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Originally Posted by ovalpiston
Hi,
Thanks for responding.Is engine configuration same for both the BUSCH cup and the Nextel Cup? When you say some use an over-bored 358 Cu. in, that is a good 600 cc increase in the capacity,which is quiet substantial, how are these cars allowed to run an 600cc + over the regulations? I have heard that the cast iron block used in the engines havent changed since 1968, is this true?
I mean no offence,but the technology aspect of the motorsports has always interested me more than anything else.F1 has been in the forefront of technology and not surprisingly its also been the most expensive form of motorsports ever.Are there any particular reason why an "open formula" is not used in NASCAR? Why is foreign manufacturer participation not encouraged? When the regulations and technology used doesnt change,how does this benefit in the R & D for the road cars?sorry for so many questions...but NASCAR is new to me..
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The maximum engine size is 358 cubic inches and virtually all engines are that size. All the blocks do not date to 1968, some were just released this year and are no longer cast iron but cast from CGI. The engine rules are designed to limit the amount of spending and keep costs down. There is a tremendous amount of technology that goes into the engines within the restrictions. Improving performance while not being allowed to change to fuel injection, 4 valves etc. is just as demanding as improving it within those expanded parameters. NASCAR does not exist to be an R&D source for road cars, it is a racing series. Foreign manufactures are not discouraged from running in NASCAR. Only Toyota has submitted an engine design and it was approved. No other manufactures have expressed interest.
F-1 is continually adding restrictions to try to contain costs and is far from open to all new technologies. Every year more restrictions are added and the engines are starting to all have mostly the same specs just as NASCAR engines do. Comparing the two racing series is comparing apples to oranges as they have differing rules and restrictions. A formula one team, engineers and driver could not move to NASCAR and dominate any more than a NASCAR team could in F-1. I know of NASCAR engineers that have traveled to europe to speak at tech symposiums at the invitation of F-1. The F-1 engineers were amazed at the detail and creativity of the NASCAR technology. Equally the NASCAR engineers are amazed at what is being accomplished in F-1. There are former F-1 engineers on NASCAR teams. It takes lots of information and knowledge to compare the two series. It is fine to have a preference towards one series but an informed person will realize that lots of hard work and the latest technology is applied in both.
If you are really interested in NASCAR technology I can try to answer more questions or refer you to some of the little information available. The technical information is not widely available as it is proprietary.
beth