I'm writing an essay (which in a round about way is tied to green society) which has to do with racing's relevence to society in the form of technological advancement. I've got a few angles for future advancements foreshadowed today already, but as a sort of back-padding to it I'd like to list off some existing advancements currently in use on street cars that have come from racing. I'm having some trouble finding definite answers to this, and the only thing I can think of is disc brakes (Which, IIRC, were developed by Jaguar in the early 50s for their race cars? Correct me if I'm wrong).

Once I get the essay started the blindingly short paper (only 1500 words) will be a breeze to write, but I'd just like to put in that little bit of background info to connect my initial argument to current/past facts.

Ryan

I think disc brakes were widely used on aircraft before racing cars. Possibly the concept of monocoque construction (by a 1920s French racing car which someone else may be able to help you with). Various aerodynamic and engine developments. Some safety improvements (seatbelts?). Not to mention no shortage of new materials and (largely historical) advancement in testing rigs/wind tunnels/car setup/simulation etc.

After som brief research it seems neither disc brakes or seatbelts are racing innovations. Hmm.. Finding this info is tougher than I thought it'd be.

Something newer could be KERS and Hybrid technology? I'm sure someone is developping (urgh I killed the spelling) a way to take the heat from the brakes and other parts of the car to recharge an electric battery in a hybrid or fully electric system.

The FIA and Max Mosley were heavily involved in the Euro NCAP and the improvement in safety of road cars inspired by the improvements seen in motorsport... I think

After some more research and some debating, I think the angle I'll take is that of motorsport's rapid advance of existing technologies. For instance, disc brakes which were originally used on Aircraft. After adaptation to automotive uses, racing advanced this technology further at a rapid pace and these innovations are seen on modern vehicles. Looks like that is the angle I'll have to take - which may work out better, anyways, since the paper will revolve around current trends towards greener racing that are centralized in the advancement of existing technologies (ethanol, etc..).

Thanks for the help guys. I should probably start writing this thing now, it's due tomorrow and it's after 9pm and I have an exam at 9am that I still need to study for. Yay procrastination!

Paddle shifting? Not sure...

Maggot, your initial statement is more viable than the second. Something that was invented in sports can get a further development in everyday use, but something developed for racing can't be used in everyday life.

Racing car is to a great extend a throwaway thing, hence it's not reliable. Some of the equipment deals with only racing bottlenecks, like valves pushed by pnewmatics instead of springs. Manufacturing costs are quite high. Range of operating conditions is quite limited. Also think how many engineers work in racing, and how many work in automobile industry across the world.

I like racing, but it's a quite useless thing.

Not exactly - while specific components used in racing may have no place on the roads, the lessons learned through them do. The advancement of direct injection, the increased understanding of aerodynamics (theory for planes can't be directly applied to cars, necessarily)

I didn't get to mention the advancements, though, I've already far overshot my wordcount and I still need to conclude. Ah well. Time for bed, I think.

1500 words, that isn't much, I feel for ya! I was going to suggest use of lightweight materials such as carbon fiber, but it looks like you don't need much content for your paper!!

Alloy wheels (and the brief use of mag wheels in motorsports) would surely be one. Developed for their light weight, easy balance and good steering response, now largely used as a cosmetic feature.

No?

The aero industry probably beat cars to it too. Same with split wheels. Magnesium was far from briefly used in motorsports!

Turbochargers and tyres (radials)?

Turbochargers were popularized due to the turbo era of F1? BMW 2002 turbo was the first turbo road car I can think of, it was Early 70s. Later that decade Renault thought it was a nice idea and took it up for F1, soon everyone used it for motorsport. Around the same time the technologies got picked up for road cars.

Quote from Dajmin :

and the brief use of mag wheels in motorsports

Magnesium wheels are still the best available and used in F1 and almost all serious competition, but are far too expensive to filter into road cars.

Quote from duke_toaster :

Turbochargers were popularized due to the turbo era of F1? BMW 2002 turbo was the first turbo road car I can think of, it was Early 70s. Later that decade Renault thought it was a nice idea and took it up for F1, soon everyone used it for motorsport. Around the same time the technologies got picked up for road cars.

Turbos were used in road cars long before they ever became successful in racing. You might find that some of the rally anti-lag systems have been put into road cars and of course rallying gave us the Gatso.

Other than that there could be a (very) tentative argument that Mercedes Grand Prix cars of the 1950s pioneered fuel (diesel derived and I think direct) injection in petrol engined road cars, with the 300SL. Other than that you could argue that the Miller racing cars of the 1920s developed front wheel drive.

As above,

I was going to mention Mercedes inventing (or at least implementing) fuel injection in race/road cars.

What about systems like ABS & TC. Pioneered in F1 etc(?), but revised for road cars.

I always thought volvo invented ABS for road car use? rather then it coming through racing, but then again, im probably wrong!

Racing doesn't necessarily involve "testing" new technologies. Usually racing involves developing existing technology.

It's one of the attractions of manufacturer involvement in categories like F1 and Le Mans. They don't do it to test new technology, but rather to gain greater expertise in developing existing ones. Technology-transfer is the key term. With motorsport, manufacturers get both advertising as well as research and development.

Carbon-fibre components, disk brakes, turbo-chargers, monocoque chassis, all-wheel-drive, are examples of existing technology that were refined by motorsport application.

Limited-slip differential is an example of technology designed specifically for motorsport (by Porsche for Auto Union).

Quote from duke_toaster :

Turbochargers were popularized due to the turbo era of F1? BMW 2002 turbo was the first turbo road car I can think of, it was Early 70s. Later that decade Renault thought it was a nice idea and took it up for F1, soon everyone used it for motorsport. Around the same time the technologies got picked up for road cars.

The oldsmobile cutlass was the first turbo road car...

traction control, ABS
The use of composite materials

Quote from SidiousX :

The oldsmobile cutlass was the first turbo road car...

Yes, but the F1 turbo era corresponded with the increase in road cars. And it was the first that I could think of, not the first ever (although I think it was the first in Europe).