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Motor Sports Engineering

Then as now: Grand Prix winners race Sachs


In 1914, racing cars from the house of Mercedes occupied the first three positions at an „internationally filled Grand Prix”. The technology from the house of Sachs played an important part in this one-two-three triumph: The Mercedes models were equipped with ball bearings from Schweinfurt. Almost 90 years later Michael Schumacher, driving the Ferrari F2003-GA, became Formula 1 World Champion for the sixth time. Parallels to days gone by: Also working in the German‘s car and concealed from prying eyes, but nevertheless highly effectively, is high-tech from Sachs. Technology has advanced rapidly in these 90 years. Again and again it was the ZF Sachs engineers who forged ahead with their powers of innovation, in dealing with high-tech materials and continuously refined manufacturing methods. As a result, in the 1930s the „Silver Arrows” from Untertürkeim raced from victory to victory – last but not least thanks to the clutches and revolutionary ZF Sachs aluminium rib dampers.

These suspension components owed their name to the distinctive cooling vanes on the damping element, which were not unlike the cylinder head of an air-cooled motorbike. Form followed function: Since the ribbed-dampers had to accept spring travel of up to 100 millimetres, the damper oil‘s temperature rose sharply. The housing surface, visibly increased by the ribs made of aluminium with excellent heat conducting properties, maintained a constant operating temperature and prevented overheating. Today the ribs have disappeared just as the long spring travel has. The piston rod of a TRD-Damper (Through Rod Damper) in Formula 1, made by ZF Sachs Race Engineering, only just moves 40 millimetres, at the front a only a mere 25 millimetres.

Over the course of six decades, the dimensions have also clearly shrunk: There was sufficient space in the roughly 80 by 400 millimetre large rib-damper for a large champagne bottle, in the 36 by 250 millimetre small TRD-Damper there is hardly enough space for even a Piccolo. Parallel to the reduction in size the weight also decreased: The rib-damper, light under the circumstances, weighed in at 1.5 kilograms, the younger TRD brother weighs between 200 and 300 grams.

The component mounting orientation has also changed. The times when dampers had to perform their work mounted vertically are over. Since the 1970s, the spring/damper units have been mounted horizontally. This space saving installation version is made possible by the new pushrod suspension, in which the damper is located in either the driver‘s foot well or in the gearbox housing. With the new single-tube damper principle, as still used today, the damping element, oil, works under gas pressure. The gas and oil are no longer stored in the same chamber but are housed in separate units. The mixing of oil and gas, caused by the large roll angles in twin-tube dampers no longer exists. As a result the engineers are free to choose the position of the spring/damper unit.

The Sachs engineers have not only achieved tremendous development steps in the field of dampers. The clutch has also been continuously improved. In 1990, the DTM title of Hans-Joachim Stuck rang in a new era: The clutch plates of his Audi V8 were made of carbon. This efficient high-tech material capable of withstanding high loads minimised the dimensions and the weight of the gear shift aid. The three plates of the current Formula 1 clutch GMFZ 3/97 Y have a diameter of only 97 millimetres, the entire housing, at 11.1 by 5 centimetres, is just a little bigger than a gear knob. Since lightweight materials, such as titanium and aluminium, are also used for the housing and mechanics, the GMFZ 3/97 Y at less than 900 grams is a genuine featherweight. The Sachs clutch fitted in the pre-war Silver Arrow Mercedes W125 weighed, at 9.8 kilos, ten times more and was not even as efficient as its counterpart in Formula 1 which withstands rotational speeds of up to 19,000 rpm, 600 Nm torque and 900 PS. Further complicating the situation is the fact that the motorsport clutch must often accomplish much more than merely interrupting the tractive force during the gear change. It also is very important during the start of a race, when temperatures of more than 1000 degrees Celsius are created in fractions of a second.

Electronic driver aids, automatic gear shifting? The Silver Arrow drivers in 1930s had to do without them, when they depressed the clutch approximately 800 times per race, and strained at the gear lever and steering. Today, the gear shift paddles will have to be used up to 5.000 times. From 2004, F1 drivers also will have to start a race without any automatic systems.

For further information: ZF Sachs AG,
Detlef Reinhart, Director Company Communications
Phone +49 (0) 97 21 – 98 21 41, Fax +49 (0) 97 21 – 98 31 80
E-Mail: presse@sachs.de

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