4 ms·

you will never be as fast or flexible as an F1 car F1 race cars are literally the least flexible cars available. They are designed for exactly one type of rac

by dagw 5y ago

you will never be as fast or flexible as an F1 car F1 race cars are literally the least flexible cars available. They are designed for exactly one type of racing and there is hardly anything you are allowed to configure the way you want. There are cars with higher top speeds than F1 cars, and cars that accelerate faster. A $2k second hand Honda Civic will beat the crap out of an F1 car around a gravel track. F1 cars aren't even the fastest design for racing on F1 race tracks. F1 cars are only good for one thing, and that is winning F1 races.

f00zz 5y ago
> F1 cars aren't even the fastest design for racing on F1 race tracks. I found this a bit confusing. Why is that, do F1 races have a speed limit? I openly admit my ignorance about F1.
- windthrown 5y ago
  There isn't a speed limit but by placing strict limitations on the engine design, they indirectly limit the speed of the cars.
- skytreader 5y ago
  I'll defer to someone better informed than me but I understood that as a reference to the rules and regulations around F1 cars. The "Formula" in "Formula 1" means there are certain constraints (i.e., the formula) to how you can design your car. Very quick illustration, check out the buzz on the new F1 car spec for next year. It is already touted to be faster than this year's cars mostly because of aero changes. Even easier illustration: the current (and I assume all future) spec has this halo whose sole purpose is to protect the driver. It's a ~7kg frame that's basically dead weight to the car. You can remove that and instantly gain maybe a few seconds of laptime at the expense of safety (I am in favor of the halo's presence, btw.). The spec aside, the rules and regulations also try to enforce a competitive line-up so they regulate budget and, next year, wind tunnel testing time. So in theory if teams had carte blanche for car R&D we can have faster cars. But they won't be F1-compliant so they lose by default.
- AtNightWeCode 5y ago
  There are a lot of rules to reduce cost, assure safety and to make it more competitive. You can not for instance have moving parts. If you could the top speed would increase a lot.
- rodgerd 5y ago
  > Why is that, do F1 races have a speed limit? F1 cars are mostly optimised for massive aerodynamic downforce and lightness, which allows for unholy levels of braking, acceleration, and cornering speeds, but eventually the downforce hobbles top speed. The LMP (Le Mans) formula of a couple of years ago has heavier cars with higher peak outputs, but lower downforce. They're slower around an F1 style track because their cornering and acceleration suffers due to the extra weight, but they have a higher top speed if they're on a long straight.
rurban 5y ago
Having worked in F1 that's entirely wrong. A Honda Civic will not even beat a F1 car in the first gear, which goes up to 180km/h. With an unlimited engine of ~24k rpm and a chassis which sucks around each curve nothing can be compared to a F1. If there are curves. On a straight track there are faster cars for about 4 seconds, but then the F1 overtakes. Our usual estimate was that everything in a F1 car was about 1000x better than in other cars. Gearbox? Engine? Chassis? ECU, TCU, tires, you name it
- SeanLuke 5y ago
  You're really claiming that an F1 will beat a Civic on a gravel track? Or perhaps you misread? How about in the snow? How about a road with random 2-inch-high debris? How about a road with lanes of uneven pavement? And how's that air conditioning in the F1? Great for transporting kids too. The F1 is designed to do exactly one thing exceptionally well, at the expense of practically everything else. It is the opposite of flexible.
  - h2odragon 5y ago
    Gimme an F1 chassis and i'll put tractor tires on it for the snow. I'd be delighted to give it a try. I'm sure my mechanic buddy would help for the giggles too.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- dagw 5y ago
  Our usual estimate was that everything in a F1 car was about 1000x better than in other cars. And none of that will matter after the first time you drive over a 6 inch rock
- ReleaseCandidat 5y ago
  > Our usual estimate was that everything in a F1 car was about 1000x better than in other cars. Well, I can't say that I like cars or enjoy driving them, but the biggest advantage of a car compared to a bike is its roof - at least, when it rains.

by dagw 5y ago

f00zz 5y ago

> F1 cars aren't even the fastest design for racing on F1 race tracks. I found this a bit confusing. Why is that, do F1 races have a speed limit? I openly admit my ignorance about F1.

windthrown 5y ago
There isn't a speed limit but by placing strict limitations on the engine design, they indirectly limit the speed of the cars.
skytreader 5y ago
I'll defer to someone better informed than me but I understood that as a reference to the rules and regulations around F1 cars. The "Formula" in "Formula 1" means there are certain constraints (i.e., the formula) to how you can design your car. Very quick illustration, check out the buzz on the new F1 car spec for next year. It is already touted to be faster than this year's cars mostly because of aero changes. Even easier illustration: the current (and I assume all future) spec has this halo whose sole purpose is to protect the driver. It's a ~7kg frame that's basically dead weight to the car. You can remove that and instantly gain maybe a few seconds of laptime at the expense of safety (I am in favor of the halo's presence, btw.). The spec aside, the rules and regulations also try to enforce a competitive line-up so they regulate budget and, next year, wind tunnel testing time. So in theory if teams had carte blanche for car R&D we can have faster cars. But they won't be F1-compliant so they lose by default.
AtNightWeCode 5y ago
There are a lot of rules to reduce cost, assure safety and to make it more competitive. You can not for instance have moving parts. If you could the top speed would increase a lot.
rodgerd 5y ago
> Why is that, do F1 races have a speed limit? F1 cars are mostly optimised for massive aerodynamic downforce and lightness, which allows for unholy levels of braking, acceleration, and cornering speeds, but eventually the downforce hobbles top speed. The LMP (Le Mans) formula of a couple of years ago has heavier cars with higher peak outputs, but lower downforce. They're slower around an F1 style track because their cornering and acceleration suffers due to the extra weight, but they have a higher top speed if they're on a long straight.

rurban 5y ago

Having worked in F1 that's entirely wrong. A Honda Civic will not even beat a F1 car in the first gear, which goes up to 180km/h. With an unlimited engine of ~24k rpm and a chassis which sucks around each curve nothing can be compared to a F1. If there are curves. On a straight track there are faster cars for about 4 seconds, but then the F1 overtakes. Our usual estimate was that everything in a F1 car was about 1000x better than in other cars. Gearbox? Engine? Chassis? ECU, TCU, tires, you name it

SeanLuke 5y ago
You're really claiming that an F1 will beat a Civic on a gravel track? Or perhaps you misread? How about in the snow? How about a road with random 2-inch-high debris? How about a road with lanes of uneven pavement? And how's that air conditioning in the F1? Great for transporting kids too. The F1 is designed to do exactly one thing exceptionally well, at the expense of practically everything else. It is the opposite of flexible.
- h2odragon 5y ago
  Gimme an F1 chassis and i'll put tractor tires on it for the snow. I'd be delighted to give it a try. I'm sure my mechanic buddy would help for the giggles too.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
dagw 5y ago
Our usual estimate was that everything in a F1 car was about 1000x better than in other cars. And none of that will matter after the first time you drive over a 6 inch rock
ReleaseCandidat 5y ago
> Our usual estimate was that everything in a F1 car was about 1000x better than in other cars. Well, I can't say that I like cars or enjoy driving them, but the biggest advantage of a car compared to a bike is its roof - at least, when it rains.