Scotracer wrote:I believe the Ferrari and Mclaren engines are around the 770BHP mark. Just rumours from sources that I have. Although, Honda and Renault are claiming they are 40-50BHP off the top 2 so Mclaren and Ferrari may be pushing 780BHP - the values the teams had at the end of 2006.
Plenty of power
It will be interesting next year with the 3 race rule which team can deploy the power the longest. Each engine is going to have to last approx 10 hours across the races. Some engines might be able to push out close to 800bhp at there highest settings (giving a qualifying advantage), but the strongest engines will be the ones that can run close to peak power for the longest duration across 3 races. Teams this season have traded speed/power in one race to save more power from the engine in the next. Now we have 3 races per engine we may get drivers ‘giving up’ on a race just to have 50+bhp available for the majority of the next race.
Indeed. I'm wondering how the teams that aren't allowed to modify the engines as freely as Renault and Honda will feel now that it's clear those two teams will have an advantage by being able to make changes that reflect the 3-race rule. Shall we end up seeing all teams have free engine development for a short time?
This could really work in Renault and Honda's favour.
It is my impression that Renault already had a go at "reliability" improvement towards the end of the season.
The best solution would be power regulating the engines by torque and rpm. That way the teams would focus on fuel economy to gain advantage.
Formula One's fundamental ethos is about success coming to those with the most ingenious engineering and best ..............................organization, not to those with the biggest budget. (Dave Richards)
I thought the same, WhiteBlue. Improved chassis and aerodynamic performances can only do this much, matching the "upgraded" teams on the straights surely required more power? Webber's engine failed in a Ferrari/McLaren-esque way just when Renault started their surge, so perhaps that was one of the "reliability" upgrades?
On the other hand, by regulating maximum power and torque, wouldn't teams rather spend their money on flattening the curves?
I think that Renault did do a little work - it would certainly explain their pace at the end of the year. But still, if they are allowed to do more the other teams will be pissed.
Also: The teams spent a lot of time flattening the torque curve after the 19,000rpm limit was known. The 2007/2008 spec engines are very linear in their power.
Renualts reliability upgrades were also probably an indirect power upgrade. The peak HP/torque doesn't have to change but you can run the engine at full power for longer making the car faster is race conditions.
Even if the FIA mandated a maximum HP/torque for all engines unless it was set at a very low level there would still be discrepancies between HP/torque that teams would be able to deploy in a race depending on the engines ‘power’ life cycle.
I would expect that ‘power life cycle’ of the engine is probably more closely guarded than the units ultimate output, which could be estimated via acoustic analysis.
Regarding difference in sound of engines, I'm surprised no one has commented on the different sound of the V8s between the different manufacturers. The first race I attended was at Montreal this year and I was astounded that all the engines didn't sound the same, especially given the all the spec parameters given for the V8 by the FIA.
Mercedes - quiet, could listen without earplugs all day long.
Honda - extremely LOUD
Ferrari - nothing out of the ordinary
Toyota - very low pitched harmonic; my favorite
Renault - similar to the Toyota, not as much of the low harmonic
BMW - unmistakable baritone under decel
The first time I ever heard an F1 car was at the Monterey Historics in 2004(?) when Ferrari was trying to break the track record with Schumacher's '02 or '03 car. As someone said earlier in this thread, it was, without a doubt LIFE CHANGING.
Once in the mid 80s, i saw Nelson Piquet in his Brabham BMW in qualifying trim around the glorious Öserreich ring, with that tiny 1500cc four cylinder turbo, intercoolers packed with dry-ice, pumping out some 1300 hp.
With a sight like that, nobody cared what the sound was like.
"I spent most of my money on wine and women...I wasted the rest"
