needmoretorque wrote:I just learned about Maserati's performance at the '53 French GP. What do you think about how strong Maserati came on in the 1953?
So, in this era (mid-50s), were there any significant technological developments, or was it all just about aesthetics? Sorry about my ignorance; but, I really am enthused about what I am discovering.
(much of the F2 period (WDC 52, 53) Maserati had a 'live axle' rear and Fangio injured)
M-B and Lancia had big ideas (history shows that many of these were mistakes), and big money to hold the best drivers
the M-B W196 was designed around enveloping bodywork/space frame, with intended 4wd capability (legal of course)
the low-drag body gave lift problems ? (unlike the D type Jaguar and a few others) and the body concept was abandoned
leaving an immutably oversize car
of 'old-style' construction (1 piece 'bulged' combustion chamber/cylinder with welded ports) the engine had (2 wide angle) oversized valves ?
as the earlier dominant Alfa Romeo 158/9 certainly did
(other makers used modern detachable cast heads and, following the 2 valve fashion, suffered valves relatively smaller than M-Bs)
it used nitrobenzene (like nitromethane) in the fuel (Italian teams never used either)
the nobly 'road relevant' suspension design also had no future
the W196s success was largely due to outstanding detail design and testing using resources equal to all its rivals combined
the Lancia D50 was designed for balanced handling, this was already widespread except for Maserati apparently favouring oversteer
tyres then had no belts, were narrow and of 100% aspect ratio, so distortion was large, giving 'slip' angles of even 12-18deg
(drifting meant 4-wheel drifting, not necessarily showing any opposite lock/countersteer)
Lancia showed the future of compact, low and light cars via the V8 engine (rather than an inline 4 or 6)
the engine was used as part of the structure
the later (F2, then F1) Ferrari Dino V6 was surely influenced by the Lancia ?
reducing drag by repositioning of the driver and transmission etc was often less than successful with inlines (eg Maserati)
strad's recent clip shows that 58 WDC Hawthorn used the old 'high drag' screen
overall the 54-57 period showed no 'blue sky' development of the cars, only practical development as above
disc brakes were only on British cars
driver adjustable handling was years away
fuel injection (eg the Bosch direct type) was not generally used
some tyres (eg Dunlop) used synthetic fibre construction, others still used natural fibre
Coventry-Climax had through a crisis of confidence thrown away a good new V8 in 54 (the Godiva)
Connaught had schemed a (monocoque ?) rear/mid engined car for it (C-C returned 5 years later with a 4 cylinder engine)
50s race engine design based on detachable heads should have used 4 (narrower angle) valves (or 3)
but the 2 valve fashion continued in Europe
BTW Ferrari made a 2.5 litre twin cylinder '4 valve' engine (118x114 mm 182 bhp) around 1954
