the track is open 11 months a year 6 days a week. Of course, you have to learn to "set up" the karts, which provide a unique set of challenges.
I'm an aviation mechanic. So I understand allot about the cars in F1 or any racing setup. It's kind of scary how much i understand. I have been turning wrenches for over 20 years on anything that has a motor that can fly or role.
..........and, to answer your question, I 'comprehend', at least to some degree, the technical side of F1 and find it fascinating.
Ditto.
Methinks those that find F1 and ALMS boring 'aven't a bloody clue. I find that the majority of those that find NASCAR and GA wunnerful, because of the "show"; but, again, haven't a clue about the workings of a car, let alone a race car....
I am an engine machinist (ASE Master Certified) and usually have no problem understanding Steve. I am a little weaker on the chassis side of things admittedly. Most of what I do is normal street performance. I have been in the automotive field for 25 years or so in some form or other. When Steve mentioned lapping valves on Friday I had been doing just that in the afternoon.
I have a pretty firm grasp on the technical side of the sport. It is what really keeps me interested, along with all of the engineering solutions to "bend" the rules.
The basics of setting up a formula one car aren't really all that different from when Carrol Smith wrote about them in "Prepair To Win," 40 years ago. You still have to set the car up for camber, caster, toe-in/out, weight distribution, ride height, roll stiffness at each end, bump steer, spring rates and damper settings and so on.
The problem is, all that stuff has become much more delicate to set up, and the cars are more sensitive to changes. Worse still, anything you change will affect the whole rest of the set-up. Pat Bedard called it "the 200 mph Rubik's Cube."
This is where computers come in. They make it much easier to monitor all the factors involved in a car's handling. You can isolate each component and see how adjusting it changes the car in real time. This is faster and more accurate than sending the driver out for a few laps, then asking if he felt anything different. That's where "the laptop and $60,000 worth of Ferrari Software" come in handy. It's also why and how all those engineers earn their pay.
Finally, where allowed, computers can make on-the-fly adjustments to the car as it goes around the track. Heck of a change from the "two mechanics and a crew chief" system of 50 years ago, isn't it?
