Getting back to the technical side of the sport, rather than the drivers, who always seem to invite conflict (although I will point out that as good a driver as Alonso is, he's never been shy of taking the benefit from any cheating that's going on, has been in the background of many of the major cheating scandals of recent years and has often been rather unsporting in his conduct on and off the track - He's very good, but far from angelic).
Never said you were. Apologies if it came across that way.
In fact, current F1 boxes have very little at all in common with DSG dual clutch systems, or even the single clutch automated manual shift systems that preceded them (Alfa Selespeed, BMW SMG etc. which were essentially standard manual gearboxes with a set of actuators bolted on the selector housings in place of the usual rod or cables from manual remote shifters). Interestingly, the evolution of paddle based shifting in F1 came not from shortening the time taken to shift, which was a very useful benefit, but from a desire not to have to package a remote H gate shifter and all its various rods and cables that must stretch all the way from the cockpit, around the engine, past the diff and into the gearbox (F1 boxes of the era were usually last in the chain for service reasons, sitting behind the diff and engine rather than sandwiched between them as is now the norm).
I'm pretty sure that The FIA has banned dual clutches anyway, but they tend to use very small diameter multiplate single clutches made of Carbon-Carbon and running dry. Oddly, they also tend to bolt it to the input side of the gearbox rather than to the flywheel of the engine, as is the norm absolutely everywhere in the roadcar world. I'm not sure why but there's bound to be a good reason. DSG uses a pair of separate clutches driving dual coaxial input shafts. The additional complexity requires another layshaft which would be very difficult to package in the very tight confines between the engine and the differential. It's very clever, but its also very bulky and very heavy.
The F1 gearbox itself owes much to the world of motorcycling, using a rotating ratchet driven barrel to drive the selector forks by way of machined grooves. It's all very mechanical inside but it's reliant on healthy hydraulic pressure and careful rev matching to stay in one piece. Rev matching, essential on the straight cut gearsets with no synchromesh, is done by the engine ECU. Clutch operation is also ECU driven, except at the start, where aside from an automated bite point location, its all down to the driver.
I guess from a technology cascade point of view, the first paddle shift systems in F1 were very similar to those used at first in road cars in that they drove otherwise "normal" H gated 'boxes. Those single clutch systems in road cars were never popular though. The ones I drove in a Toyota MR2, and Alfa 159, a Maserati GT, and a BMW M3 were bloody awful, so its easy to see why. Later double clutch systems are unbelievable though. I have to say that although I like swapping my own cogs, the DSG gearbox I drove on a VW scirocco was nothing short of amazing. The rear diffuser on the Ferrari 360 was supposedly F1 derived, although the application to road cars is not without its faults. The one I followed to Le Mans a few years ago hoovered just about every stone chip inducing bit of rock, gravel and general detritus off the road surface and left it hanging at windscreen height for any following vehicles...
Anyway, I think the only real change of consequence for 2014 is the addition of an 8th ratio in the gearbox. They'll need it, the new engines are likely to be pretty peaky, and I have read that the ratios are fixed for the entire season. That should make for some interesting tactical decisions in the run up to the season opener.
Neil":336hh5n8 said:
Never said you were. Apologies if it came across that way.
In fact, current F1 boxes have very little at all in common with DSG dual clutch systems, or even the single clutch automated manual shift systems that preceded them (Alfa Selespeed, BMW SMG etc. which were essentially standard manual gearboxes with a set of actuators bolted on the selector housings in place of the usual rod or cables from manual remote shifters). Interestingly, the evolution of paddle based shifting in F1 came not from shortening the time taken to shift, which was a very useful benefit, but from a desire not to have to package a remote H gate shifter and all its various rods and cables that must stretch all the way from the cockpit, around the engine, past the diff and into the gearbox (F1 boxes of the era were usually last in the chain for service reasons, sitting behind the diff and engine rather than sandwiched between them as is now the norm).
I'm pretty sure that The FIA has banned dual clutches anyway, but they tend to use very small diameter multiplate single clutches made of Carbon-Carbon and running dry. Oddly, they also tend to bolt it to the input side of the gearbox rather than to the flywheel of the engine, as is the norm absolutely everywhere in the roadcar world. I'm not sure why but there's bound to be a good reason. DSG uses a pair of separate clutches driving dual coaxial input shafts. The additional complexity requires another layshaft which would be very difficult to package in the very tight confines between the engine and the differential. It's very clever, but its also very bulky and very heavy.
The F1 gearbox itself owes much to the world of motorcycling, using a rotating ratchet driven barrel to drive the selector forks by way of machined grooves. It's all very mechanical inside but it's reliant on healthy hydraulic pressure and careful rev matching to stay in one piece. Rev matching, essential on the straight cut gearsets with no synchromesh, is done by the engine ECU. Clutch operation is also ECU driven, except at the start, where aside from an automated bite point location, its all down to the driver.
I guess from a technology cascade point of view, the first paddle shift systems in F1 were very similar to those used at first in road cars in that they drove otherwise "normal" H gated 'boxes. Those single clutch systems in road cars were never popular though. The ones I drove in a Toyota MR2, and Alfa 159, a Maserati GT, and a BMW M3 were bloody awful, so its easy to see why. Later double clutch systems are unbelievable though. I have to say that although I like swapping my own cogs, the DSG gearbox I drove on a VW scirocco was nothing short of amazing. The rear diffuser on the Ferrari 360 was supposedly F1 derived, although the application to road cars is not without its faults. The one I followed to Le Mans a few years ago hoovered just about every stone chip inducing bit of rock, gravel and general detritus off the road surface and left it hanging at windscreen height for any following vehicles...
Anyway, I think the only real change of consequence for 2014 is the addition of an 8th ratio in the gearbox. They'll need it, the new engines are likely to be pretty peaky, and I have read that the ratios are fixed for the entire season. That should make for some interesting tactical decisions in the run up to the season opener.
