Vehicle Technologies: What Innovations Do We Owe to Motorsports?

If you love cars but don't think much of motorsports, you really should reconsider. Many people aren't aware that quite a few technologies they enjoy on a regular basis while driving actually came straight from racing.Back in the day, some people subscribed to the philosophy that winning a race on a Sunday would lead to more sales for the manufacturer on Monday. Is that still true? Kind of, but that's not the point. We all owe a debt of gratitude to motorsports of all kinds, because without them cars just wouldn't be the same.Without further delay, here's the list of technologies.VTECWhile some make fun of the "VTEC just kicked in" thing, this technology is actually handy (but it doesn't act like a turbo). Back in the middle of the 1980s, Honda's motorsports arm needed a way to broaden the torque curve on its Formula One cars. The variable valve timing and lift electronic control (VTEC) was created as a direct result.Really, the biggest benefit of VTEC doesn't have to do with some surge in torque output and especially not with more horsepower. Instead, it's boosted the fuel economy for Hondas and helped keep emissions down.Push-Button IgnitionsJust about every new car these days can be outfitted with a button you push to fire up the engine. While some have questioned the value of such a feature, the fact is it comes directly from the world of motorsports. Every second, every tenth of a second, counts in a race. Automakers have been trying all sorts of time savers for drivers. Porsche used to place the ignition on the left side of the steering column, allowing racers to shift into first gear while starting the engine.As technology progressed, push-button ignitions started to become popular in racing circuits. After all, pushing a button is even faster than turning a key. Somewhere along the way, automakers got the idea to add this "sporty" feature to performance-oriented vehicles. It turned out that a lot of average consumers liked the idea, hence why it's so common these days.Disc BrakesBack in the 1950s, disc brakes started to catch on with racing teams, thanks to Jaguar using them on the C-Type. The British automaker was able to grab the top podium finish for the 1952 24 Hours of Le Mans.Disc brakes were easier to work on than drum brakes, which is key for quick pit stops. They also provided superior stopping ability, which is also pretty critical in a race. Even more important is the fact that disc brakes stay cooler during heavy use.Consumers also began to realize that disc brakes were a nice thing to have on a car. Automakers started including them as a luxury or performance feature. Today, they're pretty much standard equipment on every car.Thanks to motorsports, ways to keep brake discs cool in different scenarios have been explored. This includes cross drilling, venting and slotting, as well as front intakes that send air over the wheels. Making the discs and brake pads out of different materials such as carbon ceramic also helps.Occupant CellsYou've probably heard of front and rear crumple zones, as well as roll cages in race cars. They're part of the occupant safety cell, which can be called a number of different names by automakers. Basically it’s a design where the front and rear sections of the vehicle are designed to absorb crash forces so they don't transfer to the driver and passengers.The same kinds of innovations that have been used for roll cages are applied to the structure of the occupant cell. You can't see this because it's hidden under plastic bezels, the headliner, carpeting, etc. If you watch crash test videos, you can see the cell not crumpling while the hood and trunk smash easily.This is an innovation most people don't really appreciate until they've been in a bad wreck. Being able to walk away from an accident is a good thing, and we owe it to, wait for it... racing.Paddle ShiftersA growing number of automatic transmissions can be controlled by the driver using paddles that are mounted to the steering wheel. It's a quick and convenient way to decide when to transition gears, especially when compared to setups where the driver has to move the gear selector into a manual mode zone, then flip it forward to upshift and backward to downshift.Paddle shifters started out in F1 racing, where they allowed racers to switch gears superfast without taking their hands off the steering wheel. While some purists still like to row through the gears with a stick, this technology is far superior to dealing with annoying gear seeking or an automatic transmission that won't upshift until the RPMs climb dangerously close to the red line.Seat HeatersIf you've ever been fortunate enough to own a vehicle with heated seats, you know how great this technology is. It often works much faster than the heater, which is wonderful when you climb into a frigid car on a winter morning.Saab actually invented seat heaters as a way to shed weight from its race cars. The tech also helped soothe drivers' backs, something that boosted safety and made it a good thing to include on production vehicles. The rest is history.Rearview MirrorsNobody can imagine using a car without a rearview mirror, but before the feature was used in motorsports it just plain didn't even exist. Back in 1911 Ray Harroun, who was an engineer for Marmon Motor Car Company, had a brilliant idea. Instead of having two people in the company's car for the Indianapolis 500 like all of the competition, the driver could sit alone and use a high-mounted mirror to look out for other vehicles coming up from behind.The weight-saving idea allowed the Marmon Wasp to win the race handily. Three years later rearview mirrors started to pop up in all kinds of production cars, forever altering how vehicles are designed.

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