Is it possible to fit a laptop in a car?

Would it be possible to fit F1 car brakes into a standard road car?

• Just wondering if this would be possible, and if so would it actually decrease the braking distance in a car?

• Answer:

  It's possible, with a lot of money and with a lot of clever engineering, but I doubt if it's beneficial. F-1 parts - chassis, suspension, drivetrain, tires, brakes - are all meant to be used together on an F-1 car, on a race-track. Roadcar parts are made to be used on a road car, on the road. The different car-parts work together and not indepent of each other, they effect one another. If you upgrade either one of the car's parts very much (chassis, tires, suspension, brakes), the other parts will turn into a "weak link" and will limit the car's performance so there might be little to no benefit, maybe even some damage! The Formula 1 brakes are very big and are fitted into rims that are substantially larger than those used on most road cars. I also don't think it would help very much. The bigger brakes are made out of lighter parts (carbon) but I am not sure that they are lighter over-all. Any added weight to the rolling or unsprung parts of the car will badly effect it's handling and braking distances. Also, if the car does not have the chassis, suspension and tires of a Formula-1 car, these brakes won't do you much good. What is the point in using brakes that give 1000 foot-pounds of torque for braking, if the tires can also withstand 400p/ft before sliding? Brakes don't stop the car - tires do! Now let's suppose you also try to fit F-1 tires to actually benefit from the bigger brakes. But, these tires will not operate as well on public roads - bumpy roads, dust and water on the road or even simply worn tarmac - will dramatically hinder the performance of those tires. Also, they will wear down super quickly. They will also put too much strain on the chassis so the car might roll over in turns. So you will have to adjust the suspension to an F-1 chassis, but than your springs and shocks will be too stiff for public roads which are bumpy. So you will have to try to adjust the chassis to an F-1 chassis, but than you will have to drive two inchs off of the road surface and in a single-seater car with no place for air conditioning or other essentials on a road car, like a front windshield or roof. Even if you go through all of this, your engine won't manage to turn the tires around and accelerate the car without stalling, so you will have to upgrade the engine to an F-1 Engine (and transmission and differential), but than you will get extreme wear on the engine's parts and on the motor-oil, as well as extreme gas consumption. So what have you got by now? Yes, a complete Formula-1 racecar! I trust you get the idea by now...