Mclaren F1 powertrain

[NewyorkKopter]

Hey, you know how Lamborghini puts the gearbox first, then the transmission behind it, then the engine, and then the rear diffrential. Does any one know how the McLaren F1's powertrain is set-up?? I know Koenigsegg puts the Engine then the transmission, diffrential and all the way at the back is the gear box like a 1980's LeMans car. I just need to know McLaren's. Thanks

[Peloton25]

The F1 uses an incredibly unique powertrain layout - the engine is ahead of the transmission, similar to other designs you mentioned, but the F1's transmission is mounted transversely making for a very compact package.

Here are some images to give you a better idea:



In the shot above, the transmission isn't really visible, but you can see how close it sits to the back of the engine, running long ways between the two rear wheels.



That's a rare shot of the guts of the transmission.



The shot above shows the powertrain unit removed from one of the longtail Gulf GTRs - this is probably the best shot to show the placement of the transmission. It should be noted though, that the longtail GTRs didn't use the same transmission as the standard F1s and shorttail GTRs, but instead featured a sequential version of the design developed by Xtrac.

>8^)
ER

[Peloton25]

Here's another photo I was able to get my hands on showing a short tail GTR with the engine/trans combo still fitted to the car.



That would be the same transmission as was fitted to the F1 road car in that shot.

>8^)
ER

[NewyorkKopter]

Thanks man, You have no idea how much that helped. Btw, where did you find those pics, I looked all over and didn't see any at all. Just one more thing, the clutch and gearbox were in front of the engine rite? And the transmission is where the driveshaft connects to rear wheels rite? Thanks again

[Peloton25]

No - the clutch and gearbox were all behind the engine. That unit you are looking at in the photos is the gearbox. 'Transmission' and 'gearbox' are synonymous. The clutch would be located between the engine and the transmission and cannot be seen in these photos.

As for the images - I've been at this for a very long time so some of the photos I have can't be found anymore.

The first shot came from the URL that's listed on it, but I don't think that site is around any longer. The second shot came from the Traction Products website - though I have enlarged it from the original you will find there. I'm not sure where the third shot is from - probably a site like Racing Sports Cars. The source on the final shot is one of those "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you" kind of things.

>8^)
ER

[NewyorkKopter]

so basically this is how it is

[F1 monster]

Kill me and put me out of my misery!

[NewyorkKopter]

lol then how is it

[Peloton25]

Sorry, I think I added to the confusion by interchanging the words 'transmission' and 'gearbox' a few times when they are really the same item. Here's my crude drawing:



The small box towards the front of the car shows the location of the gearshift. The line running back from it implies where the shift cables are routed, though this is not exact mind you. The large light grey box that those cables kink around would be the F1s engine. The smaller medium-grey rectangle following that shows the location of the clutch pack. The large dark grey rectangle following that and smaller light grey one attached to it would be the gearbox/transmission - I should have made that all one color really. The golden lines are the drive shafts and those two large black rectangles would be the rear wheels.

The only thing I can't really answer is where the differential is situated inside the gearbox. I would assume that it is in the middle and towards the front to allow for an even distribution of the power, but I don't have anything that clearly shows it's location.

Chapter 9 of Driving Ambition is called "Gearing Up" and has a few diagrams and an additional photo or two that may prove helpful, but I don't have any of those in digital form. Also the diagrams aren't clearly labeled for what each part is, they just offer basic visuals.

One of the captions claims this was the smallest, lightest, six-speed all synchromesh production gearbox. McLaren also received patents for the unique layout - the entire unit fitting within the distance normally devoted to the flywheel/clutch found in other gearbox designs.

>8^)
ER

[NewyorkKopter]

Thanks man. yea it does seem pretty small since they placed the transmission horizontal. Thanks again for that diagram. helped alot

[F1 monster]

Would it have killed ya to grab pics of the real things and put those in the pics instead of the boxes? And couldn't you put text labels on the diagram itself?!!! j/k

Nice job anyways--it's almost to scale.

[Peloton25]

I think the transmission/gearbox is a bit larger, but I didn't feel like redoing it once I had it uploaded.

Captions in the photo would have been a nice touch for sure. Maybe next time...

>8^)
ER

[NewyorkKopter]

just one more thing, wat does that mean hat McLaren recieved patents for the design? Does that mean no other car maker can make a production car with that same layout??

[Peloton25]

I don't know patent law all that well, but I would assume that if anyone else wanted to use the design they could pay some kind of negotiated royalties to McLaren for the right to do so.

>8^)
ER

[F1 monster]

Yes, it means that the patent office (government) recognizes that McLaren was the first to come up with such an invention (new device) or innovation (new way of doing something). As such, it gives McLaren the formal ownership rights to the invention or innovation. These ownership rights are intellectual property rights, and if anyone copies them then McLaren has the right to seek compensation.

Note that:
1. Copying has specific legal definitions. You can make something similar, and it might be considered copying under the eyes of the law. Or, you can have the exact same thing with different materials, other minor differences, and the legal system might rule that it is not a copy. It is up to the lawyers and the case they present.

2. It is up to the patent holder to enforce their patents and protect it from violation. Obviously, this depends on how much money /resources they have.

3. If you don't claim and protect ownership rights, and allow your intellectual property to be used by others, you can be considered to have abandoned your rights and legal protections--essentially, you lose your patent protection.

4. Patents expire after 17 years.

5. State law and federal law treat your rights differently in the US.

I mention US law because McLaren was granted several US patents as well.