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different fuels(indy cars use E85, nascar uses E15), electronic controls, in the case of nascar hybrid pace cars, and in some cases pure electric pace cars.
also some races have been shortened to reduce fuel consumption.
but the real help motorsports has for the environment is the technological improvements for production vehicles that we drive daily.
F1 cars use the most efficient power units on Earth. Hybrid, turbocharged, with energy harvesting. All this technology will eventually transfer to, or influence, production cars.
Manufacturers have always used motorsports partly as a testing grounds for tech that eventually makes its way into street cars. And in most long-form racing, greater fuel efficiency can provide a significant advantage in terms of needing to stop less often. So there's incentive for them to look into reducing/lowering emissions, though we're probably a long ways away from electric racing becoming the norm.
Manufacturers have always used motorsports partly as a testing grounds for tech that eventually makes its way into street cars. And in most long-form racing, greater fuel efficiency can provide a significant advantage in terms of needing to stop less often. So there's incentive for them to look into reducing/lowering emissions, though we're probably a long ways away from electric racing becoming the norm.
also note that for the first 25 laps at the 24 hours of le mans, the teams are not allowed to fuel their race cars, regardless of class. thus the cars have to have good fuel economy, for a race car.
and of course race teams have to use the air around them to gain down force and still reduce drag, for good handling and good straight line speed. that also trickles down to the everyday sedan as well.
and what the tire manufacturers learn building race tires, also gets into street tires. tires today have greater traction, wear capability, less rolling resistance, among other things than tires built just 15 years ago.
Manufacturers have always used motorsports partly as a testing grounds for tech that eventually makes its way into street cars...........
There have always been people at car companies that want to go racing. They have always had difficulty explaining to the boards of directors and the stockholders why it makes financial sense to do so.
The excuse has always been “what we learn from racing helps us develop and improve the road cars that we sell every day.” (Today, this will only work if the race cars use “advanced” technology.)
This excuse has always been 99% B.S.
You don't need to spend millions, even hundreds of millions of dollars every year, traveling all around nations or the world with single purpose cars with huge crews, paying drivers fabulous sums so they can live in luxury, to improve road cars. Every major car company has skilled engineers to design and develop their road cars – they have test tracks to test them in real world conditions, much more real than race tracks – they have computer controlled dynamometers and test beds to carefully test and analyze components, and so on.
There have always been people at car companies that want to go racing. They have always had difficulty explaining to the boards of directors and the stockholders why it makes financial sense to do so.
The excuse has always been “what we learn from racing helps us develop and improve the road cars that we sell every day.” (Today, this will only work if the race cars use “advanced” technology.)
This excuse has always been 99% B.S.
You don't need to spend millions, even hundreds of millions of dollars every year, traveling all around nations or the world with single purpose cars with huge crews, paying drivers fabulous sums so they can live in luxury, to improve road cars. Every major car company has skilled engineers to design and develop their road cars – they have test tracks to test them in real world conditions, much more real than race tracks – they have computer controlled dynamometers and test beds to carefully test and analyze components, and so on.
really? disc brakes were taken from aircraft and developed on race cars before being installed on street cars.
ford, and other manufacturers, used formula one to develop their electronics before they were installed on production cars.
the various tire manufacturers around the world used racing to develop tire compounds and tread patterns to maximize grip, wear, etc. before they developed similar compounds for passenger car tires.
various materials through out the motor vehicle were first developed at the race track on race cars before they went into production cars.
modern production cars use aerodynamics that were developed on race cars first.
in the end racing does improve the breed. what engineers learn at the track does indeed filter down to the production cars whether you believe it or not.
There have always been people at car companies that want to go racing. They have always had difficulty explaining to the boards of directors and the stockholders why it makes financial sense to do so.
The excuse has always been “what we learn from racing helps us develop and improve the road cars that we sell every day.” (Today, this will only work if the race cars use “advanced” technology.)
This excuse has always been 99% B.S.
You don't need to spend millions, even hundreds of millions of dollars every year, traveling all around nations or the world with single purpose cars with huge crews, paying drivers fabulous sums so they can live in luxury, to improve road cars. Every major car company has skilled engineers to design and develop their road cars – they have test tracks to test them in real world conditions, much more real than race tracks – they have computer controlled dynamometers and test beds to carefully test and analyze components, and so on.
As soon as the second car was built auto racing became part of the automobile experience. Pretty sure Henry Ford was into auto racing and since he owned the company he didn't have to convince the stockholders.
If you don't like auto racing that's OK I don't like basketball.
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