Fiat Multi air in 2014

[Bredd]

Do you think fiat's multi air technology will give Ferrari a leg up in 2014? It works best with small turbocharged engines and offers better power and fuel economy.

[Holm86]

Do you think fiat's multi air technology will give Ferrari a leg up in 2014? It works best with small turbocharged engines and offers better power and fuel economy.

No because its not allowed. Any form of cam timing/lift mechanism is prohibited.

[Tommy Cookers]

some of the MultiAir effects are available (ie without VVT) by suitably controlling the electrical load of the GUH, hence pressures upstream of the turbine

IMO this will be irresistible when the fuel rate is reduced, post 2014
attempts to increase power recovery (compounding) via the GUH beyond currently envisaged levels will take everyone down this road

[xxChrisxx]

Ignoring the fact they are illegal we can take a hypothetical view on this.
VVT and lift isn't as big a deal on race engines as on road car engines as one might expect.

Road car engines are required to be drivable and comfortable across the whole rev range. The reason why the cars make more power is becuase the cam profiles and timing can be set more agressively, and the raeson emissions are improved is because the VVT allows this to be dialled back when it isn't needed.

Race engines are designed to work at full tilt, at the expense of drivability, comfort and power at low RPM (this is a board rule of thumb, not a 100% correct statement as the exact compromise between the two may mean he sacrifice of peak power for drivability). So VVT shouldn't really mean more power, because if it did the 'nominal' cam lift and timing should have been set there in the first place.

Where VVT could help is in drivability, but in reality a race engine without having to compromise for harshness and emissions can achieve drivability and low speed traction in other (albeit less efficient) ways with existing hardware. Then there is the cosideration that it's a complex bit of kit, with lots of parts that could go wrong.



EDIT: Just read the post above, I forot about the fuel flow limit.
This could mean that VVT could be of larger benefit as the focus will shift to economy and drivability rather than outright power.

[olefud]

Ignoring the fact they are illegal we can take a hypothetical view on this.
VVT and lift isn't as big a deal on race engines as on road car engines as one might expect.

Road car engines are required to be drivable and comfortable across the whole rev range. The reason why the cars make more power is becuase the cam profiles and timing can be set more agressively, and the raeson emissions are improved is because the VVT allows this to be dialled back when it isn't needed.

Race engines are designed to work at full tilt, at the expense of drivability, comfort and power at low RPM (this is a board rule of thumb, not a 100% correct statement as the exact compromise between the two may mean he sacrifice of peak power for drivability). So VVT shouldn't really mean more power, because if it did the 'nominal' cam lift and timing should have been set there in the first place.

Where VVT could help is in drivability, but in reality a race engine without having to compromise for harshness and emissions can achieve drivability and low speed traction in other (albeit less efficient) ways with existing hardware. Then there is the cosideration that it's a complex bit of kit, with lots of parts that could go wrong.



EDIT: Just read the post above, I forot about the fuel flow limit.
This could mean that VVT could be of larger benefit as the focus will shift to economy and drivability rather than outright power.

Actually, you might have been correct in the first instance. With fuel flow limited, wouldn’t the engine be optimized in a fairly narrow RPM band to maximize power with the available fuel?