This Tech Changed F1 Forever | Pneumatic Valve Springs Explained!

Sorry, but you hit one of my sensitive points. A spring fatigue failure is not like bending a paperclip until it breaks. A paperclip breaks because you are plastically deforming the metal (stressing it past its yield point) and this causes work hardening, embrittling it. Fatigue failures are cyclic failures of a material that has been stressed below its yield point (you haven't plastically deformed it), but causes accumulated damage. These are two separate failure mechanisms.

You missed the most important point. The resonance frequency. It is easy to build a non-linear spring, and the time that springs break is long gone. You can see it in modern motorcycles 16.000 rpm is not a problem at all and these engines run easily for 40.000km without failure. The problem with larger displacements is that the valves get bigger and therefore naturally heavier, so you must increase the spings force, but by stiffening the spring you increase their resonance frequency to higher rpm so the springs starts to resonate when it really counts at high rpm. You can still overcome this effect to a degree by using two springs with different spring forces. There are roadcars that use this method. The 1st series of Golf GTI is such an example. The fun thing with the gas spring is that it has basically no mass and it can't resonate, or at least not in a rev range where it matters.

As a Miata driver, feel called out. Also as you are are reading this I'm trying to figure out how to put pneumatic valve springs into said Miata

As a an automotive technician that was an excellent explanation.

Thanks for an easy to understand look at pneumatic valve trains, nice graphics too.

Cracking video with the perfect amount of details. 😀

First introduced by Renault in the Lotus. To be more precised, a Matra and Renault invention. Because this invention is stock and displayed in the Matra museum in France. Back then Matra was still this amazing engineering compagny, which had a great competitions history. Often forgotten nowadays. Matra had the advantages, to work in so many types of industries, which allowed them very excellent engineering in different domains.

somebody get this man views 🙏🙏🙏

I wish pneumatic valve springs were more common. They are so effective. They are used in MotoGP (Except Ducati) as well as F1. The MotoGP bikes have a small, probably carbon, tank and small compressor that pressurizes the valves. I'd love to see one of the new Dart Block 2JZ engines paired with a pneumatic valve head ran by timing gears. That could easily rev to over 15k. Joel Grannas money shifted his orange Supra and hit 12k, and everything was fine. It was a billet 2JZ though.

that's why, once, during the Monza GP, BMW managed to reach 21000 rpm....during 3 laps (during the early 2000's) It works, it works perfectly but...better be gentle with it or your rear tyres will lock at 350kph (that's what happened to one of the Williams BMW pilots during this race, when his engine decided to quit the race...after 3 laps)

Amazing history, narration and explanation! These wonderful videos deserves our like, comment and gratitude. 100/100

Just discovered your channel. Nice job on pneumatic valve springs. Looking forward to your presentations of other motorsport technologies.

Great video. Quality content, well edited.

Thanks for posting this video I’ve been trying to get a clear explanation on this for about a year now.

What a great video! Excited to look through your catalog.

There is also a natural limit for steel springs. Stronger ones are heavier and so add mass to the valve they need to move. More mass -> more force needed -> bigger spring. Until you reach the limit. Also coil springs resonate. That’s the reason why you often see a large spring with a small one inside. They have different resonance frequencies and together both resonance peaks flatten out. Gas just behaves more ideal than bend iron. 😂

Wow! That's some great valve train education. Learn something new every day. 😊

Very good content, thx for the video 👍

Wonderful explanation, thank you kindly! 👊🏼

Very cool, great video!