At 09:49 AM 9/28/99 -0400, Kevin W. Hoff wrote:
>Buddy Ahlers wrote:
>
>I'd be shocked if F1, a place where they use all kinds of crazy hi-tech
>metals to achieve a million rpm out of those little motors, had a limit to
>how much money could be spent on a car. Please tell me if I'm wrong. I hate
>to be wrong. ;-)
>
>Well, you're wrong, but right at the same time...
>
>F1 actually restricted, in a round-about way, maximum cost and exotic
>material usage a few years back. Some of the top teams were using
>Beryllium/Aluminum MMC alloy for brake calipers. Beyond the poisonous dust,
>Be/Al alloys are at least 10x the cost of more normal Al alloys. Because F1
>is "the pinnacle, where cost is no object", the parts were outlawed based on
>stiffness rather than cost. There is a new clause that states something
>like "the brake calipers Young's modulus (stiffness) must be <XX (where XX
>is normal Al alloys)". Rumour has it that both McLaren and Ferrari are
>using Be alloys for pistons and maybe connecting rods in their current
>engines, but Ross Brawn didn't return my call!
Several of the F-1 teams (Stewart, McLaren?) are using Be/Al for the engine
blocks and pistons. I saw the cost for a set of V-10 pistons at around
$16,000 (converted from British pounds; approx). I can't imagine what
the block must cost! Apparently the Be dust isn't a problem in this
application.
|