Race Car Style Ignition and Startup

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Crispy

Crispy

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crispychicken49
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crispychicken49
O, watching a couple episodes of Top Gear, I noticed that the DBRS has a switch box to start up the car, instead of the traditional key ignition or push button start. I also noticed they had one when they raced prepped the BMW 3-Series for Britcar. So I was wondering, how exactly does this save weight? I would think that a turn key ignition would be lighter, wouldn't it?
 
It's because of the steering wheel. They cut it off the wheel to save space and weight. And it's probably easier for the driver to start and stop the car from right there instead of fumbling to turn a key with big fire-proof gloves on.
 
AudiPro
It's because of the steering wheel. They cut it off the wheel to save space and weight. And it's probably easier for the driver to start and stop the car from right there instead of fumbling to turn a key with big fire-proof gloves on.
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Really? My Chevy Malibu has the turn key ignition on the dashboard next to the CD player and not on the wheel.
 
crispychicken49
O, watching a couple episodes of Top Gear, I noticed that the DBRS has a switch box to start up the car, instead of the traditional key ignition or push button start. I also noticed they had one when they raced prepped the BMW 3-Series for Britcar. So I was wondering, how exactly does this save weight? I would think that a turn key ignition would be lighter, wouldn't it?
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It saves weight by being able to remove all the factory engine & ignition looms. If you stripped out all the wiring in your car, you'd be surprised how much it all weighs and how much of a PITA it is to remove.

By replacing the car's ECU with a stand-alone, it not only saves weight but drastically simplifies the car's electrical system for easy maintenance & repair. It's a lot easier to take out 4 screws on a panel you made which once contained the radio than it would be to re-wire the entire steering column to find out why you blew a fuse.

Furthermore, factory cars can have 3-4 separate ignition circuits all run through relays and such. If you ever take out the hush panel from under your dash, you'll see a rat's nest of wires running all over the place, a fuse panel, and probably some sort of relay panel.

Moving the electronics around for ease of repair makes a lot more sense in a race car whereas street vehicles need them hidden away and out of site or the customer may think twice about that purchase.
 
nick09
Really? My Chevy Malibu has the turn key ignition on the dashboard next to the CD player and not on the wheel.
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So? It would still be tough to turn the car on with gloves on.
 
AudiPro
So? It would still be tough to turn the car on with gloves on.
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Meh... not really. I start my car with with the key type ignition and fire suit/gloves all the time. What BrutherSuperior said is pretty much spot on.
 
LOL, HOT KEY!

No gentelmen... it's my race car. You can easily start a car with gloves on... they're just gloves. We have the option to convert to a push button start, and some do. But I have the regular keyed ignition.

And, back to the OP question, the weight savings is substantial. While taking out all the stereo wiring, HVAC wires, power windows and accessories, most race teams take out the alarm/ignition/whatever else and convert it to a simple less complicated switch. It's not just the ignition that gets canned, it's a combination of removing the not needed systems for a race only, non street car. Ease of maintenance and weight savings.
 

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