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Old 30 Apr 2007, 16:14 (Ref:1903531)   #11
Sev
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location:
Warwick
Posts: 561
Sev has a lot of promise if they can keep it on the circuit!
To try and answer this as succinctly as possible:

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Originally Posted by karimbo
1) Is a seamless shift gearbox the same as a CVT (continously variable transmission?
No. CVT's do not have discreet gear ratio's, F1 gearboxes all do.

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2) Do drivers have to shift gears themself.
Yep, they still have the paddles.

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3) How many gears do these transmission have?
I believe most, if not all, current F1 team use 7 forward gears in their transmissions.

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4) Do they have discreet ratios?
Yes.

As far as I know, the main difference between yesteryears "semi-automatic" and this years "seamless shift" gear boxes is about the use of the clutch, not the gears themselves.

In a normal semi, like with a normal gearbox, the clutch disengages whilst a new year is put into place, then re-engages the new year. This means there is a time (in an F1 car, a few milliseconds) where there is no power going directly to the wheels.

In a seamless shift box, there is no such time. I'm not entirely sure on the mechanism behind this, but I would imagine it could well be something like using two clutches (or more) so that for a period both gears could be engaged simultaneously, although only one would then be connected to the wheels. This would allow for there to be no momentary loss of power to the wheels when changing gear.

Hope that makes sense.
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