Damn impressive to discover a new mechanical system just from gears and flywheels.
epolanski · 1h ago
It's quite insane to think how much faster F1 could be, especially on older regulations without development and budget limitations.
Regulations have been trying to limit the speed of the cars for decades, with only partial success.
gausswho · 58m ago
Not just speed nerfing. The cars now are ~50% larger than they used to be, while the tracks haven't gotten any wider. As a result, there's hardly any overtaking unless an egregious mistake is made. The lame solution they have to this is to allow cars one second behind to mechanically reduce their drag in selected spots of the track (DPS).
And don't get me started on the tire regulations.
F1, from the cars to the drivers, is peak manufactured drama.
dwd · 8m ago
This will always be peak F1 for me.
There's something about the way the car twitches like it could go faster if you let it, and the sound!
That's largely true. There is at least one, wonderful, reward from all the rule-fiddling, though it might be orthogonal to the issues you've highlighted, but driver deaths and severe injuries are much less common than they used to be.
A cynic would say that, if the arena no longer offers us the ever-present possibility of death, then the drama needs to be enhanced in other ways, even if they are artificial.
MindSpunk · 30m ago
Just about every motorsport series is manufactured drama. The rules and restrictions are arbitrary. Anything with a large televised audience will have the rules impacted by trying to make a spectacle. It's not exclusive to F1.
F1 certainly has its issues though, the cars are just too big. Monaco has been a joke of a race for a while, the "race" is won in qualifying. 2026 might be better as the cars are getting smaller again.
avalys · 15m ago
Why did the cars get 50% larger? Was it for crashworthiness?
cadamsdotcom · 1h ago
Seems the flywheel in the device is what does the magic - dampening oscillations (which would demand the flywheel turn faster/slower, which its intertia will resist). Then it gets put in series with normal dampers that reduce compression/expansion. The inerter cancels vibrations & high frequency movement while the usual shock absorption components handle the rest of the shock absorption, making a great team.
Have I understood it right?
brudgers · 19m ago
If I understood the video correctly, the simple mechanical model is an inerter is the inverse of a spring.
Analogous to a capacitor being the inverse of an inductor in an electrical model.
Trying to find a better mechanical analog to the capacitor to optimize a passive suspension was the motivation because mass-damping suspensions had already been banned when active suspension got banned.
But I probably misunderstood the video.
Daneel_ · 1h ago
The key takeaway for me was that it actively resists the oscillations, making it a more effective damper than a shock absorber in a range of situations, but it doesn't replace the shock.
As far as my understanding goes, it's basically a low-pass filter that also provides momentum in the direction of movement - this actively dampens spring oscillation (as opposed to a shock absorber, which passively dampens oscillation). It should be installed in parallel with the spring and shock.
Damn impressive to discover a new mechanical system just from gears and flywheels.
Regulations have been trying to limit the speed of the cars for decades, with only partial success.
And don't get me started on the tire regulations.
F1, from the cars to the drivers, is peak manufactured drama.
There's something about the way the car twitches like it could go faster if you let it, and the sound!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8c0o697F1g8
That's largely true. There is at least one, wonderful, reward from all the rule-fiddling, though it might be orthogonal to the issues you've highlighted, but driver deaths and severe injuries are much less common than they used to be.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Formula_One_fatalities
A cynic would say that, if the arena no longer offers us the ever-present possibility of death, then the drama needs to be enhanced in other ways, even if they are artificial.
F1 certainly has its issues though, the cars are just too big. Monaco has been a joke of a race for a while, the "race" is won in qualifying. 2026 might be better as the cars are getting smaller again.
Have I understood it right?
Analogous to a capacitor being the inverse of an inductor in an electrical model.
Trying to find a better mechanical analog to the capacitor to optimize a passive suspension was the motivation because mass-damping suspensions had already been banned when active suspension got banned.
But I probably misunderstood the video.
Donut Media actually has a great video on the topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t58qjcNwEbo
As far as my understanding goes, it's basically a low-pass filter that also provides momentum in the direction of movement - this actively dampens spring oscillation (as opposed to a shock absorber, which passively dampens oscillation). It should be installed in parallel with the spring and shock.