Juke-box

A little help on my homework..

i need to know the statistics of the cars in Formula 1. i checked formula1.com, but the stats for the cars aren't complete. does anyone know of any site that provides the horsepower, weight, cc, acceleration times etc. of the cars?

or do these stats not exist?

btw, Accord, please don't move this to the racing section, i think it'd get more traffice here. thx

Thanks in advance!

Juke

MB-BOB

Each of the teams has their own website. Any information they're willing to share would be posted there. Formula1.com couldn't possibly keep up with the constant changes each team makes to its cars.

BTW, the eight (or so) F1 nuts on this site interested in F1 regularly surf the Motorsports forum. Accord is one, I am another. If you don't get much response soon, I will move it there.

Juke-box

thanks! that would be greatly appreciated MB-BOB!!

i'll check back later after studying The Great Gatsby..

VroomVroom

you might be able to find something at http://www.mulsannescorner.com/index.htm

trench

Some of the stuff like horsepower is kept secret. You can occasionally find ballpark numbers, but these are pretty much guesses made by journalists - most believe that BMW, Ferrari and McLaren make about 850-875 hp. Acceleration times will vary due to the fact that they'll use the most suitable gear ratios for a specific track. I saw that one of McLaren's sponsors claims 0-240 km/h in under 7 seconds.

The only thing I can tell you exactly is that the racing weight of car plus driver is 600kg, since this weight is regulated by rule. Most of the top cars weigh significantly less than this and use ballast to get to the minimum weight. The use of ballast also helps modify the car to suit a particular circuit as well.

Cheers, BT

Juke-box

thanks vroom vroom and trench.

so without driver skill, is there a relation with a car's specs to winning total races etc.?

would buying those F1 magazines be a good idea?

Accord

Variations between each car plays a huge role in it's race performance. For example, the Minardi uses steel tie-rods whilst the Ferrari uses lightweight, high-strength aluminum tie-rods. Another thing to note is that the lower end cars such as the Minardi, Toyota, etc. all have 6 speed transmissions whilst the Ferrari, McLaren, Williams, etc. have 7 speed transmissions.

Don't get me wrong, driver skill has a huge role in race finishes. Just take a look at Schumacher and Rubens, same car, however Schumacher is significantly a better driving, and probably the best Formula One driver of all time, although this is highly debatable. If you stuck Alex Yoong in Schumachers Ferrari, he still would never have a chance of finishing on the podium.

The average 0-100mph (Yes - MPH) time of an F1 car is between 3.6 and 4.3 seconds depending on the track.

Bear in mind, the lower rung Formula One cars like the Minardi are still significantly better than any Champ car.

I am going to go ahead and move this to the Motorsports forum, because you will get more responses there.

Juke-box

do higher end cars in the F1 share many same charateristics such as low weight materiel, or 7 spd transmissions, etc. etc. opposed to the lower end cars?

i need to compare these cars with their probabilities of wins using the tech spec. is it possible to do so?

boltonblue

Juek-box,
There are a huge number of parameters ( ie specs) to consider.
1.) power
2.) mass limited by spec to 600 kg minimum, but even mass is important because a lighter chassis allows for effective moving mass placement.
3.) sprung vs unsprung weight.
4.) aerodynamics, drag vs downforce
5.) tire compound/ durability how many pit stops will they need for the tires. do the tires maintain grip during thier life or do they start well, fade, then come back like the michelins did for BMW last year.
6.) chassis rigidity/ feedback to the driver. this is a big peice. and hardest to quantify.

Lynn

All the cars are made from carbon fiber. I believe they all have seven speed electro-hydraulic transmissions. The main differences between high and low end cars are horsepower, aerodynamics and testing. The three teams with the highest bucgets have the most hp. Ferarri has two wind tunnel operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Minardi may have access to a scale model rolling road tunnel on occasion. Ferarri employs three drivers who do nothing but test several days per week in addition to the testing done by the race drivers. Minardi very rarely has a test day.

As for comparing the performance potential of the cars by spec, it cannot be done. The actual specs are a team's closely guarded secrets. The only specs available are the F1 Technical Specifications in the rule book. You cannot you those to evaluate potentials, because under the rules all cars have the same potential.

F1 Sporting Regulations

Drawings for F1 Technical Regs

Accord

Lynn, the lower end cars like the Minardi, Toyota, etc. all have 6 speed transmissions rather than 7 speed. Only the high end cars like the Ferrari, Williams, McLaren, etc. have 7 speed transmissions.

http://www.minardi.it/eng/team/vettura/macchina.asp

http://www.toyota-f1.com/public/car/index.jhtml

Juke-box

Thanks for all the help guys! but unfortunately, when i proposed my thesis today, i was shot down by the teacher immediately saying my project was off topic and baby stuff. he told me to do something that is more appealing to the audience. i was not even half way through my presentation before i was to sit down red faced..

lars

which raises the interesting question of why Toyota, which reported a net profit of $4.1 billion last year, would run a low end car. I hope they're looking in.

Lynn

Toyota isn't not a low end operation. Their budget is in the top five.

I'm surprised about Minardi having a six speed. On the back side of Indy, they were shifting at the same places as the faster teams. It is impressive to see and hear the cars upshift in the middle of turn 5.

trench

Good to see that our teachers still like to inspire kids to learn.

- BT