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by arprocter 3749 days ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Celica_GT-Four#ST205_.2...

"During the 1995 World Rally Championship season, Toyota was caught using illegal turbo restrictors at the Rally Catalunya and were given a one-year ban by the FIA. FIA president Max Mosley called the illegal turbo restrictor "the most sophisticated device I've ever seen in 30 years of motor sports.""
2 comments
bliti 3749 days ago
More details on the illegal modification: http://homepage.virgin.net/shalco.com/tte_ban.htm

It is quite brilliant. Think of it as a software backdoor. :)

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arprocter 3749 days ago
The wording is a bit confusing - IIRC it was a way to bypass the restrictor (which all cars were fitted with) to sneak more air into the engine.
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bliti 3749 days ago
Yes, it was a mechanical valve built into the area. If you've never had a turbocharger in your hand it might be tricky to picture it in your head.
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arprocter 3749 days ago
I have; although I was under the impression that pressure is normally regulated by the wastegate opening to allow exhaust to bypass the turbine - no restrictor required
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bliti 3749 days ago
You can use the wastegate, a blow-off valve, or a restrictor to limit the amount of boost (backpressure in the air intake side of the engine). The wastegate controls how much the turbo spins and thus how much air it moves. The blow-off valve leaks the pressurized air (think of letting pressure off of a tire) into the atmosphere. The conventional use for a blow off is to relieve the compressed air during engine vacuum. The restrictor works by limiting how much air can enter the turbo. This means that the wastegate will be unaffected because it will depend on how much boost exists in the intake manifold. A retricted turbo will need to work harder for the same amount of boost (or be more efficient).
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semi-extrinsic 3749 days ago
See also the "McLaren Snorkel"[1] in Formula 1. Not actually cheating, but it was also a brilliant piee of engineering, and it was banned pretty quickly.

TLDR: in F1 you're not allowed to have a variable rear spoiler (i.e. high downforce in corners but low drag on straights). But the rules only specified hydraulic or mechanical devices were banned. McLaren engineers came up with the idea to stall the rear spoiler on the straights using a flexible tube which led air from the front spoiler to the rear. The driver would use his knee inside the cockpit to block or open the flow in the hose, so no mechanical or hydraulic mechanism was used.

[1] https://scarbsf1.wordpress.com/2010/03/11/235/

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taneq 3749 days ago
And this is my primary problem with Formula 1. Any time anyone actually innovates, it's banned in short order. The whole thing is about dealing with the arbitrary restrictions imposed rather than about making the best possible vehicle.
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