F1 Engine warm-up procedure

[vis]

Hi everybody,

anyone knows how is the detailed procedure of warming up a F1 engine?

i.e. start the engine, let it run idle for n minutes, then start revving at nnnn rpm for x times, then rev it a nnnn+ rpm, etc...

I would also like to know how the running-in is done after engine assembling
(so the procedeure an engine undergoes between assembling and shipment to the race track).

thanks

[747heavy]

F1 engines, as most high level race engines, are preheated before fireing up.

This means, there is a external heater and pump connected to them and hot water/antifreeze is circulated through the system.

After this procedure (which takes ~20 min for a DTM engine) the water and oil is close(r) to operation temperature, and the parts in the engine are warmed up, and are closer to there designed tolerances.

Chances are, that due to the very tight tolerances in a F1/race engine, you would not be able to turn a engine over at 20°C, or if, wear and friction would be extremly high.

I will try to find a photo later.

[Just_a_fan]

I remember reading an article some years ago that stated that the gearbox also needs to be up to operating temp prior to first engagement of a gear. The suggestion was that asking a 'cold' gearbox to handle the grunt was likely to result in a box of bits rattling around in the casing.

[747heavy]

o.k not F1 (not even close ), but here you see a engine pre-heater on a Sprintcar engine at work.



Audi A4 DTM, the two red lines going to the engine, are filled with coolant, the box in front of the car is the pre-heater for the coolant (water)



F1 Show Car pre-heating



after market engine pre-heater sold to race teams



BTW, yes I can see, that you should/would need to pre-heat an F1 gearbox as well.
I remember that Audi used to wrap their complete spare rear-ends (including the gearbox)at LeMans in something similar to an tire blanket (but customs made to fit).
During the time when they where allowed to change the complete rear end (R8) during the race, to keep it close to operating temperature.

[Martin Keene]

I read an article a few years ago, and one of the team bosses at the time said the contract for a customer Cosworth engine detailed the requirements for starting the engine and one of them was the engine could not be started until water and oil were both 80 degrees C.

I can't remember for the life of me where is was or what team boss. Part of me thinks it was EJ, but I don't remember them ever running Cosworth.

[johnny99]

Yes, Jordan did run the Cosworth engine,

John

[Belatti]

Havent had that kind of experience with racing teams here in Argentina, but in the chemical industry

At a plant I worked, we had a 2 strokes, 30 liter (I think), 4 turbos, 1200KW, V16 diesel that was constantly pre-heated at 60°c. In case of an energy blackout, the V16 was running under load 8 secs after to keep the chemical reactors coolers and mixers under safe parameters..

[Aldrich]

F1 engines, as most high level race engines, are preheated before fireing up.

This means, there is a external heater and pump connected to them and hot water/antifreeze is circulated through the system.

After this procedure (which takes ~20 min for a DTM engine) the water and oil is close(r) to operation temperature, and the parts in the engine are warmed up, and are closer to there designed tolerances.

Chances are, that due to the very tight tolerances in a F1/race engine, you would not be able to turn a engine over at 20°C, or if, wear and friction would be extremly high.

I will try to find a photo later.

After this reply i think there is no need describe the warm up procedure any more.
This is a comprehensive procedure details.
Thanks

[ringo]

How about the intermittent revving?
Is it necessary if the water and oil is already up to temperature?

Or does it have to do with checks?

[gold333]

I would like to know this as well. The intermittent revving has a very specific pattern that mechanics from Italy to Japan use.

Very low rpm few blips, pauze at idle, moderate rpm few blips, hold at moderate rpm,.. 3 ultra slow blips, high rpm few blips, hold at high rpm, continuous blipping at high rpm then sudden cut off at high rpm (clutch in I assume).

Wonder what this method of warming up is that racing mechanics all over the world use? We hear it in the pitlane before F1 races often (esp. at Red Bull).


V12


V12


V12


V10

PS: My Suzuki Gixxer mechanic always told me the worst thing you could do to a racing engine was to rev the bollocks of it when it wasn't under load (i.e. in gear and pulling), so I never understood the above video's.

[hardingfv32]

I do not see why they would not just plug in a laptop and run a program specific to engine warm up.

What is the benefit to varying the revs if the fuel mixture is properly controlled for the rpm range being used?

Brian

[bigpat]

F1 engines ARE warmed up on a computer program!!!!

Procedure (as far as I'm aware):
Connect computer.
Plug in fuel chiller for fuel cell (if necessary)
Plug in water (no antifreeze), and engine oil heater/ circulator.
Plug in gearbox oil heater/circulator
Raise temperature of fluids to approx 80 deg C, and hold there on each to allow expansion to correct tolerances and heatsoak.
Disconnect heaters.
Pressurise compressed air tank ( for the pneumatic valves).
Insert starter, and crank engine (ignition off), to ensure oil, air pressures etc reach set levels, while computer cycles through software checks.
Re-crank with ignition on, start engine and idle.
From here the engine / chassis tech can choose different engine & gearbox warm up maps, which can do it all, or they can use a little joystick to manually manipulate things. .

Generally the engines revs will be raised/lowered, and blipped to put load into the engine, as well as keep the alternator charging, as its designed to work for longer periods at much higher RPMs.

A lot of the mild blipping ( and what sounds like a spark cutting out) is the gearbox being cycled up and down through the gears, to get that up to temperature. In our cars we used to drag the brake pedal a little, to load up the drivetrain. The techs may also check the pit limiter function etc, and other things I can only imagine!

While at idle & elevated RPM, a dipstick reading will be taken of the engine oil tank, and any oil added if required. The water header tank will also be checked and purged if required.

Generally temperatures will be taken just above operating temperature prior to shutdown, to allow heatsoak into the radiators, for when the cars are fired up in anger.

That's what I understand anyway.......

Those vidoes of the Honda guys... well I know they love revving them right up prior to shut off, as the Formula Nippon guys used to do this too. It's not necessary, it but it really doesn't hurt the engines, there are precision built, and only have short service lives anyway, unlike road cars and bikes. Also, I think they put on a bit of a show for the spectators.

As for idle, revving then idle, I don't know, but we all seem to do it! Must be in a racers' DNA!

As for running in the engines, its largely redundant, as they are built so precisely. On the dyno, I guess it wouldn't take any more than 10 minutes at moderate revs to seat the piston rings. A couple of power checks through the rev range at various loads, and it would be good to go I would think.

[Forza]

The basics of start up procedure for Leyton House CG901B

[krisfx]

This isn't my video and it isn't the race startup procedure, but I spent a while behind these two cars as they were firing them up for the demo runs at Silverstone.


You can see the French Bloke with the laptop, he's got a computer program set up, but for purposes of showing off he also had a plunger to rev the nads off it.

If I get a chance I'll put a few of my videos up from the day as I got quite close when they were running the engines.

[Scootin159]

The startup procedures I've been given when driving cars with high performance engines before was to keep the revs up off idle during warm up to keep the alternator running, as it really isn't geared to operate at less than xxxx rpm. At the same time though, we had to avoid revving it more than was needed to prevent it from overheating (cars without radiator fans will overheat quickly at idle). Even putting blowers in the air ducts is not nearly enough to allow them to idle for long periods.

The high-rpm shutdown is common in cars with accusump setups as you need to charge the accusump system before shutdown so that it's ready to prime the system for the next startup. Even if these cars don't have some sort of accumulator like that, the engineers may just have it in their nature to retain that shutdown sequence from when they started in lower formula.