Interesting Race Facts

[newsvx]

Someone sent me the following - not certain of the total accuracy, but they are interesting!!

- All Indy Cars racing in 2007 will run on 100% fuel grade ethanol (corn
squeezings is good!).

- The down force produced by Indy cars and Formula 1 cars is so great that
at 220 MPH the cars could run UPSIDE DOWN on a road surface as long as speed
was maintained.

- Formula 1 engines in 2007 will rev to a staggering 21,000 RPM, but
displace less than 3 liters producing 650 HP.

- Each of the 8 pistons in the Honda supplied engines for the Indy Racing
League travels almost a full mile up and down every minute.

- Formula 1 cars accelerate 0-100 MPH in less than 3 seconds. That's 5
seconds quicker than it takes a production Porsche 911 turbo

- Top Fuel Dragsters accelerate 0-100 MPH in less than .8 of a second.

- At 220 MPH Indy, CART, and Formula 1 cars are traveling the length of a
football field EVERY SECOND.

- Top Fuel dragsters can exceed 280 mph in just 660 feet.

- Top Fuel Dragsters use nitro-methane for fuel. It is so volatile that if
you drop it on the ground, it explodes and evaporates instantly.

- Top Fuel Dragster Engines spin so fast over the 1/4 mile run that the fuel
is the only thing that cools the pistons to the point where they do not
seize to the cylinder walls.

- Top Fuel dragsters launch at approximately 9G. An F-18 leaving an aircraft
carrier launches at 7G.

- After only 12 laps, the Bridgestone and Michelin tires, used on Formula 1
cars, surface approaches the temperature of boiling water (212 Degrees)

- Tires at the Indy 500 go through an average of 60,000 revolutions between
fuel stops.

- The brakes on the Ferrari Formula 1 car are so effective that the driver
is subjected to over 5G under full braking.

- CART, Indy, and Formula 1 cars regularly pull 5G or more while cornering.

- 1 Cylinder in a Top Fuel Dragster produces 750 HP. For comparison, it
takes a NASCAR engine 8 cylinders to produce 750 HP.

Harry

[SubaruKidSVX]

Oh I love how uber intense the F1 stuff is....

[Crazy_pilot]

Originally Posted by newsvx

- The down force produced by Indy cars and Formula 1 cars is so great that
at 220 MPH the cars could run UPSIDE DOWN on a road surface as long as speed was maintained.

I think it's a lower speed than that. The Saleen S7 can be driven upside down at only 160 MPH, and it weighs considerably more than an open wheel race car. This is direct info from Saleen.

But otherwise, ya, those cars are nuts.

F1 is killing itself though.

[Trevor]

If this were all true, the car would have to be designed such that the suspension could operate at speed, carrying twice the weight as when static.

[LetItSnow]

How much of the downforce is cancelled by lift?

[It's Just Eric]

From what I understand, the downforce is equal to almost 4 times the weight of the car itself

Now..if they designed indy car tracks with a straightaway at corkscrewed, and there were flaming loops, pungee pits, and bleachers underneath.....Then there'd be no way in hell of the sport dying

[Trevor]

Originally Posted by LetItSnow

How much of the downforce is cancelled by lift?

A valid thought, which I did think about. However this factor would apply equally in an inverted position. It would appear that journalistic license is the important ingredient.

[Crazy_pilot]

I believe the number they're basing that idea on is the speed at which the cars downforce becomes greater than the weight of the car itself, thus in theory it could be driven upside down, with sufficient lift (downforce acting upward) to negate gravity and keep the car up.

[LetItSnow]

My question was really directed toward Trevor's statement. It's an important observation - how in the world do you tune a suspension that's supposed to carry such a range of actual and virtual load? In any given speed, you're sitting on something like the weight of the car plus the downforce produced minus the lift that occurs.

Let's get a pair of any given street car, stack 'em up, and see if the bottom one hits the suspension's bump stops?

Crazy, there's no doubt that the aforementioned journalistic license is what brings this amusing idea. "Neato math" is fun, but I don't think most folks are so concerned about the way oil flows in inverted engines!

[dcarrb]

Originally Posted by newsvx

Formula 1 engines in 2007 will rev to a staggering 21,000 RPM...

Surely this can't be accurate... can it?

dcb

[ensteele]

I find that it is difficult to believe.

[ItsPeteReally]

Originally Posted by ensteele

I find that it is difficult to believe.

Well, they were revving to about 20,000 rpm. in 2006, but this year, according to the FIA regulations section 5.

5.1.3 Crankshaft rotational speed must not exceed 19,000rpm.

So it's distinctly possible that some engines might otherwise have been spinning that fast, or even faster, this year. The ultimate limit to the revs is the speed of sound, which governs how many air molecules can go down the inlet tracts and get into the cylinders whilst the valves are open.

[Crazy_pilot]

Originally Posted by LetItSnow

My question was really directed toward Trevor's statement. It's an important observation - how in the world do you tune a suspension that's supposed to carry such a range of actual and virtual load? In any given speed, you're sitting on something like the weight of the car plus the downforce produced minus the lift that occurs.

Let's get a pair of any given street car, stack 'em up, and see if the bottom one hits the suspension's bump stops?

Crazy, there's no doubt that the aforementioned journalistic license is what brings this amusing idea. "Neato math" is fun, but I don't think most folks are so concerned about the way oil flows in inverted engines!

Dual rate springs are probably the best answer. The spring is built with a much higher spring rate in it's top half. Any bumps are absorbed by the "soft" lower coils, and once the downforce is in full action those lower coils are compressed until they match the higher rate upper coils.

Of course, the total suspension travel is all of an inch or so, so you might as well just mount your wheels on some poly bushings and straight to the frame

As for inverted engines...It's true, MOST people aren't so concerned. *Thinks back to -3G inverted pushover in a Pitts Special*

[Crazy_pilot]

Originally Posted by ensteele

I find that it is difficult to believe.

My R/C plane's engine peaks at 18,000 RPM

For all of 1.3 HP.

YAY 0.46 cubic inches of nitro-methane power!!!

[Royal Tiger]

Originally Posted by newsvx

- Formula 1 cars accelerate 0-100 MPH in less than 3 seconds. That's 5
seconds quicker than it takes a production Porsche 911 turbo


Harry

Formula 1 is insane and I love to watch, even though there is no passing. Putting the above incontext, the 2007 911 Turbo (997) does 0-100 in 8.3 seconds and the 1/4 in 11.6 seconds at over 188mph. With a 6 cd changer, leather interior, 12 speakers, air conditioning, moon roof, etc... The Germans rock.