OT, shifting race cars

[mm]

OT, but I've wondered about this for a long time.

In Indianapolis-style cars, like at the Indy 500, do the drivers have
to shift gears for each lap? How many times? Do they up-shift for
every short stretch or only the long stretches?

What about NASCAR cars on their tracks?

And Formula-1?

I watch these races on tv, have watched Indy off and on since 1957,
and I never hear them say anything about this.

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[Larry Bud]

Post by mm
OT, but I've wondered about this for a long time.
In Indianapolis-style cars, like at the Indy 500, do the drivers have
to shift gears for each lap? How many times? Do they up-shift for
every short stretch or only the long stretches?

On oval tracks they generally don't have to shift once they get to
speed.

[DT]

Post by mm
OT, but I've wondered about this for a long time.
In Indianapolis-style cars, like at the Indy 500, do the drivers have
to shift gears for each lap? How many times? Do they up-shift for
every short stretch or only the long stretches?
What about NASCAR cars on their tracks?
And Formula-1?

Well, as an ex-driver, I can help a bit. I don't know about Indy cars, I
suspect they only shift a few times, perhaps one gear on each
straightaway since the speed is fairly constant around the course.There are no
'short stretches' at Indianapolis.

Forumula 1 cars and other road racing vehicles (my background), you shift
a dozen or more times on each lap. At a track like Mid Ohio, you might go from
40 mph (2nd gear) in the Keyhole to 150 mph (5th gear) down the main straight a
few seconds later, than back down to 75 (3rd gear) for the turn at the end. A
road racing course will have a dozen turns or more, in both directions, and
will have a wide variety of possible speeds in each turn. Smooth shifting, both
up and down, is at the very heart of a smooth, fast, driver's skills.

Dennis

[Doug Miller]

Post by DT
Well, as an ex-driver, I can help a bit. I don't know about Indy cars, I
suspect they only shift a few times, perhaps one gear on each
straightaway since the speed is fairly constant around the course.There are no
'short stretches' at Indianapolis.

Appears you don't know anything about the track either: the straights between
turns 1 and 2, and between 3 and 4, are *considerably* shorter than the main
straight and the backstretch. There's a photo showing this pretty clearly on
the IMS website:
http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/history/

Speed is not "fairly constant" either. They slow down a good bit for the turns
(though not nearly as much as they used to, before the development of the
ground-effects chassis).

[DT]

Post by Doug Miller
Appears you don't know anything about the track either: the straights between
turns 1 and 2, and between 3 and 4, are *considerably* shorter than the main
straight and the backstretch. There's a photo showing this pretty clearly on
http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/history/
Speed is not "fairly constant" either. They slow down a good bit for the turns
(though not nearly as much as they used to, before the development of the
ground-effects chassis).
--
Regards,
Doug Miller

Thanks, Doug, guess there is a small straight at the ends :-) I never paid much
attention to oval tracks. As for the "fairly constant", yes, I realize that
isn't really correct, but relatively so compared to a 3 or 4 to 1 ratio between
the low and high speeds on a road course. Hey, it's only been 30 years since I
hung up the ol' driver's suit!

So, back to the original question, how many gears do the Indy cars use? If they
hit 220 (?) on the straight, what do they do in the corners?

Dennis

[Doug Miller]

Post by DT
So, back to the original question, how many gears do the Indy cars use? If they
hit 220 (?) on the straight, what do they do in the corners?

I'm pretty sure that once they get into top gear, they stay there until they
pit or are forced to slow down for a caution.

As for speed... 220 is what they're doing in the *turns*. Those bad boys top
240 on the long straights. Track record for one lap is 237.498 by Arie
Luyendyk in 1996.

[b***@sme-online.com]

Small production cars at Lime Rock- 4th to 3rd at the end of the main
straight, 3rd to 4th coming out of the esses, until checkered. All done
manually, of course.

F1s have a variety of servos such that you just toggle up or down a
gear at a time. Throttle is fly-by-wire, and control is integrated into
the above.

Mark Donohue was a master at determining gear ratios for endurance
racers to minimize gear changes. Keeps engine under load higher % of
time- goes faster.

J

[calhoun]

It is not so much the cars as the track. NASCAR, on ovals don't shift once
they are up to speed but on road courses they may shift as many as 16times
per lap.
NASCAR still uses the old H pattern shifters where the Indy cars use a
sequential style (like motorcycle).

Post by mm
OT, but I've wondered about this for a long time.
In Indianapolis-style cars, like at the Indy 500, do the drivers have
to shift gears for each lap? How many times? Do they up-shift for
every short stretch or only the long stretches?
What about NASCAR cars on their tracks?
And Formula-1?
I watch these races on tv, have watched Indy off and on since 1957,
and I never hear them say anything about this.
Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let
me know if you have posted also.