F1technical.net

I don't know where this would belong (defenitly not on engines) so i'm posting it here why haven't they drilled holes in the steering wheel where there is no wires if there is, and why not the shifting paddles and maybe some other places?

With the intent of what exactly?

Saving weight?

It's already super light, as it is mainly CF.

saving weight but probably less than 1 pound (i don't know in kg)

Shrek wrote:saving weight but probably less than 1 pound (i don't know in kg)

stress risers for one

carbon, being a fibre, has its strength in sheet form, and even then it's weak until paired with the honeycomb.

When you cut holes you mess with the weave, and this is half the strength of Carbon Fiber. You are also taking away the internal honeycomb structure when you drill holes, and take away more strength.

Minimum weight for F1 cars is going up next year so drivers like Kubica and Wurz are not hampered by their size.

F1 cars are already below minimum weight and need ballast to be heavy enough to compete.

You could as well pierce the drivers' ears to lower the CoG.

Steering wheel isn't very water proof if it's full of holes.

Inside electronics don't react well with water.

ok than the shifting paddles, and i wouldn't be suprised if they went to the bathroom just before they go out to their cars to reduce some weight

The cars are required to be a minimum weight AFTER the Grand Prix. Consider that during the race, weight is lost in:

-burning of fuel
-wearing of tires
-drivers loss of weight due to sweating/exertion
-vehicle damage (if applicable)

After all these factors have been accounted for, the car STILL has to weight 650kg (i believe that is correct weight)

So while the cars are designed to be light, they still have to be heavy enough to pass safety scrutinizing and post race scrutinizing. Areas where weight is not such an issue are places like the steering wheel. The components are already so small and light that removing any more weight does not serve a purpose. Weight is better shed in other areas, like suspension components, body panels, monocoque etc... so that the teams have more room to play with when selecting how to install ballast in the car.

Hope that makes sense

-Aaron

majicmeow wrote:After all these factors have been accounted for, the car STILL has to weight 650kg (i believe that is correct weight)

605kg

Giblet wrote:carbon, being a fibre, has its strength in sheet form, and even then it's weak until paired with the honeycomb. (...)

rather with resin. you will not find honeycomb in the steering wheel, bikes frames, wings' spars, etc.

fillers, like honeycombs, give you mainly bending stiffness and strength in the direction perpendicular to the plies and so there are plenty of them around driver.

regards

I meant to place ballast low and to the front when it is underweight to help weight distribution

Two reasons you dont drill weight saving holes in composites:

1. Composites hate point loads and drilling a hole creates higher stresses around its edge in a very local and intense area. = No good.

2. If you want to reduce the weight of a composite part, you just use less plies (thickness). With cured-ply-thicknesses typically ranging from .1 to .3mm you can get whichever thickness you want.

A simple change in thickness is 'relatively' difficult for a metallic part, especially if it has some geometry to it.

Tim

Only my take on it guys, but the way I see it, it's not an overly technical question, it doesn't need an overly technical answer.

Holes, Shrek, are usually an afterthought, they don't really do afterthought's in F1.

If you have a car like a Rally car or a Track car based on a production body, and it is made of parts of certain thickness which you cannot afford to replace with lighter ones the cheaper way to save weight is drill holes. Obviously the parts drilled would mainly have been put there for comfort or convenience, not strength, and ideally they would be out of the airstream.
Some exceptions to this maybe racing series where there is a rule giving minimum material thickness, i.e. use 22 gauge steel on the bodywork, and holes might be drilled because 22 gauge is not necessary in all areas. Also where size is not an issue i.e. in closed body silhouette racers kinda NASCAR type, they can make big I sections etc. with holes in for the same weight as small parts without holes, so they do, because they are stronger and they aren't tight for space inside the car.

In F1 though space saving packaging is critical so the parts are as thin and small as they can be and still do the job without breaking. if it was better to have a hole there it would have a hole. ....

Unless of course we are talking about a diffuser, but then there is no such thing as a hole through a diffuser. The instant you make a hole in a diffuser it ceases to become a hole, then it is known as an 'aperture'.

Well put. probably even more true than what I said!

Tim