# Pit stop comparison **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 15, 2014, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pit-stop-comparison/686137 "2014-04-15T03:19:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pit-stop-comparison/686137/1 "2014-04-15T03:19:04Z")
[1950 vs. 2013](http://www.wimp.com/pitcomparison/). Things have changed a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pit-stop-comparison/686137/2 "2014-04-15T03:24:12Z")
Pretty amazing. I think the driver spent more time slowing down then he did actually stopped. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pit-stop-comparison/686137/3 "2014-04-15T05:31:02Z")
No refueling in the later pit stop. Also, a lot more guys. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pit-stop-comparison/686137/4 "2014-04-15T07:52:35Z")
Typical F1 stops for tyre changes alone are about 3 seconds stationary. Add another couple of seconds for a wing angle change, 8-10 seconds for a full nose cone change. When they were refuelling they took about 10 seconds for a full refuel (could’ve been quicker but flow rate was restricted for safety…[for good reason!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCykFawdq40)) I believe they did at least put their fags out in 1950, they weren’t idiots. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pit-stop-comparison/686137/5 "2014-04-15T09:40:11Z")
The thing that jumps out at me from that old footage is that there’s no wall separating the pits from the track. That’s from before my time, but I do remember when there was no pit lane speed limit. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pit-stop-comparison/686137/6 "2014-04-15T12:46:00Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > … a lot more guys. I think I counted 23. Is there any rule that limits this? ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pit-stop-comparison/686137/7 "2014-04-15T13:05:50Z")
No limit AFAIK. Here are the [rules concerning F1 pit stops](http://www.formula1.com/inside_f1/rules_and_regulations/sporting_regulations/8714/fia.html). ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pit-stop-comparison/686137/8 "2014-04-15T13:31:55Z")
What I don’t get about the 1950’s pitstop is that it seems _so bleeding obvious_ that having a second guy help with changing the front wheels would cut the time taken for the tyre change in half. So why couldn’t they see it? ---
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Bragg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4bbf92/32.png) [@Stealth\_Bragg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Bragg)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pit-stop-comparison/686137/9 "2014-04-15T13:48:23Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > What I don’t get about the 1950’s pitstop is that it seems _so bleeding obvious_ that having a second guy help with changing the front wheels would cut the time taken for the tyre change in half. > > So why couldn’t they see it? The voice-over says “only four crew members, including the driver, are allowed to work on the car” so the rules at the time limited the number of active pit crew. But I don’t know why they couldn’t pull one of the four off to help the other guy! Plus, it’s not a fair comparison - Indy 500 is not F1 no matter what the video title says. ETA: Endurance racing has similar rules limiting the number of bodies working on the car in the pit lane, that’s why they pull the cars back into the garage when more work is needed during Le Mans 24hr for instance. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pit-stop-comparison/686137/10 "2014-04-15T14:23:57Z")
> [@Stealth\_Bragg](#): > > The voice-over says "only four crew members, including the driver Ah! I’m at work so I had the sound muted. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pit-stop-comparison/686137/11 "2014-04-15T19:23:47Z")
> [@Stealth\_Bragg](#): > > The voice-over says “only four crew members, including the driver, are allowed to work on the car” so the rules at the time limited the number of active pit crew. But I don’t know why they couldn’t pull one of the four off to help the other guy! Well, the driver could have gotten out and helped, but I don’t know if that would have saved much time. One guy was filling the fuel tank and trying to get the cap back on. The guy at the front who raised the car had to stay on that lifting apparatus (don’t know if I’d call it a jack) to keep his weight on it so the car wouldn’t come back down again. It might have saved time to redesign that rig so he could leave it unattended and do something else. Or maybe not. It looks like there might have been a problem getting the right wheel nut off. The left wheel comes off, and the new one put on, pretty quickly. If the right wheel had been just as fast then maybe fueling becomes the limiting factor in how fast the stop can be done.