Quote:
Originally Posted by wnut
I'd say your first concern is justified!
Active suspension will be eye wateringly expensive!
Endless fettling and infinite improvement!
Computer controls, valves, sensors, software, processing speeds, tuning, infinite adjustability!
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Totally disagree.One set of plumbing-already there for FRIC systems anyway.Computer,well they carry a lot of computer power already and it probably has enough spare capacity given that they already monitor the necessary parameters-track position,ride height,speed,gear,fuel level,tyre temperature and pressure.They would need a pump to power the hydraulics,but they have one for gearshifting anyway.
As for adjustment,just tap a few buttons on a keyboard.The first active F1 system ran when a portable computer with 128K of total memory capacity(not RAM) was hugely capable.A modern smartphone would have abundant capacity and be really cheap.The adjustment could be done by self diagnostic methods in a handful of laps;it just needs a monitoring algorithm to note the time taken from point A to point B each lap and to make a small adjustment-then note the comparison with the previous lap.If faster adjust a bit further and repeat until the next adjustment goes negative-compile a table of settings for variations of lateral and longitudinal acceleration and allow the computer to make the decisions,based on inputs for track location and with a baseline configuration that will allow the car to safely return to the pitlane in the event of a component failure.
We had years of total opposition to movable aerodynamic surfaces and the phase passed.Why not the same acceptance of active suspension?It seems absurd that my road cars for the last fifteen years have had computer controlled hydraulic based suspension,but the race series that is supposed to be at the pinnacle of technical achievement isn't allowed to.