How is it that motorsports are still allowed?

[Frank Lee]

If I can believe the net, doctors introduced seat belts. Some really early buggy car had disc brakes but they were junk... decades later some good ones were developed for aviation and then the tech spread.

[redyaris]

Motor sports are about spectical, no different than Roman gladiators. In fact all profesional sports are about spectical.
Carbon fiber was developed in the aircraft industry.
Inovation is discuraged in the motorsports arena, case in point; Jim Hall and his chapparel race cars of the 70's, and dustbin fairings in motorcycle racing in the 50's. Colin Chapmin had meany of his inovations ruled out of F1. The rules for profesional bicycle racing prohibit recumbents and other inovations because they do not add very much to the spectical of the event...
Why is it allowed? Ask the Romans...
Anyone up for a little chariot racing?

[redyaris]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

If I can believe the net, doctors introduced seat belts. Some really early buggy car had disc brakes but they were junk... decades later some good ones were developed for aviation and then the tech spread.

My suspision is that seat belts came out of the airplane industry in order for pilots to fly there airplanes inverted. I dought there is much in the motorsports arena that did not come from airplanes...

[Kodak]

At least when the fuel is consumed, thousands of people are entertained.

What gets me is the politicians who take private jets (consisting of a pilot, staff and themselves) around the country and then call on the public to cut consumption. That's far more fuel per person, plus a message of hypocrisy.

[ProDarwin]

Originally Posted by redyaris

My suspision is that seat belts came out of the airplane industry in order for pilots to fly there airplanes inverted. I dought there is much in the motorsports arena that did not come from airplanes...

Airplane piston engines still use carburetors or mechanical fuel injection - way behind the automotive curve.

[ecofreak]

Originally Posted by ProDarwin

Airplane piston engines still use carburetors or mechanical fuel injection - way behind the automotive curve.

Yes, but much of their innovation has been put into cars as lightweight alloys, engines (which, until then, were unwieldy and low power), and hydraulics.

Sure, now piston airplanes use leaded gasoline and mechanical fuel injection, but you have to understand that ECU control with VVT and the like is hard to program when there is a huge envelope of air pressures, oxygen amounts, etc.

[redyaris]

I think not.
Fuel injection was developed in the the airplane inudstry for airplanes that needed to do anything other than fly in level flight. I suspect that the planes you are refering to are not aerobatic rated. Electronic controls and monitoring was also from the aircraft industry, think autopilot. The motorsport industry only adapted aircraft industry developments to the auto/motorsport industries.

[Fat Charlie]

Aircraft electronics are also pathetically behind the curve. I don't have to turn my phone off every time I get into a car for fear of the whole thing going up in flames.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by duane1

Motorsports pushes a lot of the inovation that eventually makes it into street cars, so they have that going for them.

Like Pirelli F1 tyres specifically made to wear out fast, very fast, or ridiculously fast ?
That's why they changed to Pirelli, it's something the Italians were already good at


It used to be that way, motorsports pushing the motor / car technology ahead, but those days are gone.

[Frank Lee]

One thing I can think of for sure that racing developed and general automotive adopted is the rear view mirror. Other than that, not so much.