As has been mentioned before in these articles, transmission losses are of great interest to race engineers, especially those in series where power outputs are closely matched. NASCAR is a case in point; at restrictor plate races such as the Daytona 500, a few hp can mean the difference between running at the front or the back of the pack. With engine development increasingly stymied, other avenues of investigation are needed to gain a competitive advantage. Parasitic losses, particularly...
While there is always something new going on with piston design, we tend to see less obvious development with piston rings. Visually it is pretty obvious with a piston that someone has a new concept or idea, and we can see from looking at new pistons at various trade shows that fresh design concepts appear that take advantage of new materials or different manufacturing methods. Piston ring development is very much more incremental though – evolution rather than revolution. The...
There are a wide range of applications of surface treatments for race engines and transmissions, and an even wider range of surface treatments and coatings competing for our business. One surface treatment process that continues to find use in both engines and transmissions, having been popular for several decades, is phosphating. Some of the basic applications of this family of surface treatment processes were covered in a previous article on phosphating. There is however some debate as...
On many racecars in series such as Formula One and Sportscar racing a large number of sensors, normally strain gauges, are used to assess the loads exerted on individual components within the driveline and suspension. This provides data for calculating the life of parts and later for rig testing and simulation programs. The data generated by these sensors can then be transmitted over a live telemetry link, allowing trackside engineers to monitor components in real time, allowing for the...
Drag cars such as those found in Top Fuel and Funny Car classes produce such prodigious torque that traditional gearbox-based transmission systems would be instantly torn apart on launch. These cars therefore rely on a complex multi-plate clutch system to transfer power progressively from the engine to the rear wheels. At first glance, the clutch system on a Top Fuel car does not look all that different from any other multi-plate racing clutch, except that it is considerably larger and is...