10 things the racing world made possible

Every Sunday, somewhere around the world, a race is going on. Racing is one of those sports that a lot of people wonder still exists especially given its polluting factor, but aside from entertainment, racing has long been a source of technological advancements most of which have trickled down to the average man's car in order to make the road car better. Here is a top 10 list showing the most important contributions racing has made to the average car.

10) Transmission Technology

It is well known that manual transmissions are a lot more efficient than automatic transmissions hence why they are used in racing. As cars have gotten faster, racing engineers wanted a way to shift gears faster, and hence the sequential gearbox was born, a manual gearbox which changed gears with the flick of a pedal. In the 80's Audi used a Porsche developed sequential gearbox system which used two clutches to change gears in its Quattro race car. Although more complex and heavier, this system was just as fast as traditional sequential boxes but much easier to use and easier to control via computer [which could enable it to be fully automatic]. Eventually VW brought in this system as an alternative to the automatic transmission in its road cars. Now more and more cars are offering this system to increase the efficiency of its automatic models.

9) Tyre Development

In racing, because of the heavy load put on tyres, they usually need changing during long races. Companies heavily involved in racing have been experimenting with different compounds of rubber to ensure their tyres last longer yet they still go faster.

Going fast in the rain was also something needed in racing, as development for racing tyres advanced in terms of shape and tread profile, so has road tyres. Now road tyres are better in every aspect to a racing tyre from the 40s or 50s.

8) More Efficient Combustion of Fuel

In the past gas was cheap and the term miles per gallon wasn't invented yet, racers were trying to figure out how to get the most out of a full tank of gas especially since the more gas you stuff into a gas tank is the more it weighs and the slower it goes. Three of the biggest technologies that found its way from racing to the street car to help fuel consumption was fuel injection, turbocharging and direct injection. All 3 have been used in racing to achieve improvements in fuel consumption and performance and are slowly being phased in to road vehicles to do the same. [NB: Fuel Injection is the oldest of the 3 and first saw light on the 1955 300SL which was built as a platform to the race car the 300SLR. Nowadays almost every car has fuel injection]

7) Lightweight Materials

As more and more airbags and computer get stuffed into vehicles, cars are getting heavier thus needing more fuel to operate. Because race cars have wanted to go lighter to be faster from day one, a wide range of lightweight materials can be used for the average car as race engineers have gone through most of the materials known to man to find the strongest/lightest materials best for use in car construction. Aluminium, Carbon Fibre and Fibreglass all have roots in racing and are being used in more and more cars to help offset the obesity of the computers.

6) More Durable Parts

Race cars are highly strained machines operating at speeds that at minimum break most speed limits and at maximum can go as high as 3x that figure. G forces also twist the car around and knock it up a bit more than any daily drive around the block can push it. Especially in endurance races, cars are being built using more durable methods such as varying materials in engines to better suit the load of each part.

5) Brakes

In the 50s as speeds got higher, both Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar were in the race for brake development to slow down their vehicles better. Jaguar developed the superior disk brake, which is standard on almost all cars now, while Mercedes-Benz had the 'air' brake. This 'air' brake was a flap that increased aerodynamic resistance to help slow down the car and take pressure off the brakes. This system is getting more and more popular in traditional cars.

4) Aerodynamics

In the 30s the Germans were experimenting with how fast humans could go on their autobahns. Races held in Germany on tracks such as AVUS lead competitors to develop more aerodynamic cars. Ever since then racing has been the place to go for aerodynamic technology. This aerodynamic technology has made cars more stable at high speeds as well as be able to attain these speeds more efficiently.

3) Safety

Safety plays a big part in racing with race cars being significantly safer in accidents than almost any other mode of transport. Both seat belts and rear view mirrors saw their way into racing long before they did in the consumer car. Recently, technology such as stability control, traction control and ABS are making the transition from being race car only to consumer car only.

2) Forced Technology Development

After noticing that racing is the way to go in terms of technological advancements, numerous racing series have set up rules designed specifically to help speed up the development of current technology. Examples of this are seen in the use of hybrid cars in racing as well as the use of alternative fuel sources. Although this technique is relatively new, already diesel technology has benefited from this strategy.

1) Why stuff goes wrong.

During the Pikes Peak Hillclimb, racers found out that at high altitudes, brake fluid was prone to boiling. During races it is also discovered that fluids such as fuel and oil slush around during high speed maneuvers which could starve the engine. At high engine speeds, engineers found out that valves run by camshafts would "float" causing the engine to loose significant power. All of these lessons learnt as well as others have been taken from racing and applied to the consumer car as a 'just in case' feature.

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