Standard crankshaft centerline height

[mx_tifoso]

5.4.3 -The crankshaft centreline must not be less than 58mm above the reference plane.

What is the purpose of having a standard crankshaft centerline height?

It controls the CoG and affects the drivetrain (among other things of course), but what is the point of standardizing it? Was it just another measure to reduce costs?

If it wasn't mandated would there be variety or is it a pretty "obvious" height (+- a few mm's)? Did the cs heights vary a lot pre-2006?

Thanks in advance guys and gals. And excuse my ignorance.


My questions come after reading an article over F1 clutches in RCE. I really enjoyed the article and it just sparked my curiosity over this area.

[WhiteBlue]

It surely must have facilitated the switch from Honda to Merc engines for Brawn GP. I believe they did a very detailed specification for the V10 to V8 transition to create diminishing returns for manufacturers who were spending in excess of a billion $ annually at that time. I reckon the idea was to make it less rewarding to spend obscene amounts of money on engines as they had become prohibitively expensive. The manufacturers naturally tried to recuperate some of the exorbitant cost for engine development from their customers. Today engines have become quite affordable but in the V10 times 60/200 mil $ was not unusual for customer/works teams.

[xpensive]

I believe that interchangeability between engines for the small teams was the obvious reason, also making way for introducing Cosworth as a spec engine, remember said tender two years ago?

[strad]

just one more way they squelch innovation and one more way to make the rules design the car for them

[PlatinumZealot]

I don't think it is a matter of cost. It wouldn't affect innovation either, you would design the engine in the same way. You still have to cut the block across the crank diameter. Still have to put bearing caps on the crank journal. In fact you don't even have to change the engine to lower the crankshaft centre height.

You can move your engine lower to the ground. This would lower the crankshaft centre height without you having to change the engine. No cost there and you lower the whole engine; the block and the heads all the auxiliaries. In fact just lowering the engine is much better than designing a new taller engine. So I don't think this rule was a matter of cost or innovation.

[Agenda_Is_Incorrect]

....

On topic, the crankshaft centerline may have been standardized to avoid teams playing with the internals to get around the gravity center rules. Also, as said it makes easier to make engine installations more uniform.

[autogyro]

It sets the stroke to bore ratio.

[xpensive]

Well this got dirty pretty fast. Thanks.

Indeed mx, such a shame when members have to blow their own horn on every thread even remotely linked with their pet.

[autogyro]

Having a 58mm crankshaft centerline height, gives a munimum possible crankshaft stroke. This establishes the bore size for the V8 or what ever engine controlled by the capacity limit.
This bore ratio defines the potential rpm and defines a torque envelope.

[mx_tifoso]

^^^
Now was that so hard?

[WhiteBlue]

Sounds like a reasonable explanation to me.

[autogyro]

Well this got dirty pretty fast. Thanks.

Indeed mx, such a shame when members have to blow their own horn on every thread even remotely linked with their pet.

The 85 mm gear center to center rule is a good comparison to the 58 mm crank centerline height minimum rule.
Both show the narrow area that powertrain development has been limited to.
If F1 is to become an engineering exercise to improve powertrain technology, both of these regulations have to be changed.
I was not blowing my own horn.

[Edis]

Cost reduction by limiting development areas is the reason.

To build more and more compact crankcases (incl. crankshaft and con rod), smaller diameter clutches and new tranmissions to go with that costs money.

The rule is not intended to put limits on the stroke.

[xpensive]

Sounds like a reasonable explanation to me.

Not really, the bore is pretty much defined but the regulated cylinder spacing anyway, I still believe crankshaft centerline height is for compatibility between makes.

[autogyro]

Sounds like a reasonable explanation to me.

Not really, the bore is pretty much defined but the regulated cylinder spacing anyway, I still believe crankshaft centerline height is for compatibility between makes.

Sorry but isnt that just a bit obvious.
If it defines the stroke and bore within a capacity then all manufacturers are going to build similar engines.