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How do race cars shift ?


Guest funkywim

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Guest funkywim

I was wondering , how do professional racers shift ? In formula 1 cars they use flappy pedals , but in time attack ,gt1 , formula d ,... they always pull a lever when they shift up and push the lever when they shift down . What i was asking myself is , in allot of porsches and other cars you have tiptronic , where you also pull and push the lever , now in those cars they don't have a clutch . So my real question is : do professional racing cars use a clutch or the tiptronic system ? Anybody who knows ?

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Willing to be corrected here, but in F1, I was of the impression they had a hand clutch on the steering wheel?

 

Nope, all electronically shifted now. Buttons on the steering wheel operate solenoids on the box.

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Nope, all electronically shifted now. Buttons on the steering wheel operate solenoids on the box.

 

You learn something new everyday then! Driving an F1 car is easy so, it's and automatic :D

 

But, did you see the Topgear episode where Hammond kept cutting out? Surely that car wasn't electronically shifted?

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You learn something new everyday then! Driving an F1 car is easy so, it's and automatic :D

 

But, did you see the Topgear episode where Hammond kept cutting out? Surely that car wasn't electronically shifted?

 

That was and old F1 car though in that so it might have had a clutch as you said earlier.

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F1 cars have 2 hand clutch settings, one for complete disengagement and 1 for starting. Modern sequential boxes all work on hydraulics and computer trickery. Hammond kept stalling because he's ham fisted/footed and F1 cars have very small clutches not designed to be slipped/

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F1 cars do still have a hand clutch on th steering wheel for launches!! :)

 

I've just looked that up on wikipedia, it would appear they do still use them for launches, something to do with clutchless systems being banned. My bad.

Edited by ugp (see edit history)
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