How fast can pitstops get?

[N12ck]

After that 2.4 second pitstop in Germany, I think its time to wonder how fast pitstops can get, with McLaren leading the way, I wonder if a sub 2 second pitstop is possible with human reaction times included, whats everyones take on this?

[Jackuar]

Well... I guess like any other record, this too will happen someday but not sure how soon. It will be real long I think before the break the 2 second mark.

Part of it depends on the technology - the wrenches used to mount and un-mount the tyres. I"m not aware of how fast a wrench can operate but that needs to be improved to think of sub-2 sec mark. And add with even more near-perfect synchronized crew team (On top of the already impressive abilities).

But beyond merely setting the pit-time record, I think the safety aspect should improve along with. If it were me, I would rather have a 3 sec safe stop than a 2.2 second stop. Looking at the blunders the McL have done this season, I wouldn't be surprised if they break the 2 sec mark and the tyres roll ahead of the car at the pit exit !

[Caito]

I've made a thread in the past. But it is still unclear how they count the time, when do they begin and stop the watch.

2.4 seconds from when to when? Then we can speculate how fast it could be made, maybe.

[raymondu999]

I've made a thread in the past. But it is still unclear how they count the time, when do they begin and stop the watch.

2.4 seconds from when to when? Then we can speculate how fast it could be made, maybe.

AFAIK it's based on the car's onboard telemetry, when the car's longitudinal velocity reads 0

[RB7ate9]

For Button's pit, if one watches the replay, is that there was just no delay between the front wing hitting that jack before it was lifted up. It was one smooth motion. As for the release, the jacks came down and the car was rolling immediately as it hit the pavement. That is as fast as possible, barring driver-operated internal jacks to remove the front/rear jack man that raised at the push of a button and dropped when the driver hits the throttle.

[raymondu999]

For Button's pit, if one watches the replay, is that there was just no delay between the front wing hitting that jack before it was lifted up. It was one smooth motion. As for the release, the jacks came down and the car was rolling immediately as it hit the pavement. That is as fast as possible, barring driver-operated internal jacks to remove the front/rear jack man that raised at the push of a button and dropped when the driver hits the throttle.

I think the question was more aimed towards the mechanics though. Could the mechanics' hands have accelerated towards/away from the car quicker? Could the wheelnuts have been done quicker? That kind of thing. Regards to getaway and entry, you're quite in that it is pretty much tops, though that is still limited by the speed at which the front jackman can run away, and the rear jackman can run into position

[Cold Fussion]

I've often heard that the pit crews do sub 2 second stops in practice, it is just never that quick in the race. About now you need to consistently do sub 4 second pitstops and that isn't always achieved. I think the teams would be more then happy if they could consistently do a 3 second stop.

[endless]

Nice comparison

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNK49ZD_D0Q[/youtube]

[Nando]

I think Ferrari said they could do sub 2 second pit stops in training.
Maybe next year an average of 2 seconds is the norm for really quick stops.

the hard part is you need 10 guys doing sub 2 second changes, not just one dude

[RB7ate9]

Which one of Vettel's pit stops was the comparison in? I recall there was a scramble in the pits because Vettel was called in to try and cover Alonso (who had his Mechanics waiting in the pit lane).

I wish they had done the comparison with Webbers sub-3s pit, just to try and see where that extra 0.3 - 0.4s came from.

[RB7ate9]

Nice comparison

It definitely looked like RB lost some time with the front wheel-removers who took extra time to hold up their hands (to allow Vettel to see the stop positions with those red plates) rather than be in a position to grab the wheel the moment its raised. That is the first indicator of difference between them.

[RB7ate9]

For Button's pit, if one watches the replay, is that there was just no delay between the front wing hitting that jack before it was lifted up. It was one smooth motion. As for the release, the jacks came down and the car was rolling immediately as it hit the pavement. That is as fast as possible, barring driver-operated internal jacks to remove the front/rear jack man that raised at the push of a button and dropped when the driver hits the throttle.

I think the question was more aimed towards the mechanics though. Could the mechanics' hands have accelerated towards/away from the car quicker? Could the wheelnuts have been done quicker? That kind of thing. Regards to getaway and entry, you're quite in that it is pretty much tops, though that is still limited by the speed at which the front jackman can run away, and the rear jackman can run into position

Hmm. In terms of wheelnuts, the rules will limit that (as the recent ban on helium mixes have shown). However, with the mechanics maybe getting a little closer to the car (sort of having their hands in a position to "catch" the wheels with hands on the moment it stops) and fast-twitch muscle, and a heavy dose of zen training to calm nerves, we could see more consistent sub-3s pit stops.

[astracrazy]

i think if you closely look at Buttons pitstop there are one or two things which they could gain time on. But when will everything thing come together like that again + the improvements.

A lot of time was gained i think by the wheels coming off as the cars jacked (best seen in the pictures) its as if more time could be found from that jacks

[N12ck]

maybe a better jack can be designed, are we limited to number of people doing a pitstop?

[amouzouris]

i think that they could play around with the wheel gun and make it automatically change direction after the mechanic has stopped pressing the trigger to save some time...