Auto Racing Technologies in Everyday Cars (Part 3)
Tires, brakes, and air intakes aside, the exterior design, new materials, and most importantly, safety, are three of the major factors that are implemented almost immediately into the production of consumer vehicles. New materials are used to make cars to
weigh lighter, safer, and environmentally friendly. Safety is the main concern of most automobile producers.
The exterior design of the race cars is usually low to the ground, with extended bumpers, side skirts, and a rear wing. Everything on the outside of a race car is not for show, or even to make the car look good. It’s all done to enhance performance. People
tend to correlate the smooth, graceful curves of a race car with glamour, performance, and power, which is why various production cars have adopted sporting shapes. Race car designers were the first to use wind tunnels to test the aerodynamic properties of
their designs. Wings, more commonly known as “spoilers” and air dams are designed to keep the car stable while at high speeds. The aerodynamic additions are so appealing to the public, that manufacturers started adding spoilers, air dams, and a number of other
performance enhancing components.
It may seem that it is easy for race cars to go fast, considering that they only need to carry one person and don’t have an interior, but newer technologies to make the car as light as possible, while remaining sturdy, help the car go faster and stop quicker.
Safety and sturdiness of the materials is the number one priority, with light weight a close second, otherwise, all race cars would be made of cardboard. Race cars suffer extreme stress, and each part of the vehicle needs to be strong enough to stand the tension.
One of the most recent innovations to auto racing is carbon fibre. Carbon fibre is a sturdy substance that is exceptionally lightweight as well. Automobile engineers prefer it because it is five times as strong as steel, two times as rigid, yet weighs nearly
two-thirds less. Formula One cars are made almost entirely of carbon fibre. That makes them weigh 60% less than if they were made of steel. Carbon fibre has appeared recently on production vehicles, but mainly as decoration. Aftermarket carbon fibre parts
are available to enthusiasts who want to make their cars lighter and more appealing. If used on production cars, it would drastically reduce weight, which would result in less fuel consumption. The only problem is that it is too expensive.
A cheaper alternative to carbon fibre, although not as light, is aluminium. Most engine blocks of production and race cars are made of aluminium, along with some body panels of select cars. Because it is cheaper than carbon fibre, aluminium is a lot more
common on production cars and is favoured because it lightens the vehicle, improves fuel economy, and does not influence performance or durability.
The number one, and most important, aspect of racing that has found its way into production cars is safety. All race cars, from Indy Car Racing to NASCAR, and Formula One to drag racing, have roll cages. A roll cage is a series of steel bars or tubes that
are welded together to form a shell around the cockpit of the car to protect the driver from the force of impact in case of collision. If there was no roll cage, a car that flips over would be extremely flimsy, which would result in serious injury or death
of the occupants. Roll cages are also installed in most production cars, in the form of safety cages. The only difference is that they are hidden by carpet, dashboards, door panels, and lining, which quite simply, the race cars don’t use because its increases
weight. One component that is never considered to have come from racing but saves countless lives every second is the rear-view mirror. In the early days of racing, around the 1900s, racers realized that they could see other racers approaching from behind
with the use of mirrors.
Like most usual car technologies, even the simplest has come from race cars. From tires, roll cages, and brakes to materials, design, and suspension, factors that drivers take for granted on a daily basis have saved countless lives and have had decades of
hard work devoted to them to keep making them better. Now, after more than a hundred years of racing, enthusiasts and race car drivers are always trying to go faster, stop quicker, and be safer, all thanks to auto racing technologies.
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