F1 car with no design limits.
Discussion
Whilst at work tonight (bored) I was thinking,
If an F1 car was to be designed and manufactured with no design constraints, how fast could it go? and what would it look like?
Or would it just be so fast that the limit of grip could never be reached due to to the amount of G Force humans can take?
If an F1 car was to be designed and manufactured with no design constraints, how fast could it go? and what would it look like?
Or would it just be so fast that the limit of grip could never be reached due to to the amount of G Force humans can take?
Edited by Lord Snot on Friday 7th November 23:03
The one on here probably - http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
FourWheelDrift said:
The one on here probably - http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Oops.. did not think this had been posted before!Thanks for the link though.
Gordon Murray reckoned he had a revised BT46B in the pipeline which would've broken the drivers' necks...
The nearest precedent we have is the Group 7 era, which in de-restricted form lasted until 1973. The Porsche 917/30 was so fast that 1,200bhp was a conservative qualifying thrust. I would imagine that the huge surface area of a closed-top prototype would give maximum downforce, when combined with ground effect. A free formula would easily produce a car so ferociously rapid that humans couldn't realistically pilot them without G-suits.
I suspect the Ferari F2004 will remain the absolute fastest race car we will see for some time, at least around a road circuit. It is the benchmark, according to the Pomeroy Index.
The nearest precedent we have is the Group 7 era, which in de-restricted form lasted until 1973. The Porsche 917/30 was so fast that 1,200bhp was a conservative qualifying thrust. I would imagine that the huge surface area of a closed-top prototype would give maximum downforce, when combined with ground effect. A free formula would easily produce a car so ferociously rapid that humans couldn't realistically pilot them without G-suits.
I suspect the Ferari F2004 will remain the absolute fastest race car we will see for some time, at least around a road circuit. It is the benchmark, according to the Pomeroy Index.
chevronb37 said:
Gordon Murray reckoned he had a revised BT46B in the pipeline which would've broken the drivers' necks...
The nearest precedent we have is the Group 7 era, which in de-restricted form lasted until 1973. The Porsche 917/30 was so fast that 1,200bhp was a conservative qualifying thrust. I would imagine that the huge surface area of a closed-top prototype would give maximum downforce, when combined with ground effect. A free formula would easily produce a car so ferociously rapid that humans couldn't realistically pilot them without G-suits.
But G-suits only work in the 'Z' plane (i.e. up/down) where they restrict the flow of blood away from the brain and towards the heart. Lateral G ('Y' plane) problems are not blood-flow related, they are force related (brain squashed against the side of the skull, stress on neck (especially when trying to twist head with lateral G applied). Lateral G is very difficult to protect against, at least if the driver must be able to move.The nearest precedent we have is the Group 7 era, which in de-restricted form lasted until 1973. The Porsche 917/30 was so fast that 1,200bhp was a conservative qualifying thrust. I would imagine that the huge surface area of a closed-top prototype would give maximum downforce, when combined with ground effect. A free formula would easily produce a car so ferociously rapid that humans couldn't realistically pilot them without G-suits.
The limitations on wings and tyres to reduce performance are quite effective at protecting the driver from excessive lateral forces during cornering and longitudinal forces during braking. Without these limitations, and with a truly 'free' design, drivers would spend a lot of time recovering from a race and may even be unable to complete a season.
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