Standardized Fuel

All that has to do with the power train, gearbox, clutch, fuels and lubricants, etc. Generally the mechanical side of Formula One.
roon
412
Joined: 17 Dec 2016, 19:04

Re: Standardized Fuel

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Formula E uses a spec battery pack. Maybe fuel companies want to dump money into this sort of research; otherwise, spec fuel seems like a good idea.

J.A.W.
109
Joined: 01 Sep 2014, 05:10
Location: Altair IV.

Re: Standardized Fuel

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Effective fuel formulations for racing power & efficiency - goes back a ways, over 90 years..

This Napier Lion, (an oversquare DOHC 4V design) in racing form, duly accepted an increase to 10:1 comp-ratio,
& made 880hp at a fairly efficient, (how does the current Bugatti Veyron compare?) - 50 gallons per hour.

http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/ ... 01118.html
"Well, we knocked the bastard off!"

Ed Hilary on being 1st to top Mt Everest,
(& 1st to do a surface traverse across Antarctica,
in good Kiwi style - riding a Massey Ferguson farm
tractor - with a few extemporised mod's to hack the task).

marmer
1
Joined: 21 Apr 2017, 06:48

Re: Standardized Fuel

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The only thing g that should be standard in F1 are safety features everything else should be fair game to out develop your opponent. Ideally all teams would have custom engines fuel and tyres that would really give you the best of the best

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godlameroso
309
Joined: 16 Jan 2010, 21:27
Location: Miami FL

Re: Standardized Fuel

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Frankly I don't think any team is using anything ultra exotic as far as fuel is concerned. The actual gains being made are more as follows.

Large Petrochemical Company(LPC): Here are all the detailed fuel kinetics analysis you wanted.
Large Engine Manufacturer F1 team(LEM): Thanks LPC, and thanks for the free predictive simulations, we could have never done it without you. Because it costs billions to do this type of research.
LPC: No problem, just make sure you plaster our names big and bright on the side of your car, team clothing, and name drop us like you're breathing air.
LEM: Absolutely, we'll even claim the fuel you give us which is the same stuff going around the world because it all comes from about 16 refineries is extra special. No one needs to know that the predictive models based on all the research you've done is what's helping us design our combustion chamber. By the time the others catch on it'll be 3 years too late for them and they'll be fighting an uphill battle trying to catch up. In the mean time everyone can think up crazy conspiracy theories like oil burning, we can have a chuckle and get back to mopping the floor with them.

People are worried about all sorts of exotic mechanical bits that will save the day, thermodynamics has been well studied, and any gains simply come from better engineering. Combustion is the most important aspect of the power units, would it not help you get the most out of the combustion if you understand exactly what it is you're combusting, and how it's being combusted? Fuel isn't just burn hot not hot, there is a lot that goes on, fuel reformulates itself several times during combustion. Fuel itself is a very complex mixture of chemicals, during combustion these chemicals are "broken down" mix with oxygen, form oxygen rich compounds called radicals, and there's a chain reaction too long to describe with words, and this is before we even get to the exothermic side of it. These radicals are essentially what cause combustion, they're here ionizing and robbing and giving electrons all over the place. Eventually in this dance certain molecules get created during the reformulation process which are unstable and create the exothermic reaction, and during this period more stuff that can be described happens again.

In an ideal world you'd just get water and CO2, but the world isn't perfect, and reality is more complex than our puny brains can comprehend. The more you understand this combustion process the better you can design your hardware to accommodate this process, to exploit it for your needs.

If I had to peg my finger on it, this predictive software has been available in "rough draft" versions since 2010, today it's just so much better. The resolution is much better, but you still need massive super computer clusters to do this type of research. Luckily, or unluckily for their competitors LPC's aren't bound by the sporting regulations of CFD on-time.

I guess that's why no new manufacturers want to join?

