Re: First Quattro in F1

[audidudi@delphi.com (Jeffrey J. Goggin)]

>Personally, I think that AWD would be worth the weight penalty given F1s 
>lack of traction in slow turns.   For one thing, it would be a very small 
>weight penalty if the system was designed right, and built with light 
>weight materials.   Thye don't need a lot of tork up front, so if the 
>system was designed to transmit only as much tork as needed, then it 
>could be quite light.   On a faster track, AWD may not be as 
>much of an advantage.   AWD is also very difficult to package in a single 
>seater F1 car.   I'd love to see it done though.

According to a recent article in either Racecar Engineering or Race Tech, I
don't remember which, today's F1 cars have front tires that are much larger
than necessary for cornering purposes -- I seem to recall reading that they
could corner just as hard with only one front wheel! -- but they do this to
enhance braking power.
Since acceleration is pretty much the opposite of braking, it appears there
may indeed be some benfit to AWD for these cars ... I mean, if the tires are
going to be there anyway, why not make full use of them?  :^)
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