The F1 Technical Developments Thread

Could someone explain to me how F1 gearboxes manage to "seamlessly shift"? I remember watching a video where Ross Brawn talks about having 2 gears run engaged at the same time before one disengages. How the heck is that even possible? And what is keeping this technology from being implemented into road cars? i.e. Why is it so expensive?

see "how it works"
http://www.zeroshift.com/pdf/RcarN6V15_Zeroshift.pdf
 
AFAIK F1 boxes are not allowed to be seamless, but very nearly so. There is a fine margin the FIA controls.

Not double clutch though either , so god know what goes on in there.
 
They're seamless sequential. Some have the zeroshift tech but they have to add in a "delay" in the software such that the shifts aren't completely seamless. F1 trans only have 1 clutch due to the ban on CVT-like transmissions (dual-clutch transmissions fall in that category).

For the teams that don't use the zeroshift tech, they use a very well crafted system of hydraulics, electronics, and software that none of us will probably ever figure out, as each team has their own proprietary method.

Transmissions are very tricky animals.
 
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CVTs are the true seamless, aren't they? Cos they have a theoretical infinite number of gear ratios.
 
CVTs are the true seamless, aren't they? Cos they have a theoretical infinite number of gear ratios.

In theory, yes. It would be interesting to see what an F1 CVT would look like.
 
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Wow, that is quite neat. Thanks.
 


Thank god that the edges got eroded with time, if he'd still look like that, he could kill someone by bumping faces.
 
Yeah I remember that video... It's such advantage the banned before williams could use it in the 1993 season. It would be very smooth and very fast.
 
Yeah I remember that video... It's such advantage the banned before williams could use it in the 1993 season. It would be very smooth and very fast.

I do wonder how much of the decision had to do to with the sound of it as well. That constant drone from 20 cars for 90 minutes would be very annoying.
 
For what? For them being banned? There's an official explanation...

"CVTs were banned from Formula 1 in 1994 due to concerns that the best-funded teams would dominate if they managed to create a viable F1 CVT transmission."
Article
 
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Soooo...no real explanation then? :rolleyes:

Cellos88GT said:
For the teams that don't use the zeroshift tech, they use a very well crafted system of hydraulics, electronics, and software that none of us will probably ever figure out, as each team has their own proprietary method.

No team is going to share their method of shifting. Therefore it's almost impossible to say what is going on.
 
Well shit, so there's not even a theory on how F1 gearboxes shift that fast?

Do you know how a sequential transmission works?

As for the theory on how they can "engage" two gears at the same time is hard to say. Who knows how the clutch is being engaged, how the the piston mechanism on the selector fork for the transmission is being manipulated, and what the engine is doing during a particular shift (timing, throttle, etc.). It's just really difficult to say without any first hand knowledge.
 
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Ok since my gearbox question was kinda moot, here's another technical question.

What differentiates F1 engines from everyday road engines? Besides the fact that they cost a buttload more money and require 50 people to start, what characteristics allow F1 engines to rev so high so quickly and produce so much HP from seemingly nothing?
 
What differentiates F1 engines from everyday road engines?
Short answer: Revs... Then very low weight and a high compression ratio (for an NA-engine)...

An F1 engine revs to 18000 rpm, this is made possible by very small and light internals (faster response) and pneumatic valve actuation, as a regular valve spring can't react fast enough. Also, F1 engines do not have to last very long, thay only need to be able to do two race weekends. Though earlier they ran dedicated engines for qualifying and a new engine for each race.
 
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