psucaptainkickass Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 So I've been watching this recently...poor Petter and his bad luck I had a question though about this...what is the tranmission mechanism in WRC cars. It seems like it is a sequential manual gearbox with "paddle" shifters. But there is also a stick shift as well. The paddle shifters have failed during the race and the drivers have the stick as a backup. But the stick seems to just be a +/- stick, and not a full six speed. Is there a clutch in this system? I am really confused as to how these drivers are driving, and wouldn't a regular six speed be quicker than the SMGs. Of course I realize that WRC driving requires total control of the wheel, and that the drivers must keep both hands on it at all times whenever possible, so having a SMG is probably an excellent tradeoff to a standard six speed. What is going on there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcellan Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 Watch the steering wheel. Paddles for downshifting, push the steering wheel in for upshift. What you are calling the stick is actually the e-brake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miles Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 What channel shows the WRC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psucaptainkickass Posted March 28, 2006 Author Share Posted March 28, 2006 What channel shows the WRC? Bit Torrent Actually, this is the only way to get it here in the US. NO channel is carrying it. Traditionally, SPEED carried it, but not anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psucaptainkickass Posted March 28, 2006 Author Share Posted March 28, 2006 Watch the steering wheel. Paddles for downshifting, push the steering wheel in for upshift. What you are calling the stick is actually the e-brake. Actually, no. I know on the Skoda cars, they have a wheel on the steering wheel itself that is pushed, I haven't seen such a wheel on the other cars. When they have the in camera shots of like Gronholm, or Loeb, you see them pull a paddle while accelerating (upshifting). I remember this because, I remember thinking to myself how little you have to pull the paddle to shift. Loeb was like barely moving the thing. But there is clearly a moment in this season...I think it was Mexico?? Where Marcus Gronholm loses the hydralics in this paddle shifting, and has to use the manual shifter, and lost like 6 seconds because of it. And you see it move when they pull the paddle, the paddles are like a hydralic remote control or something... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psucaptainkickass Posted March 28, 2006 Author Share Posted March 28, 2006 Got it. From WRC.com "Usually, each World Rally Car has 6 forward gears, which are changed by a sequential shifter mounted on the dashboard (not your conventional hand-height gearstick). There's a clutch pedal too - but it doesn't get much use other than to drive away from the start line. The drivers push or pull the shifter and let the computers do the rest. Which is just as well. With rally cars travelling at over 200 kph, and every tenth of a second saved counting towards your final time, you can't waste time messing around with your feet. A gear-change in a World Rally Car takes 50 milliseconds - that's nearly 10 times faster than a road car." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 the tranny is a sequential box using paddle shifting (pull to upshift, push the paddles for down, but it could be designed where left paddle is for upshift, and downshift on the right paddle. the stick lever is actually called a "side" brake which locks up the rear brakes AND disengages the center diff to send the power to the front tires.. at least I think that's how it worked the last time I read about it. the box helps the driver into not worrying about the clutch and spend more time with left foot braking to allow some front brake lock up and allow the power transfer to the rear to get the car to rotate even better.. it's very unique to read about it and to yet to watch it. Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 Most of the WRC teams run a 5 or 6 speed sequential gearbox with a computer controlled, hydraulically activated clutch and shifter. Both the clutch and the shifter are in the car in case of hydraulic failure, they still maintain manual capabilities. Everyone runs the pull (+) and push (-) paddle or a ring inside the steering wheel. Ford for the last two years, not this year, had a linkage for the shifter on the inside that wasn't connected to anything. If the hydraulics failed, they would disable the rear brake lever and hook up the linkage so it became the shifter. This was done to save weight, but has it's downsides. And yes, if you pull the rear brake lever, it also opens the diff. The Prodrive Subaru WRC car is different. They run a conventional H pattern gearbox, but they have a clutch pedal but no mechanical shifter. The reason they went with a H pattern instead of a sequential is the ability to skip to 1st and R from any gear. There is a rotary switch inside the car the selects N, 1, and R. This was done so when they have a spin or go off course, they can instantly select 1st or R without having to go through all the gears to get to 1st. The system is incredibly reliable that they don't have and manual shifter anymore. I recall it failing once in the last 4 seasons. There is still a single gear capabilities in case something goes wrong. It required going underneath the car to select a single gear. The transmission is also linked to the launch control, and it will do an automatic 1-2 shift. There's actually a better way to get WRC coverage without using BitTorrent, and it's much faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rao Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 Moved to Motorsports. Rob IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR CAR YOU SHOULD NEVER DRIVE IT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jj808 Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 All i know is that it is F'n wicked and SPEED is teh DEBIL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilT Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 the stick lever is actually called a "side" brake which locks up the rear brakes AND disengages the center diff to send the power to the front tires.. at least I think that's how it worked the last time I read about it. Same as the MazdaSpeed 6 ! ! Double Award Winning Legacy GT Wagon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 Well, Mazda is partly owned by Ford and Ford also owns Volvo. Guess where Ford is getting most of the AWD stuff...from Volvo. Volvo's Haldex system has aways open the diff when the e-brake is pulled to the first notch. A bunch of people were trying to figure out if they can launch a S60R faster in FWD or AWD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psucaptainkickass Posted March 29, 2006 Author Share Posted March 29, 2006 Most of the WRC teams run a 5 or 6 speed sequential gearbox with a computer controlled, hydraulically activated clutch and shifter. Both the clutch and the shifter are in the car in case of hydraulic failure, they still maintain manual capabilities. Everyone runs the pull (+) and push (-) paddle or a ring inside the steering wheel. Ford for the last two years, not this year, had a linkage for the shifter on the inside that wasn't connected to anything. If the hydraulics failed, they would disable the rear brake lever and hook up the linkage so it became the shifter. This was done to save weight, but has it's downsides. And yes, if you pull the rear brake lever, it also opens the diff. The Prodrive Subaru WRC car is different. They run a conventional H pattern gearbox, but they have a clutch pedal but no mechanical shifter. The reason they went with a H pattern instead of a sequential is the ability to skip to 1st and R from any gear. There is a rotary switch inside the car the selects N, 1, and R. This was done so when they have a spin or go off course, they can instantly select 1st or R without having to go through all the gears to get to 1st. The system is incredibly reliable that they don't have and manual shifter anymore. I recall it failing once in the last 4 seasons. There is still a single gear capabilities in case something goes wrong. It required going underneath the car to select a single gear. The transmission is also linked to the launch control, and it will do an automatic 1-2 shift. There's actually a better way to get WRC coverage without using BitTorrent, and it's much faster. Wow, thanks for all the info!!! What is the better way to get WRC coverage? Aside from being there in person? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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