Where can I find details of how a F1 transmission works. I am looking for the gearbox details, not the paddles on the steering wheel? I have googled it, but have gotten nowhere. I an interested in seeing if the gears use syncros like a car transmission, or dogs like a motorcycle, or something entirely different.
The race or street transmissions are no different than their manual shift counterparts. The race transmissions use dogs, not syncros. You would probably have an easier time finding info on an old Hewland trans. The new ones are very similar with lighter, narrower and more gears. Ferrari has switched back and forth between exotic alloys and carbon fiber for the case material and like some of the street cars the case incorporates the engine oil tank so that large heavy piece can be located in a better spot for weight distribution reasons. Though you cannot see inside them they usually have several on display at the museum in Maranello.
hey fred2 i hope this helps you i got this out of my ferrari formula 1 book by peter wright [img=http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/860/ferrgboxinternsq3.jpg]boxintern2ux5.jpg[/url]
Thanks for the link, it shows the dog gears that Brian referenced. In my limited experience, I find that a motorcycle with dog gears shifts MUCH faster than any of the cars that I have driven with syncro transmissions. So much faster, that you can shift by just unloading the transmission, and pushing it into the next gear (no clutch required) Do the dog gear car transmissions share similar properties? Is there a significant reduction in shift time just from the transmission type? Listening to the gear changes in GT type race cars (sequential shift lever) , I would assume this to be so.
Not using the clutch is a result of having a dog type trans. The sequential aspect does not lend that ability. Dog type transmissions are very fast shifting even when done manually. In fact they really need to be shifted fast to get the job done successfully without beating up the dogs.
thanks for elaborating..i wasn't quite sure how to word it...and yes, i suspected that the shift needed to be sufficiently fast to avoid excessive brunt on the dogs... also, what exactly is responsible for the higher noise levels in a 'racing' gearbox? the 'chatter'...
Most of it is due to straight cut gears. Great at low loss power transmission but make lots of noise.
[img=http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/2318/ferrgboxinternxw7.jpg] this is a pic of the f1 2000 ferrari
