Facing huge difficulties in thoroughly investigating the electronic sofwares that operate the engine managements systems that run Formula 1 cars, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile has finally decided to authorise traction control systems starting with the next event - this weekend's Grand Prix of Spain.
Traction control makes a return in Formula 1 racing, having been allowed, along with active suspensions and antilock braking, back in 1992 and '93. To tell the truth, it was about time that F1 single seaters come to par with most modern passenger vehicles that are fitted with thousands of electronic gadgets. Traction control eliminates rear wheel spin, therefore providing better traction to the tarmac and better acceleration when exiting the corners. How does the system work? "The rear wheels that power the car can spin easily" says Renault Sport's Denis Chevrier. "And wheel spin can be caused in many ways: there may suddenly be too much power coming from the engine, the track may be dirty and slippery, the coefficient of adherence of the tyre may be suddenly exceeded, it may be raining or maybe the driver is pressing too hard on the throttle. Without traction control, the role of the driver is to press correctly on the accelerator while minimizing wheel spin."
Malcolm Oastler (on right) with Greg Pollock.
According to Renault engineers, an F1 tyre works best under a very slight wheel spin. If there's too much wheel spin, the tyres lose traction and acceleration is greatly reduced. Traction control plays a crucial role in assuring constant acceleration when coming out of the corners. "Wheel speed sensors are attached to the four wheels of the car" says Chevrier. "At any moment, the computer knows the exact speed of the car from the front wheels sensors. By comparing the speed of the front wheels to that of the rear wheels, the computer is able to detect the slightest wheel spin. Wheel spin occurs when the speed of the rear wheels exceeds by a certain value that of the front wheels. We do track testing and set the traction control to come into action when the wheel speed difference reaches 103%. Then, we change that value to 102%, and then to 101%. We then compare those changes to the differences in lap times and see what is most efficient."
The engineers says that F1 drivers are very good
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