Inside F-1 Transmission
If you are an F1 fan and always wanted to learn more about technical specifications of racing cars and how their crucial components actually operate, then this article is for you. With the help of a YouTube video from Scott Mansell, we will see how a gearbox from a 1997 F1 car is disassembled, become familiar with its peculiarities, and explore its operating principle.
1997 Jordan Formula 1
Engineers of F1 teams frequently use know-how
technologies during the process of the gearbox development to gain competitive
advantages, thus the specifications are kept secret. However, all F1 cars
eventually get out of date and most of their peculiarities become available to
the public.
Scott Mansell got a unique chance to tear apart
a 7-speed gearbox installed on the Jordan 197 car during the 1997 F1 season.
Check out the video
The mechanism implemented in the F1 car
significantly differs from systems implemented in road cars. Its design
includes a magnesium case, which is both costly and easily torn. There are also
spur gears and the helical gears (which also can be found in manual gearboxes).
The process of gear shifting here is launched with the help of pneumatic pressure.
Since the transmission is simply setting the rear diff, there is some peculiar
gearing occurring at the back-end of the transmission.
Because the gearbox is a load element of the chassis, its purpose is to deal with high loads and support the suspension. Since the unit is positioned between the engine and rear wheels, the diff is directly attached to it. First of all, Mansell dismantles the differential, then the gear cluster to show how the shifter interacts with the control unit to engage each gear. Even if you're not into F1, it's quite interesting to learn the secret of such sophisticated mechanisms.