Who else is there besides Esso/Mobil1:Honda, Castrol/BP:Renault, Pennzoil/Shell:Ferrari, Petronas:Mercedes, besides Total is there any other LPC that can compete? There's not a lot of LPC's that could partner with large manufacturers that want to enter the sport. Maybe Sunoco/BMW :lol:
Saishū kōnā

Cold Fussion
93
Joined: 19 Dec 2010, 04:51

Re: Standardized Fuel

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dans79 wrote:
29 Jan 2018, 02:31
Personally I don't understand why so many want to push F1 towards a spec series, nothing could be further from it roots and true DNA. F1 is basically ritualized industrial warfare and has been since the beginning, yet some want to turn it into the European equivalent of NASCAR.
Some people have deluded fantasies about F1 being a drivers championship akin to gladiatorial combat in an arena.

Pingguest
3
Joined: 28 Dec 2008, 16:31

Re: Standardized Fuel

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I believe it is better to have tires, electronics and fuel as a part of the competition instead of being a part of politics and lobbying.

https://www.racefans.net/2018/03/13/tyr ... li-vettel/

zac510
22
Joined: 24 Jan 2006, 12:58

Re: Standardized Fuel

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Cold Fussion wrote:
16 Feb 2018, 07:07
dans79 wrote:
29 Jan 2018, 02:31
Personally I don't understand why so many want to push F1 towards a spec series, nothing could be further from it roots and true DNA. F1 is basically ritualized industrial warfare and has been since the beginning, yet some want to turn it into the European equivalent of NASCAR.
Some people have deluded fantasies about F1 being a drivers championship akin to gladiatorial combat in an arena.
And even in spec-racing series, the same teams dominate every year because they simply have more money, can buy better race engineers, facilities, run the spec-car in a wind tunnel/chassis rig, etc.

johnny comelately
110
Joined: 10 Apr 2015, 00:55
Location: Australia

Re: Standardized Fuel

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Zynerji wrote:
31 Jan 2018, 19:12
Maritimer wrote:
29 Jan 2018, 18:37
Here's the saddest song on the smallest violin. If the next ruleset shifts toward more spec anything I know I'm certainly done watching, as are a huge chunk of the viewership/fanbase. This isn't Formula Budgetcap.
Zynerji wrote:
29 Jan 2018, 15:40
... the single tyre supplier has done very well...
:lol:
Please give an instance where the single supplier have one team an unfair advantage? It's not funny, its sad actually how broken F1 is sometimes.
Funny story, sort of related: here in Australia at a round of the superbikes, there were control tyres, but one of the works teams had their name on allocation, so mate picked them up and walked quickly but then eruption and chase. when they caught up we said what does it matter if they are control tyre... more eruption
...ah politics ....

johnny comelately
110
Joined: 10 Apr 2015, 00:55
Location: Australia

Re: Standardized Fuel

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Zynerji, I agree but for different reasons you said at the start.
With non standard consumables there is too much potential for an unfair advantage for the teams with the big money and (different mapping for customer engines)(which I believe can be done)
Maybe the slower teams should be given some advantages like they did in Motogp, (more fuel etc etc)which certainly worked, look at Ducarti now.
I know there are two sides (or 3 or 4) to this story but that's where i stand on the unfair advantage potential.
There is also the open ended fuel specs....all that waffle but no max on energy content or octane, That in itself gives open slather to the fuel suppliers

PhillipM
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Joined: 16 May 2011, 15:18
Location: Over the road from Boothy...

Re: Standardized Fuel

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Zynerji wrote:
31 Jan 2018, 19:12

Please give an instance where the single supplier have one team an unfair advantage? It's not funny, its sad actually how broken F1 is sometimes.
Ah, you mean like when bridgestone built tyres to suit the Ferrari and everyone else using those tyres had to run them or lump it?

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Zynerji
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Joined: 27 Jan 2016, 16:14

Re: Standardized Fuel

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PhillipM wrote:
19 Mar 2018, 15:41
Zynerji wrote:
31 Jan 2018, 19:12

Please give an instance where the single supplier have one team an unfair advantage? It's not funny, its sad actually how broken F1 is sometimes.
Ah, you mean like when bridgestone built tyres to suit the Ferrari and everyone else using those tyres had to run them or lump it?
Last time I saw Bridgestones on an F1 car, they were winning the championships with Red Bull, not Ferrari.

It seems that you are pointing out EXACTLY THE REASON that the tyre war was ended, and exactly point out the congruency to the current fuel situation.