motor

TypeLT · 01-13-2004, 08:24 PM

I Just learned from a friend today that new regulations require them to use the same engine during the entire weekend, no more swapping fresh engines. They can of course rebuild them if required, but no longer can they swap a fresh engine in. I'm guessing this is another way to reduce horsepower, but I also wonder if they will simply rebuild them. I just think this is an odd approach. What's everyones take?

stradale · 01-13-2004, 08:37 PM

I don't really know what'll happen. Some teams might take a chance now and then and choose power over reliability. Others will look at what (amongst other things of course) earned Ferrari those titles. You can't win if your car breaks down and if it does, it doesn't matter how fast you were going before it blew up. Maybe you're lucky once or twice, but it won't get you a championship. Even if mechanics can fix everything in the engines, there will still be problems. What if the engine fails during warm up practice? If there's not enough time to fix it before the start of the race, it's unlikely teams will count on their mechanics for every failure as their only option.

The new rule is not just to reduce power. It's meant to bring costs down. Besides, technology will have solved the power loss in no time.

Toronto · 01-13-2004, 08:45 PM

less horsepower isn't that bad!
cars now go just as fast, if not faster then older ones/ do to the fact that they go faster around the turns / lighter and have a better design

antonioledesma · 01-13-2004, 11:10 PM

many years ago, f1 teams had some burn-out engines, just used for qualifying. Those were engines that had lots of more hps than the normal engines they used for the race.
of course these engines lasted only a couple of hours.

and a couple of years ago, bmw still had the most powerful engine in the series, but its reliability was poor, and we got used to see the williams in the garages

i don't think that using one engine will reduce costs, maybe with the costs of engines used in the weekend, but not in technology, time, engineering, more engines used in testing, etc.

maybe someone who has drag knowledge can tell us how many races do a dragster engine lasts. I read in a mag that they exploded, broke down, etc. after 2 or 3 days

acastroo · 01-19-2004, 03:00 PM

I tihink the difference between a dragster engine and an F1 engine its just too big to compare...
a dragster engine is re-built every time it's used while an F1 engine its just too complicated to do so, which is why they don't do it

anyway.. i dont think it would be too hard for f1 engineers to accomplish that an engine last an entire weekend because i just dont think they always switch engines in a car during weekends

Andres

possessed_beaver · 01-19-2004, 03:06 PM

they are allowed to swap or put in new engines.. it's just going to cost them 10 places on the grid!
and the pit speed is now 100km/h not 80!

FerrariKiller · 01-19-2004, 03:08 PM

I don't see the point, the costs of designing a reliable engine for each weekend will be more than the cost of producing a number of engines for the weekend. And BAR is screwed, their engines can't last a race let alone a weekend.

possessed_beaver · 01-20-2004, 02:10 PM

yes, BAR has some good engines they just don't last, lol.
like in the american cart open wheel things there engines where good, then they would blow themselfs to pieces.

scubywrxr · 01-20-2004, 07:09 PM

The manufacturer with the most reliable engine, with the best fuel economy is going to have a signifcant advantage and the ability to take many places up the grid! like we saw this year, even if u go light and take pole .. the quick guys will always overtake u!

Wutputt · 01-20-2004, 07:22 PM

Originally Posted by FerrariKiller

I don't see the point, the costs of designing a reliable engine for each weekend will be more than the cost of producing a number of engines for the weekend. And BAR is screwed, their engines can't last a race let alone a weekend.

I think once when the engine is developed (this will indeed be a bigger cost then before), you have to make much less engines. In the end (after a year) this new rule will prolly save the F1-teams some money.

But I don't think this is a good rule for those smaller teams with less money, because they have to make a bigger investment in the beginning of the season due to the development of the new more reliable engine. And big investments are not really healthy for less funded corporations.

rallyprox · 01-21-2004, 01:02 AM

i agree with wstratdale on that it iwll push the manufacturers to create engines that run longer and more reliabily and then to make them a have as much hp as they lost for the endurance. hopefully in the long run it will lead to less break downs in the middle of the race.

veilsidebr · 01-21-2004, 04:05 AM

I guess in this season we´ll see many broken engines. It´s not every Team that has already made a very good engine that last about 800-900 KM without problems.

Ok, let´s assume all teams had invested some money in to make theirs engine last more(obviously). Ok, but Even with a "last-forever" engine, all situations on F1 are relative so better keep your rev far from the red line or you´ll go to the pits on foot.

eCartman · 01-22-2004, 06:05 AM

Some magazines are also reporting even more change to this rule in the future, maybe they're going to make engines that can last for two or more races.

I think what's happening is teams are going to spend a lot of money on R&D anyway. Except now they'll spend less on the actual building of the engines now that they're more reliable.

Maybe that's Max or Bernie's way of making engine manufacture support more than one team. Now that they can sell their engines to lesser teams because it's getting less expensive to build additional engines.

01-22-2004, 10:08 AM

It´s an economy problem because there are teams that can not pay so much money in a year: Minardi, Jordan... So Bernie decided to get some things to allows those teams race without probles and this is one of the sollutions. Next year every car will take the same rear spoiler and breaks.

veilsidebr · 01-23-2004, 03:31 AM

I just don´t agree with a thing: To lose 10 positions if your engine brokes. I guess it doesn´t have to lose 10 positions, it´s so much. The driver makes his job so good, and, for any problem, his engine blow off. And for this he lost 10 positions. It´s wrong. I guess it would lost about 2 or 4 positions, but 10 is so much more.

:fist: